Computer tomography scanning of Homo erectus crania Ngandong 7 from Java : Internal structure, paleopathology and post-mortem history

Background : Computer Tomography scanning has recently been a tool for diagnosis of normal anatomy and pathology in medical sciences. The CT method has also been applied in ancient human skeletal remains and yield good results for researching the morphology, pathology, and postfossilization bone alteration. Paleoanthropological evidences exhibit that biological remains sometimes are fossilises, thus enabling the pursuit of scientific inquiries in regard to anatomy and biology of ancient humains. Aims of study : to know the morphology and antomy of the crania includint the internal structures that is not feasible in external bone stydy, such air pneumatisation, the shape of frontal sinuses, and thickness of the external table, diploe, or the internal table. This study also aims to know the mineralization distribution as a result of fossilization. Material and Method : the material in this study was a fossil crania of Ngandong 7 that belongs to the latest representation of the homo erectus from Ngandong, East Java, Indonesia. Ng 7 is from the late Pleistocene period dates about 27 000 to 10 000 years agos. The CT scan was conducted in the Quinze-Vingts hospital, Paris, in January 2001. The method used is by apllying a medical CT based data in order to extract the maximum information concerning mineralization, internal cranial features, osseous distribution and disease. An adapted acquisition and analisys protocols are developed from the CT scan. Results : mineralization of Ng 7 occured during fossilization, causing the diploe to bo thickened than normally in antemortem and fossilization periodes. Because of most-mortem transformation of the individual structures, many slices of CT scans were necessary. The internal structures showed ovoid shape of frontal sinuses, and well developed pneumatisation of the mastoid region. Cracks were detected as a result of post fosilization compressions. Lesions appeared on CT scan just posterior to the bregma in the for