Assessing A.L. 288-1 femur length using computer-aided three-dimensional reconstruction.
Fossil reconstruction remains a requisite task for many types of paleoanthropological research. While reconstructions are traditionally accomplished by hand, computer modeling offers a novel and mathematically rigorous approach while providing advantages over the manual process. Computer models of fossil specimens can be reflected, scaled, and aligned in virtual space with relative ease; therefore, it is simple to generate multiple reconstructions to find the "best" one. Here we report on the reconstruction of A.L. 288-1ap (left femur) using three-dimensional computer models. Our "best" reconstruction has a maximum length of 277mm, which is very near both the 280mm originally estimated and the frequently cited 281mm.
Sylvester
Adam D
AD
Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
Merkl
Brandon C
BC
Mahfouz
Mohamed R
MR
D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005269:Femur / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005580:Fossils; D015186:Hominidae / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results