Wed 7 Jun 2006
NESPOS: 3D GIS Tools for Neaderthal Paleoarchaeology
Posted by Matt under 3D , Archaeology , Prehistoric , Web
Since the discovery of the first Neanderthal (wikipedia) remains in Düsseldorf, Germany, 1856, Homo neanderthalensis has been one of the most studied human species. From findings across Europe and Western Asia, dating from ~230,000 to ~29,000 years ago, a sizable and diverse collections of Neaderthal remains and artifacts have been collected.
It is the goal of The Neanderthal Tools (TNT), in collaboration with The Neanderthal Studies Professional Online Service (NESPOS), to complete “Europe’s singular cultural heritage” for Neandethal remains, fossils, and ecofacts in a web based repository. This repository will offers tools for the examination and exploration of a complete archaeological workflow from site topography down to the 3D models and documentation of individual fossil finds.
“The TNT applications take advantage of state-of-the-art technology to provide a virtual public collection of fossils and artefacts which is open to the scientific community. The Neanderthal Tools enable scientifically valid research on virtual primary sources for the first time.”
The three tools used by the TNT to achieve this goal are the wiki based collaborative platform of NESPOS, the Visual Simulation and Collaborative Rendering Engine (VISICORE) Suite of GIS, annotation, and visualization software, and the National Geographic ArchChannel (NatAC), a public oriented web portal sponsored by National Geographic.
VISICORE: 3D GIS Tools for Archaeology
The VISICORE suite looks like an amazing set of tools. Within the suite there is The Artefact Exploration and Collaboration Rendering Engine (ArteCore) and The Geofact Mapping and Ren
dering Engine (GeoCore).
ArteCore is an artifact visualization and analysis program that allows users to explore Neaderthal fossils and finds. As part of the project, the TNT team and collaborators have CT scanned, created 3D models (in stl format), and 6 sided images which can all be accessed with ArteCore. Using the tools of ArteCore, these finds can be measured and analysis (using volume, angles, distance, area, etc…) as if they were the original specimens. ArteCore also has the capabilities to bring in multiple models in stl or X3D format, as well as, do CT to STL polyginization.
Further the GeoCORE Suite extends the visualization and analysis to the site level. Built off 3D Geo’s LandXPlorer, GeoCore allows for the visualization and integration of 3D GeoData in a number of popular formats. GeoCore also allows for the implementation of video, audio, and 2D media. Thematic mapping, virtual rendering, TINs, Bockstein Cross Sections, and map overlays are some of the functions supported by GeoCore.
The VISICORE suite, in total, is a multi-scalar analysis and visualization package that fits the mold of a archaeology/paleoarchaeology specific 3D GIS package. These tools are created by the TNT team and only avaliable through the NESPOS service.
NESPOS is the portal from which the vast amount of Neanderthal related data and imagery is served. In order to access this store house, you must be a member of the society. A Student membership is 30 Euro ($38.37) and a Single membership is 100 euro ($127.90). A membership includes a years access to the repository, scientific paper, VISICORE suite, and CT scans and STL 3D models of fossil finds. (I am not a member, nor affiliated with NESPOS. This is only for your information)
As an archaeologist, I have only a passive fascination with Neanderthal paleoarchaeology, but I am definitely tempted to join NESPOS just to play with the VISICORE suite of 3D GIS tool. Having scouted around a bit, I get the sense that the NESPOS is considering a limited form of public access to the Neaderthal database. As far as I am aware of, this project is the most advanced media and software enabled colobrative site going. As described by the site, a membership in NESPOS includes your own non-public data store. I assume this enables the user to store queries, notes, and favorte models and sites. Perhaps tagging is also invloved in this data store. As a comparitive project, although not Neaderthal specific, check out my post on the collabrotive archaeology data project at Open Context.
*Images are property of TNT and NESPOS
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August 9th, 2006 at 6:16 pm
Human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)/Y-chromosome phylogeography has corroborated paleo-archeological evidence that homo sapiens originated in Africa. This thus confirmed “Out of Africa” thesis corroborates my thesis at www.nodrift.com/vol_5/5.1.pdf and, more importantly, the corroboration is mutual.
The correlations of my ebook’s paper 5.1 Figs 1 & 2 lead to explanations of the “Out of Africa” hypothesis, how and why African descendents of homo erectus were more successful than Asian descendents and so on, with an important corollary:
Sexual selection may have been more important than natural selection in evolution of homo sapiens, in contrast to evolution of homo erectus, where natural selection may have been more important than sexual selection.
The correlations: Earth’s Impact Hemisphere (IH), antipodal Africa (AA), & intermediate region (IR) correlate with the New World/Oceania, Original World, & Old World, respectively, and the distribution of so-called Yellow, Black, & White coarse race categories respectively, before an ~500 year period of world colonisation which has been undoing these probably causal associations.