Virtual Reconstruction and Comparative Analyses of the Middle Pleistocene Apidima 2 Cranium (Greece).

The Apidima 2 fossil cranium from South Peloponnese is one of the most important hominin specimens from Southeast Europe. Nevertheless, there has been continuous controversy as to whether it represents a so-called Preneandertal/Homo heidelbergensis such as, for example, the Petralona cranium from Northern Greece or a more derived Neandertal. Recent absolute dating evidence alone cannot clarify the issue because both classifications would be possible during the respective Middle Pleistocene time span. Since only limited data were available on the cranium, there have been repeated claims for the need of a broader comparative study of the hominin. The present article presents a CT-based virtual reconstruction including corrections of postmortem fractures and deformation as well as detailed metrical and morphological analyses of the specimen. Endocranial capacity could be estimated for the first time based on virtual reconstruction. Our multivariate analyses of metric data from the face and vault revealed close affinities to early and later Neandertals, especially showing the derived facial morphometrics. In addition, comparative analyses of Apidima 2 were done for many derived Neandertal features. Here again, a significant number of Neandertal features could be found in the Apidima cranium but no conditions common in Preneandertals. In agreement with a later Middle Pleistocene age Apidima is currently the earliest evidence of a hominin in Europe with such a derived Neandertal facial morphology. The place of Apidima in the complex process of Neandertal evolution as well as its taxonomic classification are discussed as well. Anat Rec, 303:1374-1392, 2020. © 2019 American Association for Anatomy.

A low-cost system to acquire 3D surface data from anatomical samples

The technology of optical 3D imaging sensors or 3D scanners (laser and structured light sensors) has become widely available over the last few years. A wider diffusion of this technique in anatomical laboratories could lead to a revolution in the field of anatomy: cadaver dissections could be easily documented in 3D, and specimens stored in museums could be easily scanned and the 3D models shared. In the present article, a simple, versatile, economical and widespread 3D scanner, the Kinect sensor, is validated to show its potential use for 3D scanning of anatomical specimens. The comparison of 3D models of anatomical specimens (a collection of skulls) with the respective 2D photographs showed that 3D models were superior to the photographs, the latter being affected by some distortions due to perspective. Moreover, the 3D models allowed for measuring angles, distances, circumferences between every part of the model, or measuring volumes and surfaces, which, of course, were not available using the 2D images. Due to the low cost of this system, its simplicity of use and its widespread availability, it is desirable that in the future, anatomical specimens from museums will become more available as 3D objects. These could greatly simplify the quantitative analysis of rare specimens, such as fetal monstrosities or anatomical variations

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Preamplification procedure for the analysis of ancient DNA samples.

In ancient DNA studies the low amount of endogenous DNA represents a limiting factor that often hampers the result achievement. In this study we extracted the DNA from nine human skeletal remains of different ages found in the Byzantine cemetery of Abdera Halkidiki and in the medieval cemetery of St. Spiridion in Rhodes (Greece). Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used to detect in the extracts the presence of PCR inhibitors and to estimate the DNA content. As mitochondrial DNA was detected in all samples, amplification of nuclear targets, as amelogenin and the polymorphism M470V of the transmembrane conductance regulator gene, yielded positive results in one case only. In an effort to improve amplification success, we applied, for the first time in ancient DNA, a preamplification strategy based on TaqMan PreAmp Master Mix. A comparison between results obtained from nonpreamplified and preamplified samples is reported. Our data, even if preliminary, show that the TaqMan PreAmp procedure may improve the sensitivity of qPCR analysis.