Acta Anthropologica Sinica ›› 2020, Vol. 39 ›› Issue (04): 659-670.doi: 10.16359/j.cnki.cn11-1963/q.2020.0055

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The three-dimensional facial reconstruction of a male Upper Cave 101 skull

SHUI Wuyang1,2(), ZHANG Yameng3,4, WU Xiujie5,6, ZHOU Mingquan1,2   

  1. 1. School of Artificial Intelligence, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
    2. Beijing Key Laboratory of Digital Preservation and Virtual Reality for Cultural Heritage, Beijing Normal University, China
    3. Joint International Research Laboratory of Environmental and Social Archaeology, Shandong University, Qingdao, Shandong, 266237, China
    4. Institute of Cultural Heritage, Shandong University, Qingdao, Shandong, 266237, China
    5. Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China
    6. CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, 100044, China
  • Received:2020-07-15 Revised:2020-08-24 Online:2020-11-15 Published:2020-11-06

Abstract:

The Upper Cave (UC) 101 skull is one of the most complete human fossils in the Eastern Asia, which has been the most important material to investigate the origins of modern Eastern Asian humans. In this study, we proposed a computerized craniofacial reconstruction approach to produce a possible 3D facial appearance of UC 101 skull based on the average facial soft-tissue thickness measurements (FSTMs) distribution of modern living humans within the skull and face datasets. It contains three steps: first, we used computerized tomography (CT) scan to acquire the digital model of a high-quality replica of UC 101 skull, which consists of the cranium and mandible. Second, based on the assumption that the average FSTMs distribution of the living humans is the similar to that of the UC 101, we used computer technique to virtually attach this FSTMs distribution to the UC 101 so as to produce the facial appearance. We also employed the handmade drawing technique to produce the facial morphological characteristics and subtle details of the reconstructed face. Finally, we proposed a geometric shape analysis approach to assess the reliability of the reconstructed face by means of the comparison of FSTMs distributions and the face statistical shape model. Our results illustrate that the reconstructed face is consistent with the geometric shape of UC 101, which exhibits an elongated face, a sloped forehead, stronger and wider eyebrows, etc. Our method exhibits a possible likeness of geometric shape of the neurocranium and facial morphological characters, which may further be applicable for other anthropological fossils.

Key words: Upper cave, Craniofacial reconstruction, Soft-tissue

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