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The morphology and biomechanics of infant crania undergo significant changes between the pre- and post-weaning phases due to increasing loading of the masticatory system. The aims of this study were to characterize the changes in muscle forces, bite forces and the pattern of mechanical strain and stress arising from the aforementioned forces across crania in the first 48 months of life using imaging and finite element methods. A total of 51 head computed tomography scans of normal individuals were collected and analysed from a larger database of 217 individuals. The estimated mean muscle forces of temporalis, masseter and medial pterygoid increase from 30.9 to 87.0 N, 25.6 to 69.6 N and 23.1 to 58.9 N, respectively (0–48 months). Maximum bite force increases from 90.5 to 184.2 N (3–48 months). There is a change in the pattern of strain and stress from the calvaria to the face during postnatal development. Overall, this study highlights the changes in the mechanics of the craniofacial system during normal development. It further raises questions as to how and what level of changes in the mechanical forces during the development can alter the morphology of the craniofacial system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The remains that typically compose the human fossil record often bear cracks, damage, and deformations. The recent rapid development of 'virtual anthropology' has provided innovative tools to manage, study, and preserve cultural and natural heritage. Such tools include computerized tomography (CT), laser scanning, photogrammetry, 3D imaging, and rapid prototyping. These approaches can contribute to any archaeological context from the discovery of artefacts to research, preservation, and dissemination. 3D imaging techniques can substitute physical intervention with a virtual protocol to restore the original shape of a fossil specimen. In a similar way, digital morphological information can be recovered using data preserved even on a fragment through the use of 3D comparative samples. Here we present an extended and updated review of the most innovative protocols in virtual anthropology, also applicable in other fields such as natural history and cultural heritage studies, through the description of recent cast studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of the research on fossil mammals from Umbria (central Italy) has been carried out in the southwestern branch of the Tiber basin, due to its paleontological richness. This portion of the basin extends from Perugia to Terni and corresponds to a well-defined half-graben filled with fluvial-lacustrine deposits. The paleontological sample presented here was discovered in a sand and gravel quarry at Podere San Lorenzo, East of the town of Deruta. The stratigraphic succession exposed in the quarry is no longer visible, but we describe here a new outcrop (Palazzone), which is not far from Podere San Lorenzo and shows comparable facies associations. The two successions were deposited in a fluvial environment characterized by an average reduction of the hydrodynamic energy from the bottom upwards. They are referred to the Early Pleistocene Santa Maria di Ciciliano Subsyntheme (Madonna dei Bagni Lithofacies). Large mammal remains are attributed to Mammuthus cf. meridionalis (Nesti, 1825), Stephanorhinus etruscus (Falconer, 1859), Equus stenonis Cocchi, 1867, Leptobos cf. etruscus (Falconer, 1868), 'Pseudodama' nestii (Azzaroli, 1947), and Sus strozzii Forsyth Major, 1881. Some hyena coprolites are also reported. The assemblage is typical of the early Late Villafranchian Land Mammal Age and can be referred to the Olivola/Tasso Faunal Units (about 2.0-1.8 Ma). This is in agreement with the alleged age of some other assemblages found in the southwestern branch of the Tiber basin (e.g., Torre Picchio, Villa San Faustino, Colle Sant'Andrea, Pantalla). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The morphology and biomechanics of infant crania undergo significant changes between the pre- and post-weaning phases due to increasing loading of the masticatory system. The aims of this study were to characterize the changes in muscle forces, bite forces and the pattern of mechanical strain and stress arising from the aforementioned forces across crania in the first 48 months of life using imaging and finite element methods. A total of 51 head computed tomography scans of normal individuals were collected and analysed from a larger database of 217 individuals. The estimated mean muscle forces of temporalis, masseter and medial pterygoid increase from 30.9 to 87.0 N, 25.6 to 69.6 N and 23.1 to 58.9 N, respectively (0-48 months). Maximum bite force increases from 90.5 to 184.2 N (3-48 months). There is a change in the pattern of strain and stress from the calvaria to the face during postnatal development. Overall, this study highlights the changes in the mechanics of the craniofacial system during normal development. It further raises questions as to how and what level of changes in the mechanical forces during the development can alter the morphology of the craniofacial system.