Arothron: An R package for geometric morphometric methods and virtual anthropology applications
Arothron: An R package for geometric morphometric methods and virtual anthropology applications
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DOI：
10.1002/ajpa.24340
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发表时间：
2021-06-12
影响因子：
2.8
通讯作者：
Pasquale, Raia
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Antonio, Profico;Costantino, Buzi;Pasquale, Raia
目的化石统计分析是了解人属进化的基础。不幸的是，人类化石记录是直接稀缺的，并受到埋藏过程造成的严重信息丢失的困扰。最近开发的虚拟人类学领域有助于改善这种情况，通过使用数字技术来恢复损坏和不完整的fossils.Materials和方法，我们提出了包Arothron，R软件套件的意思是处理和分析数字模型的骨骼元素。Arothron包括数字化提取虚拟腔，如颅endocast工具，以统计学对齐脱节或破碎的骨元素，并可视化表面网格和地标configuration.Results之间的局部变化，我们描述了Arothron的主要功能，并通过可重复的案例研究说明其使用。我们描述了一种工具，用于分割的骨骼腔显示其应用程序的锤骨，尼安德特人的牙齿，和现代人类的颅骨，再现其形状和计算其体积。我们说明了如何数字化地对齐一个现代人类颅骨的脱节模型，以及如何将个体标本上的零碎形状信息联合收割机组合成一个。此外，我们提出了有用的可视化工具，通过比较右半球的尼安德特人和现代人类brain.Conclusions之间的形态差异的Arothron R包的目的是研究数字模型的化石标本。通过使用Arothron，科学家可以轻松处理数字模型，研究3D骨骼模型的内部形态，获得受损标本原始形状的完整表示，并比较不同标本的形状。
Objectives The statistical analysis of fossil remains is essential to understand the evolution of the genus Homo. Unfortunately, the human fossil record is straight away scarce and plagued with severe loss of information caused by taphonomic processes. The recently developed field of Virtual Anthropology helps to ameliorate this situation by using digital techniques to restore damaged and incomplete fossils.Materials and methods We present the package Arothron, an R software suite meant to process and analyze digital models of skeletal elements. Arothron includes tools to digitally extract virtual cavities such as cranial endocasts, to statistically align disarticulated or broken bony elements, and to visualize local variations between surface meshes and landmark configurations.Results We describe the main functionalities of Arothron and illustrate their usage through reproducible case studies. We describe a tool for segmentation of skeletal cavities by showing its application on a malleus bone, a Neanderthal tooth, and a modern human cranium, reproducing their shape and calculating their volume. We illustrate how to digitally align a disarticulated model of a modern human cranium, and how to combine piecemeal shape information on individual specimens into one. In addition, we present useful visualization tools by comparing the morphological differences between the right hemisphere of the Neanderthal and the modern human brain.Conclusions The Arothron R package is designed to study digital models of fossil specimens. By using Arothron, scientists can handle digital models with ease, investigate the inner morphology of 3D skeletal models, gain a full representation of the original shapes of damaged specimens, and compare shapes across specimens.