Search bioRxiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/bioRxiv

bioRxiv · 10.1101/2023.08.26.553833

Forensic Facial Approximation of Achondroplastic Dwarf from Medieval Cemetery in Central Europe

Moraes, C.·Krenz-Niedbała, M.·Łukasik, S.·Prada, C. S.
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Achondroplasia (ACH, achondroplastic dwarfism) represents the most common form of skeletal dysplasia, occurring in c. 4 out of every 100,000 births. This study presents a computer-based facial approximation of the skull of a male individual suffering from ACH, who died at 30-45 years of age and was buried in ekno, Poland between the 9th and 11th centuries AD. For the approximation procedure, soft tissue data from CT scans and ultrasonic measurements performed on living individuals were used. Additionally, the anatomical deformation technique was applied to arrive at the most reliable reconstruction of the dwarfs appearance. To our knowledge, this is the first recreation of a person with achondroplasia, and one of the few showing a head of an individual suffering from a hereditary disease, with dimensions and shape differing from the population average values. Highlights- Forensic facial approximation of an achondroplastic dwarf from 9th-11th century AD has been performed as the first in the world - The applied procedure included CT of a virtual donor - Anatomical deformation technique allowed to extract the endocast, revealing a large volume of the endocranium - Few measurements applied to the facial skeleton proved successful in identification of a person suffering from achondroplasia

Explore related subjects

paleontologyPreprint

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Moraes, C., Krenz-Niedbała, M., Łukasik, S., Prada, C. S.. 2023-08-28. Forensic Facial Approximation of Achondroplastic Dwarf from Medieval Cemetery in Central Europe. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.08.26.553833

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related preprints

bioRxiv2026

Constraining Palaeogeography and Palaeotides for the Cambrian using cnidarian medusae

The ocean tides influence key Earth system processes at a range of spatial and temporal scales. It is known that the geometry of ocean basins is the leading controller of tidal energetics, so well-constrained palaeogeographic reconstructions and tidal properties for Earths past are imperative when investigating other Earth system processes. Here, we present a novel way to constrain both deep-time tidal model results and reconstructions, by combining palaeoecology with sedimentology. We compare new palaeo-tidal model simulations for the Cambrian period, significant for the early origin and radiation of major animal fauna, to tidal proxies. One of the most abundant soft-bodied organisms preserved during this time are cnidarian medusae (jellyfish). A total of 17 cnidarian medusae localities were obtained through the literature, which had an adequate global distribution and occurred at regular intervals throughout the period of study. In some locations there were also estimates of palaeo-tidal range. Our results show a good agreement between the simulations and proxy data. In the few locations where there is disagreement, it is proposed that the palaeogeographic reconstructions are missing details, e.g., island chains, and our results allow for the palaeogeographic reconstructions to be improved. The proxy method presented is promising and can be applied to other time-periods with different marine fossils, particularly at evolutionary and extinction periods where the marginal marine environment is of importance.

paleontology↗
bioRxiv2024

Rapid riparian ecosystem recovery in low-latitudinal North China following the end-Permian mass extinction

The greatest mass extinction at the end of the Permian, ca. 252 million years ago, led to a tropical dead zone on land and sea. The speed of recovery of life has been debated, whether fast or slow, and terrestrial ecosystems are much less understood than marine. Here, we show fast reestablishment of riparian ecosystems in low-latitude North China as little as [~]2 million years after the end-Permian mass extinction. The initial ichnoassemblages in shallow lacustrine and fluvial facies of late Smithian age are monospecific, devoid of infaunalization, with apparent size reduction. In the following Spathian, relatively complex, multi-level, structured riverain ecosystems had been rebuilt including medium-sized carnivores, plant stems, root traces, increased ichnological complexity, and significantly increased infaunalization. Specifically, burrowing behavior had re-emerged as a key life strategy not only to minimize stressful climatic conditions, but possibly to escape predation.

paleontology↗
bioRxiv2024

Selection, Evolution and Persistence of Paleoecological Systems

1The Phanerozoic fossil record can be organized as a nested set of persistent paleoecological units, ranging from paleocommunities to the Evolutionary Faunas. This paper argues that the basis for ecological persistence on geological timescales is rooted in the robustness of ecological communities, that is, the resistance and resilience of communities when perturbed by the environment. Here I present the Ecological Functional Networks Hypothesis (EFNH) that proposes that networks of species functions, or Ecological Functional Networks (EFNs), underlie ecological stasis and persistence, and that EFNs are both subject to selection and evolve. An EFN varies if the species composition and hence functional structures of its constituent communities vary, and EFNs may differ from each other based on the robustness of those constituent communities, numerical representation, and biogeographic distribution. That variation is subject to selection acting on EFN community composition, and determines both the persistence of an EFN and the differential persistence among multiple EFNs. Selection pressures on EFNs in turn exert top-down influence on species evolution and extinction. Evidence is presented to both establish the reality of EFNs in the fossil record, for example community structures that persist even as species composition changes, and the selection of EFNs, which is apparent during and after episodes of severe biotic turnover such as mass extinctions. Finally, tests are suggested that make the EFNH falsifiable, including testing the correlation between EFNs or EFN emergent traits and geological persistence, and using models of paleocommunity dynamics to examine the relationship between community or EFN robustness and geological persistence. The tests should be applied broadly throughout the Phanerozoic and diverse environments. The EFNH is part of a growing body of hypotheses that address multilevel selection and evolution of non-reproducing systems, including ecosystems and entire biospheres, and addresses those concepts on geological timescales.

paleontology↗