Digital 3D facial approximation of the Petralona skull. Methodological issues and applications

Abstract

The human face is a highly specialized anatomical entity. Its appearance is a result of evolutionary processes that include biomechanical, physiological, and social influences. The facial approximation is based on the relevance of skeletal and soft tissue anatomy and aims to reconstruct a person's face from the anatomical features of the skull. In forensics, the technique focuses on the estimation of the facial characteristics of unidentified individuals. In archaeological contexts, it has been widely used for the representation of hominins, prehistoric and historic periods individuals. For the facial approximation of the Petralona man, we digitized a cast of the original skull with an Artec Spider 3D scanner of metrological accuracy up to 0.05mm. A digital model of the Mauer mandible (Germany), the holotype of Homo heidelbergensis, was used to virtually complement the skeletal anatomy of the face. Cinema4D (Maxon) was used to place soft tissue depth markers according to standard nomenclature. The digital reconstruction of facial anatomy and skin texture was developed in ZBrush (Pixologic). The facial features were approximated with the use of techniques that are based on anatomical and/or statistical evidence. The facial approximation of the Petralona skull aims to disseminate scientific information and contribute to the public understanding of evolutionary science.