Abstract
In the South African context, computed tomography (CT) has been used applied to individually prepared fossils and small rocks containing fossils, but has not been utilized on large breccia blocks as a means of discovering fossils, and particularly fossil hominins. Previous attempts at CT imaging of rocks from other South African sites for this purpose yielded disappointing results. For this study, 109 fossil- bearing rocks from the site of Malapa, South Africa were scanned with medical CT prior to manual preparation. The resultant images were assessed for accuracy of fossil identification and characterization against the standard of manual preparation. The accurate identification of fossils, including those of early hominins, that were not visible on the surface of individual blocks, is shown to be possible. The discovery of unexpected fossils is reduced, thus lowering the potential that fossils could be damaged through accidental encounter during routine preparation, or even entirely missed. This study should significantly change the way fossil discovery, recovery and preparation is done in the South African context and has potential for application in other palaeontological situations. Medical CT imaging is shown to be reliable, readily available, cost effective and accurate in finding fossils within matrix conglomerates. Improvements in CT equipment and in CT image quality are such that medical CT is now a viable imaging modality for this palaeontological application.
Highlights
Fossils offer tangible evidence of the past and are important for the study of the prehistory of life on Earth
In 2009, Wu [4] stated “The suitability of medical computed tomography (CT) for the study of hominin fossils is limited by its low X-ray dosage that is unable to penetrate highly mineralized and matrix-filled specimens.”
Medical CT scanners are shown by this study to be capable of producing images that allow for the accurate identification and often characterization of fossils
Summary
Fossils offer tangible evidence of the past and are important for the study of the prehistory of life on Earth. They are typically formed through diagenesis and object replacement by a wide variety of minerals and elements [1]. Finding Fossils with CT Scans encased in hard calcified sediments. These are often referred to as breccias or calcified clastic matrix [1,3]. This breccia encases bones and varies in its hardness and density. Whilst the strength of the rock has protected the fossils, the density of the rock makes extraction of the fossils from their surrounding matrix difficult
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