Hominid skull

3D Model

This 2-million-year-old skull (DNH-155) was unearthed in 250+ fragments embedded in layers of sediment in South Africa’s “Cradle of Humankind.” Artec Space Spider scanned each fragment where it was found, as the excavation ensued over 300+ hours. Space Spider’s submillimeter scans made physical reconstruction of the skull far easier. Whenever a question arose about the original orientation and depth of a specific fragment, the researchers referred to the scans in Artec Studio software, and they had the answers in seconds. As well, Space Spider scanned each skull fragment during the reconstruction process. After the skull was physically reconstructed, Space Spider scanned the entire cranium in less than 15 minutes, the result of which you see here before you. The scanning was supported by the University of Johannesburg, a La Trobe University PhD Scholarship to researcher Jesse Martin, and an Australian Research Council Discovery project Grant (DP170100056) to Professor Andy Herries.