title: The iceman under pressure (Part I): A description of skull deformations due to 5100 years of glacial action.
abstract: Due to its long deposition in the glacier, the 'Iceman' (an ice-mummy from the Hauslabjoch) has been deformed, notably its skull. We introduce various comparative methods that describe these deformations, assuming they can be ascribed--to a large extent--to glacial action. While pressure is a scalar, the deformations must be described via a 2-tensor strain field (which can be represented by a matrix function value at every point throughout the skull). In this paper, we present the assumed deformations in numerous graphical forms and, furthermore, the limitations in interpretation--including an estimate of statistical variability--that can be revealed by this analysis. These methods, although describing the results of glacial action and implying a 2-tensor strain field (which will be presented in a subsequent paper), do not permit a straightforward reconstruction of the original, underformed skull. These methods have wider applications to the general problem of deformation.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Anthropology, University of Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Prossinger
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Seidler
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Weaver
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schäfer
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fieder
authors.forename: G W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Weber
mesh_terms: D001317:Austria; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D009106:Mummies; D010164:Paleopathology / Q000379:methods; D011312:Pressure; D012886:Skull / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D013314:Stress, Mechanical