And so the Official Dissertation Research Begins...

I have decided to start a blog to chronicle my travels to museums to collect data for my dissertation in biological anthropology.  This summer I will be traveling to museums across Europe to laser scan fossil and recent crania and mandibles from humans and our nearest extinct relatives (i.e., members of the genus Homo throughout the Pleistocene and Holocene epochs) to study why we have a chin.  I will be using this nifty device to collect data: the NextEngine Laser Scanner (be forewarned- when you click on this link a video will start playing with Jay Leno touting the awesomeness of this device- it is just a happy coincidence that this very "chinny" individual happens to be a proponent of the device I'm using to measure chins!)

A Homo sapiens chin.

For those of you wondering why on earth I'm studying this very specific topic, there are a number of important reasons.  The presence of a "chin," that is, the bony projection on the anterior surface of the midline of the mandible, or lower jaw, is something that within the human lineage, is predominantly only present in our own species, Homo sapiens.  Therefore, I am studying why we have this particular morphological feature in comparison to our closest relatives (more on this later) and how specifically the front of our lower jaw differs from our closest extinct relatives in order to assess whether features of the chin can be useful for making species determinations in the fossil record.  In addition to these important anthropological questions, better understanding the evolutionary development of the morphology of this region has implications for improving modern patient treatment, whether it be orthodontic treatments, or treatments of other craniofacial pathologies.

Specifically, I will laser scan a bunch of skulls from Homo sapiens, Neanderthals, Homo heidelbergensis (i.e., Middle-Pleistocene Homo), and Homo erectus.  These scans will render 3D images of the skeletal material on my computer screen so that I can take detailed measurements and assess the chin morphology across species as well as the relationships between the morphology of the chin and other aspects of the craniofacial skeleton.  For this research, I must travel to the places housing these priceless fossils to create the scans.

I will be gone May 18 - August 24, 2013.  First stop: London.  Last stop: London.  In between: A LOT.  You'll be updated as I go along. :)  In the future of my dissertation research, I may also travel to other parts of the world (including Asia and Africa), but that is to be determined.

And by the way, the blog name "Mentum Aweseum" is the result of super nerdy word play (surprise).  One of the fancy anatomical terms for the chin is "Mentum Osseum."  Various fellow nerdy bioanth friends (and Nick) are cool enough to tell me that because I study the chin I'm "Mentum Aweseum".  Get it?  

Depending on how this blog goes, I may move into discussing things in the future beyond just the chin.  But for the time being, Mentum Aweseum it is!