Rib cage anatomy in Homo erectus suggests a recent evolutionary origin of modern human body shape.

The tall and narrow body shape of anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens) evolved via changes in the thorax, pelvis and limbs. It is debated, however, whether these modifications first evolved together in African Homo erectus, or whether H. erectus had a more primitive body shape that was distinct from both the more ape-like Australopithecus species and H. sapiens. Here we present the first quantitative three-dimensional reconstruction of the thorax of the juvenile H. erectus skeleton, KNM-WT 15000, from Nariokotome, Kenya, along with its estimated adult rib cage, for comparison with H. sapiens and the Kebara 2 Neanderthal. Our three-dimensional reconstruction demonstrates a short, mediolaterally wide and anteroposteriorly deep thorax in KNM-WT 15000 that differs considerably from the much shallower thorax of H. sapiens, pointing to a recent evolutionary origin of fully modern human body shape. The large respiratory capacity of KNM-WT 15000 is compatible with the relatively stocky, more primitive, body shape of H. erectus.

Workflows in a Virtual Morphology Lab: 3D scanning, measuring, and printing.

The aim of this paper is to give a practical overview, showing how recent available digital technology can be combined to build a laboratory capable to produce 3D (and reproduce in 3D) anatomical models for research, teaching and museum exhibitions on topics related to anatomy, morphology in natural sciences, biology and medicine. We present workflows in our Virtual Morphology Lab that can be used for research, training (museum, academic), and external service. We first review different surface scanning equipment and post-processing techniques that are useful for scanning in museum collections and provide technical recommendations for hard- and software as well as storing media on the web. This section is followed by an overview of available software packages for rigorous and effective 3D measurements of landmarks and sliding semi-landmarks, providing extensive supplementary information with guiding manuals for self-teaching in these cutting-edge but complicated research methods. We review briefly most recent work on virtual GM and describe ways for representing results in form of 3D images and 3D prints (outputs). The last part is dedicated to a summary of our experience in 3D-printing using FDM technology of differently sized printers and thermoplastic materials. Finally, we discuss the above-described workflows and its potential applications in research (paleo, biomedical), teaching and museums pedagogics.