ArticlePDF Available

The Alleged Skull of Sophocles: Anthropological and Paleopathological Confutation of a 19th Century Myth (2020)

Authors:
  • Independent Researcher
MESOGHEIA
Studi di storia e archeologia della Sicilia antica
Collana fondata e diretta da
Marina Congiu, Calogero Miccichè, Simona Modeo
4
Teatro, musica e danza
nella Sicilia Antica
Atti del XV Convegno di studi
sulla Sicilia antica
a cura di
Marina Congiu, Calogero Miccichè, Simona Modeo
Edizioni Lussografica
XV CONVEGNO DI STUDI
“Teatro, musica e danza nella Sicilia antica”
Palazzo Moncada – Sala degli Oratori
Caltanissetta 16 Marzo 2019
Organizzazione:
SiciliAntica, sede di Caltanissetta
Con il patrocinio di:
Libero Consorzio Comunale di Caltanissetta
Comune di Caltanissetta
Con il contributo di:
Falletta Ceramiche
Art&Spettacoli
Savoja
Tentazioni e Sapori
Cartoleria D’Angelo
Con la collaborazione di:
Assostampa Sicilia
Pro Loco di Caltanissetta
Comitato organizzatore:
Laura Alù, Massimo Arnone, Lillo Cammarata, Silvana Chiara,
Marina Congiu, Stefania D’angelo, Noemi Giannone, Michelangelo Lacagnina,
Calogero Miccichè, Sergio Milazzo, Simona Modeo
Redazione Atti:
Marina Congiu, Calogero Miccichè, Simona Modeo
Segreteria organizzativa:
Massimo Arnone, Silvana Chiara, Marina Congiu,
Stefania D’angelo, Simona Modeo, Sergio Milazzo
La qualità scientifica dei contributi inclusi nel presente volume
è garantita dal processo di peer review da parte di revisori qualificati
© Edizioni Lussografica 2020
in collaborazione con SiciliAntica - Caltanissetta
Printed in Italy
www.edizioni-lussografica.com
ISBN 978-88-8243-454-0
In copertina: Vulci. Particolare di lekythos attica a fondo bianco (V sec. a.C.)
con suonatrice di lyra, da Archeo 80, 1991
The Alleged Skull of Sophocles:
Anthropological and Paleopathological Confutation
of a 19th Century Myth
di Francesco M. Galassi, Michael E. Habicht, Cicero Moraes, Elena Varotto*
A famous playwright’s final years and demise
Sophocles is remembered as one of the greatest poets and playwrights in
history. Allegedly the author of over one hundred tragedies, only seven survive
to this day. While much has been written and said about his life and literary
production, the events characterizing his final years are still nebulous and abun-
dant with anecdotes of rather dubious trustworthiness. One of these is about
his being sued by his own son Iophon because he was apparently no longer ca-
pable of managing the family fortune due to a supposed dementia.
On this subject Cicero writes:
Sophocles ad summam senectutem tragoedias fecit; quod propter studium
cum rem neglegere familiarem videretur, a filiis in iudicium vocatus est, ut,
quem ad modum nostro more male rem gerentibus patribus bonis interdici
solet, sic illum quasi desipientem a re familiari removerent iudices. Tum senex
dicitur eam fabulam, quam in manibus habebat et proxime scripserat,
Oedipum Coloneum, recitasse iudicibus quaesisseque, num illud carmen de-
sipientis videretur. Quo recitato sententiis iudicum est liberatus1.
* F.M.G.: Flinders University and FAPAB Research Center; M.E.H.: Flinders University;
C.M.: Arc-Team, Cles-TN, Italy; E.V.: Università degli Studi di Catania, Flinders University
and FAPAB Research Center. The researchers would like to express their gratitude to all
the colleagues who helped improving this study with their suggestions and bibliographic
assistance, in particular Professors Maciej Henneberg (Adelaide, Australia) and Giovanni
Spani (Worcester, MA, USA). Last but not least, they express their gratitude to Mr Owen
Burke for proofreading this manuscript.
1 Cic. De Senectute, 7.22. The story is found in other ancient sources such as Plutarch,
Apuleius, Lucian, etc.
Although no certainty exists that this account really records an event that
happened in Sophocles’ life, it is important from a paleo-neurological per-
spective because his cognitive functions appeared to be well preserved. In
particular, the fact that the old poet perfectly recited a play he had recently
written2 testifies that, unlike typically seen in Alzheimer-related dementia3,
his short-term memory was substantially unaffected4.
Furthermore, several theories exist on how Sophocles expired aged 90 in
406/405 BC5. These include his inability to pause while reciting his work
Antigone, his dying of happiness after being victorious at the Great Dionysia6
and, finally, choking on a grape during the Anthesteria festival. These ac-
counts are undoubtedly late apocryphal explanations of Sophocles’ death
and, as acutely observed by M. Leftkowitz, “[e]ach of these deaths is appro-
priate for a poet, but at the same time degrading.”7. In the classicist’s inter-
pretation, the story of the “killer” grape has a symbolic value, since grapes
are linked to Dionysus, one of the key gods of theatre8. Nonetheless, despite
this more likely “allegorical” solution, the choking version deserves attention
since from a physiopathological perspective it has a certain rationale. Indeed,
254 Francesco M. Galassi - Michael E. Habicht - Cicero Moraes - Elena Varotto
2 One of Sophocles’ ancient biographers, Satyrus of Callatis Pontica (late 3rd–early 2nd
centuries BC), reports that the old playwright, before reciting the Oedipus at Colonus, said:
«If I am Sophocles I’m not senile, if I am senile, I’m not Sophocles» (Lefkowitz 2012, p.
82). Although the story may have originated from a real life event, some scholars, especially
Mary Leftkowitz (Lefkowitz 2012, pp. 82-83), tend to see it as an element derived from a
now lost comedy on Sophocles’ family. Despite its actual origin, this anecdote shows how
a certain degree of understanding of the correlation between old age and short-term memory
as well as cognitive functions had been empirically reached.
3 Jahn 2013.
4 “[Q]uam in manibus habebat” indicates that part of his effort, while reciting the verses
of his play, may have been mitigated by the act of reading aloud, which implies that a certain
deterioration of Sophocles’ memory (understandable given the remarkable age he had rea-
ched) should still be considered. Notwithstanding, a proper (and convincing) recitation
must have also implied a considerable degree of memorization.
5 Such remarkable ages are not uncommon in contemporary societies, while they were
mostly anecdotal in the past. Another example is that of the sophist Gorgias of Leontinoi
(c. 483-c. 376 BC), who allegedly passed away at the age of 108.
6 Named after the god Dionysus, in whose honour this festival was held in Athens in
March.
7 Lefkowitz 2012, p. 83.
8 Ibidem. For more details on how biomedical elements can interact with fictional stories
and produce anecdotes on the deaths of ancient historical characters, vd. the study (inclu-
ding F.M. Galassi and E. Varotto as coauthors) “Aeschylus’ Legendary Head Trauma: Ref-
lections on Pseudopathology and the Origins of Mythology”, in the Journal of Craniofacial
Surgery, 2020, 31(1), pp. 30-31.
grapes, thanks to their smooth, rounded and deformable surface, do repre-
sent a remarkable hazard and their ingestion can result in a life-threatening
occlusion of the laryngeal inlet9, which even nowadays becomes very difficult
to remove by implementing first aid, such as the Heimlich manoeuvre10.
The quest for Sophocles’ tomb
After Sophocles’ death, as can be read in the anonymous Vita Sophoclis,
the poet’s body was brought to his family’s tomb situated outside the city
walls, along the way to Decelea (Δεκέλεια)11.
Following this description to the letter, twenty-three centuries later, a Danish
civil servant12, Ludwig Münter13, performed archaeological excavations near
Athens, in the area of Colonus, in 1893 in order to discover the famous tomb.
Münter’s initial enthusiasm rapidly evaporated when it became clear that no-
thing was to be found there. However, not at all discouraged by this failure, the
researcher’s interest focused on a different area, that corresponding to where
the ancient walls of Decelea, modern-day Palaiokastro (Παλαιόκαστρο)14 were.
This time the search bore fruit: three sarchophagi were discovered, one contai-
ning a skeleton and other objects, including a strigil and a stick, all items dated
back to the 5th century BC. The skull (fig. 1) of that skeleton became the centre
of international scientific attention and curiosity.
Münter declared that the tomb and the remains belonged to Sophocles,
although a precise identification of those finds could not be made due to the
lack of fundamental data, such as inscriptions15.
Teatro, musica e danza nella Sicilia antica 255
9 The risk is certainly high in children but can also present with the elderly. For an in-
depth analysis of the problem, vd. Kramarow et al. 2014.
10 Heimlich 1974. For more information on food-related choking in classical antiquity,
cf. Galassi et al.’s forthcoming historico-medical study “Soffocare nell’Antica Roma: anno-
tazioni storico-mediche su di un passo di Apuleio (tardo II secolo d.C.)”.
11 Lefkowitz 2012, Appendix, p. 151 and Schultz 1836, pp. 159-160. The tomb was said
to be located 11 stades (given that 1 Greek stade = ¾ English foot, approx. 2-2.5 km) from
the walls of Athens.
12 “General director of the royal possessions of Greece” (cf. The Waterwille Mail, Vol.
47, No. 14, 1st September, 1893).
13 The spelling Münter is to be found in the German language publications, while Mynter
(especially referred to Ludwig’s brother, Herman) is preferred in English.
14 Cf. Münter 1893: the appendixed map clarifies that the area of Παλαιόκαστρον is the
mound which the Spartans occupied and fortified during the Peloponnesian War (vd.
McCredie 1966, p. 58).
15 Grmek 1991, p. 66.
A problematic skull and a distinguished pathologist
It is at this point of the story that another character needs to be introdu-
ced: Rudolf Virchow (1821-1902, fig. 2), eminent pathologist and one of the
most brilliant scientists of his day. Virchow is the scientist chosen by Münter
to anthropologically certify the authenticity of the mortal remains as those
of the great 5th century Greek tragedian.
The Prussian physician informs his Danish correspondent that16:
Der Schädel ist zwefellos ein männlicher, und musz der Mann nach dem Zus-
tande der Zähne zu schliessen in der zweiten Hälfte des Lebens gestorben
sein. Bei der Untersuchung hat es sich gezeigt, dasz der Schädel sehr schief
(plageocephal) ist; dieses kommt von einer ausgedehnten Synostose der Su-
tura temporalis squamosa, ein sehr ungewöhnliches Verhältnisz. Im Uebrigen
ist der Schaedel von typisch griechischer Gestalt, dolicocephal, aber doch
nur relativ breit, das Gesicht schmal, die Nase stark vortretend und kräftig,
der Oberkiefer-Vorsatz kurz17.
Surprisingly, Virchow only focuses on the skull, avoiding to comment
on the rest of the skeleton. Two explanations can be reasonably given to
this apparently unscientific choice:
athe rest of the skeleton got destroyed (Grmek’s view)18. It is impossible
to tell whether this had already occurred in ancient times since Münter
merely mentions the discovery of the «skeleton»19, without touching
upon the preserved anatomical parts. Interestingly, in one of the pho-
tographs appended to Münter’s publication, the skull can be seen
among other artefacts, as if some sort of bioarchaeological trophy. Did
Münter deliberately ignore the rest of the skeleton from the very start?
Or did it simply decay after its disinterment? The latter option may
find some justification in the comparison between the said photograph
and the drawings in a publication on this topic by Virchow clearly sho-
256 Francesco M. Galassi - Michael E. Habicht - Cicero Moraes - Elena Varotto
16 Letter dated 11th May 1893, cf. Münter 1893.
17 “The skull is undoubtedly male, and according to the dental condition, the man must
have died in the second half of his life. The examination showed that the skull is very slanted
(plagiocephalic); this comes from an extensive synostosis of the temporal squamosal suture,
a very unusual relationship. The skull is of typical Greek shape, dolicocephalic, but only
relatively broad, the face narrow, the nose strongly protruding and strong, the maxillary
process short.” – translation by the authors.
18 Grmek 1991, p. 66.
19 “Squelette” in Münter’s work.
wing some post-exhumation post-mortal tooth loss, namely of one
maxillary incisor20;
bthe German pathologist, like many other scholars back then, was pri-
marily interested in studying the skull, hence he chose to neglect other
skeletal parts. Since the skull had been presented to him as Sophocles’,
it appears logical that, in an era dominated by craniometry and racial
anthropology, Virchow opted to elucidate the cranial anatomy of a ge-
nius21.
Furthermore, Virchow, while discussing the plagiocephalic aspect of the
skull22, could not resist indulging in phrenological and criminal anthropolo-
gical speculation, which he, nonetheless, sees as sensible anatomopatholo-
gical considerations:
Nach modernen Vorstellungen würde man daraus vielleicht eine Prädispo-
sition zu verbrecherischen Handlungen ableiten; frühere Pathologen gedach-
ten dabei leichter der Excentricitäten der Dichter und Schwärmer3.
In sum, although unable to certify the skull as Sophocles’, a man who
died at 90, Virchow’s study, accompanied by anatomically accurate drawings
(figs. 3-5) still did not manage to close the case. Quite to the contrary, in a
lengthier publication than the note he had sent to Ludwig Münter24, he, in
a way, corroborated the identification with a man deceased in the second
half of his life by affirming that«Der Schaedel aus dem Marmor-Sarkophag
von Menidi25 ist der eines alten Mannes26. In that same year, the skull left
Europe to be exhibited at the World’s Colombian Exposition in Chicago.
Teatro, musica e danza nella Sicilia antica 257
20 The photograph is in frontal view, cf. Münter 1893.
21 That an atmosphere of spasmodic expectation had been created around the skull is
evident from the words used in a column in the Chicago Tribune (“The alleged skull of
Sophocles”, 25th October 1893): “Prof. Virchow of Berlin is the authority to whom the con-
tending camps have consented to appeal, and by his judgement, reinforced as it will doubtless
be by that of archaeologists and men of science with whom Germany abounds, the question
will, provisionally at least, be settled.”
22 Münter 1893, p. 11.
23 “One could deduce from it a predisposition to criminal activity, though older pathol-
ogists would instead have associated it with the eccentricities of a poet or a utopian. – trans-
lation from Grmek 1991, p. 67.
24 Münter 1893, p. 11.
25 Menidi, another name for Acharnes, close to the site of Decelea.
26 “The skull from the marble sarchophagus from Menidi is that of an old man.” – trans-
lation by the authors. However, he is more cautious later by writing that the individual’s
age cannot be established with certainty. Virchow 1893, p. 694.
Ludwig Münter shipped his discovery to his own brother Herman (1845-
1903), who was Professor of Clinical Surgery at the University of Buffalo27.
Historical, anthropological and paleopathological analysis
As underlined by Grmek, Ludwig Münter’s discovery was immediately
harshly criticized by German philologists and its weaknesses highlighted but
a final demonstration of its nonauthenticity was missing.
To solve this problem, we reexamined the case by applying a multidisci-
plinary approach.
First of all, an attempt was made to identify the current location of the
skull, which some believe to have been Copenhagen after the 1893 Chicago
exposition28. Both scholars supporting this view simply refer to «a Copen-
hagen museum», without indicating what their source is for this piece of in-
formation and giving any further details: this is confirmed by the absolute
difficulty tracing this item in any of the top anthropological collections and
museums in Copenhagen.
Form the historical perspective, by consulting American newspapers from
the end of the 19th century, it can be easily found that, after the 1893 exhibi-
tion the skull attributed to Sophocles was still in the United States, to end
up at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo (NY) in 1901. Already in
1898, when the exposition was being organized, the presence of the skull
was a heatedly debated topic. Much less emphatic and, to a certain degree,
sceptical was the tone used in a column in the Chicago Tribune29, the same
newspaper that five years before had celebrated the arrival of that precious
lay relic to the U.S. At that point, “the evidence of its authenticity [was] cir-
cumstantial to a degree” and “[s]umming up the evidence, [viz. the story of
its discovery] does not appear to favour the authenticity of the skull”.
Another dreadful event, however, would put the question of the authen-
258 Francesco M. Galassi - Michael E. Habicht - Cicero Moraes - Elena Varotto
27 Herman Mynter (for the spelling cf. note 11) graduated in medicine at the University
of Copenaghen in 1871 and moved to the United States in 1875.
28 Grmek 1991, p. 66; Jouanna 2018, p. 101.
29 Chicago Tribune, “Is Sophocles’ Head at the Fair?”, 9th August, 1898. The same in-
formation about the location of the skull can also be confirmed in an article in the Swedish
language newspaper Scandinavia, published in Worcester, Massachusetts, and widely read
by the East Coast Swedish American community: “[…] som skall utställas i antropologiska
byggnaden vid utställningen i Chicago” («to be exhibited in the Anthropological Building
at the Chicago Exhibition»).
ticity of Sophocles’ skull in the background: the assassination of U.S. presi-
dent William McKinley30, who was shot in the abdomen by Polish-American
anarchist Leon Frank Czołgosz (fig. 6). The first surgeon to assist the presi-
dent was Herman Mynter, who already happened to be at the fair and who
had been instrumental, as seen above, in bringing the skull to this exhibition
as well as to the previous one of 189331. Despite Mynter’s and his colleagues’
surgical skills, president McKinley died on 14th September 1901, and as the
Buffalo Exposition ended, the skull fell into oblivion.
Anthropologically, the anatomically precise drawings found in Virchow’s
1893 publication can be examined in lieu of the real skull. The presence of
an erupted third molar (left maxillary hemiarcade) (fig. 4B) and the degree
of closure of the cranial sutures suggest an adult individual with a mean age
of 35 years (from young to middle adult, that is 20-50 years following the
Buikstra & Ubelaker age categories and, obviously, based on what can be
appreciated from the drawings)32, these data also allow us to exclude that
the skull belonged to a senile individual (figs. 3,4). In addition, unlike hypo-
thesized by Virchow, the plagiocephaly the skull presents with (fig. 5) is not
of the synostotic type (i.e. caused by an early closure of some cranial sutures)
but of the positional one, mild to moderate in presentation. Frequently seen
in infants, it can preserve the reached morphology if not timely corrected.
In addition, in order to recreate this ancient individual’s facial features
both traditional facial approximation (fig. 7) and, to evaluate if there were
any significant matches with known statues, its superimposition on a bust of
Sophocles from the Vatican collection (fig. 8)33 were performed. Although
it is accepted that the anatomical features of the Sophocles busts and statues
may reflect an artistic canon rather than an ad verum representation, the su-
perimposition shows that the two images do not match, particularly at nasal
and orbital level, hence additionally excluding the skull as potentially So-
phocles’.
Moreover, computer-based facial reconstructions of the soft tissues have
been implemented (fig. 9).
Paleopathologically, besides a small osteoma on the frontal bone (fig. 3A),
two depressed fractures, one on the frontal bone (fig. 3A) and one on the
right parietal bone (fig. 4A), deserve attention since they most likely repre-
Teatro, musica e danza nella Sicilia antica 259
30 Born in 1843, he was the 25th president of the United States.
31 Cf. The Waterwille Mail, Vol. 47, No. 14, 1st September, 1893 (quoting the Chicago
Tribune), where it is clearly stated that «it is owned by Dr. Herman Mynter of Buffalo».
32 Buikstra & Ubelaker 1994, p. 9.
33 Studniczka 1923, p. 58 (fig. 1).
260 Francesco M. Galassi - Michael E. Habicht - Cicero Moraes - Elena Varotto
sent peri-mortem traumas, potentially responsible for the individual’s cause
of death.
Conclusions
This study leads to multiple advancements. Firstly, it anthropologically
demonstrates that the skull found in 1893 does not match at all an individual
with Sophocles’ biological profile. Secondly, it restored to the long-disputed
remains part of their true identity, including the reconstruction of the indi-
vidual’s face. Thirdly, it posits the Pseudo-Sophocles’s cause of death to have
been of a violent, traumatic nature. Fourthly, it shows how, unlike main-
tained by contemporary historians, the skull was not sent to Copenhagen to
lie there in a museum after the 1893 Chicago Fair, yet it was still in America
in 1901. Fifthly, this case, examined in the light of similar 19th century in-
stances of false identifications of famous historical characters such as the
presumed remains of Malatesta Novello (1418-1465), Lord of Cesena34,
could catalyze a discussion on the trend and cultural anthropological drive
that led past scholars and enthusiasts to classify as genuine evidently ques-
tionable relics.
Finally, should it ever be possible to recover the skull, a more detailed
high-end analysis and firmer conclusions could be established on a century-
old riddle.
34 Galassi et al. 2019, pp. 33-39.
References
Buikstra & Ubelaker 1994 = J.E. Buikstra-D.H. Ubelaker, Standards for data collection from
human skeletal remains, in Archeological Survey. Research Series, Fayetteville 1994, 44.
Cummings 2011 = C. Cummings, Positional plagiocephaly, in Paediatrics and Child Health,
2011, 16(8), pp. 493–494.
Galassi et al. 2019 = F.M. Galassi-P. Errani-E. Varotto, Paleopatografia e antropologia di Ma-
latesta Novello, in P. Errani e M. Mengozzi (eds.), Le ossa del signore di Cesena? Indagini
sui presunti resti di Malatesta Novello, Quaderni della Biblioteca Malatestiana, Cesena
2019, pp. 33-39.
Grmek 1991 = M.D. Grmek, Diseases in the Ancient Greek World, Johns Hopkins Univer-
sity Press, Baltimore 1991, pp. 65-69.
Heimlich 1974 = H. J. Heimlich, Pop Goes the Café Coronary, in Emergency Medicine,
1974, 6, pp. 154-155.
Jahn 2013 = H. Jahn, Memory loss in Alzheimer’s disease, in Dialogues in Clinical Neuros-
cience, 2013, 15(4), pp. 445–454.
Jouanna 2018 = J. Jouanna, Sophocles. A study of his theater in its political and social context,
Princeton University press, Princeton 2018.
Kramarow et al. 2014 = E. Kramarow-M. Warner-L.H. Chen, Food-related choking deaths
among the elderly, in Injury Prevention, 2014, 20(3), pp. 200-203.
Lefkowitz 2012 = M.R. Lefkowitz, The Lives of the Greek Poets, Johns Hopkins University
Press, Baltimore 2012, pp. 78-86.
McCredie 1966 = J.R. McCredie, Fortified Military Camps in Attica, ASCSA, Hesperis
Supplement XI, Princeton, New Jersey 1966.
Münter 1893 = L.W. Münter, Das Grab des Sophokles, Druck von Grebrueder Perris, Athen
1893.
Schultz 1836 = F. Schultz, De vita Sophoclis poetae commentatio, H.A.W. Logier, Berlin
1836.
Studniczka 1923 = F. Studniczka, The Sophocles Statues, in The Journal of Hellenic Studies,
1923, 43 (1), pp. 57-67.
Virchow 1893 = R. Virchow, Über griechischen Schädel aus alter und neuer Zeit und über
einen Schädel von Menidi, der für des Sophokles gehalten ist, Sitzungsberichte der Köni-
glich Preußischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin, 1893.
Teatro, musica e danza nella Sicilia antica 261
262 Francesco M. Galassi - Michael E. Habicht - Cicero Moraes - Elena Varotto
Fig. 1 Photograph of the alleged skull of Sophocles (frontal view, from
Münter, 1893). A depressed fracture on the frontal bone can be seen in the
same position as indicated by the orange arrow in fig. 3A
Teatro, musica e danza nella Sicilia antica 263
Fig. 3 Sophocles’ alleged skull in its frontal (A) and posterior (B) views (cf. Virchow’s
1893 publication, to which the original figure numbers refer). A. Red arrow: frontal bone
osteoma; orange arrow: depressed fracture on the frontal bone
Fig. 2 Rudolf Carl Virchow (1821-1902). Image
in the public domain, available at: https://en.wiki-
pedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Virchow#/media/File:Ru-
dolf_Virchow_NLM3.jpg
264 Francesco M. Galassi - Michael E. Habicht - Cicero Moraes - Elena Varotto
Fig. 4 Lateral views of the skull (from Virchow, 1893). A. Purple arrow: depressed fracture
on the right parietal bone. B. Black arrow: presence of the third molar on the left maxillary
hemiarcade
Teatro, musica e danza nella Sicilia antica 265
Fig. 5 Superior (A) and inferior (B) views of the skull (from Virchow, 1893). A, B. Blue
arrows: plagiocephaly
Fig. 6 Assassination of U.S.
president William McKinley at
the hands of Polish-American
anarchist Leon Frank Czołgosz
(1873-1901) in Buffalo on 6th
September 1901. Drawing by
Thomas Dart Walker (1868-
1914). Image in the public do-
main, available at:
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/As
sassinio_di_William_McKin-
ley#/media/File:McKinleyAssas-
sination.jpg
266 Francesco M. Galassi - Michael E. Habicht - Cicero Moraes - Elena Varotto
Fig. 7 – Facial approximation from the skull attributed to Sophocles (frontal view)
by M.E. Habicht
Teatro, musica e danza nella Sicilia antica 267
Fig. 8 Cranio-facial superimposition: drawing of the skull on the Vatican So-
phocles bust reproduced in Studniczka (1923). It is evident how there is no si-
gnificant anatomical match
268 Francesco M. Galassi - Michael E. Habicht - Cicero Moraes - Elena Varotto
Fig. 9 Steps of the facial reconstruction and their final results, i.e. the face of the Pseudo-
Sophocles(frontal and three-quarter views) – by C. Moraes
... The team that composed this work has a broad and long experience in the structural reconstruction of scenarios from a single photo (Moraes, 2013b) and skulls from several photos (Moraes, 2013c) or orthographic images (Moraes, 2013a). Two works carried out by the authors of this publication used skulls modelled from the intersection of two-dimensional data (photos), such as the case of the pseudo-Sophocles in 2020 (Galassi et al., 2020) and Saint Vincent de Paul in 2022 (Moraes et al., 2022a). ...
Article
Full-text available
This article offers a novel and original facial reconstruction of pharaoh Tutankhamun based on data published in the biomedical and Egyptological literature. The reconstruction adopts the Blender 3D software, running the add-on OrtogOnBlender, which allows for a refined presentation of the soft tissues. The present reconstruction is also compared to other approaches produced in the past.
Chapter
Full-text available
Google Machine translator: https://ortogonline-com.translate.goog/doc/pt_br/OrtogOnLineMag/8/Copernicus.html?_x_tr_sl=pt&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=pt-BR&_x_tr_pto=wapp
Chapter
Full-text available
O presente capítulo tem por objetivo apresentar os resultados de um estudo efetuado com 35 exames de tomografia computadorizada (CT-Scan) anônimas de moldavos e comparar os números com estudos semelhantes efetuados em brasileiros [A23] [A19] e malaios [A13]. O trabalho procurou investigar estruturas cranianas em projeção mé-dia ortográfica (2D) a fim de que funcionassem como preditores para a dimensão de importantes regiões frontais da face como a posição das pupilas, linha central dos lábios (ch-ch), asas nasais e a projeção lateral do nariz, a partir de modelos tridimensionais do crânio. Atenção: Este material utiliza a seguinte licença Creative Commons: Atribuição 4.0 Internacional (CC BY 4.0).
Chapter
Full-text available
A estimativa de ancestralidade a partir do crânio é uma das abordagens mais desafiadoras no processo de aproximação facial forense. Existem várias técnicas disponíveis, desde aquelas com a mensuração de algumas regiões do crânio ,outras com estimativa de rating e até aquelas baseadas em inteligência artificial. É fato que nenhuma delas oferece um grau de certeza de 100% em face aos resultados, abrindo espaço para estudos que possam complementar essa área da antropologia. No caso da aproximação facial forense, algumas características relacionadas à ancestralidade podem fazer significativa diferença na compatibilização da aproximação com a face real.
Book
Full-text available
Handbuch der Paläopathologie und Mumienforschung Ein Nachschlagewerk für archäologische Methodik der Dokumentation von Mumien, Röntgen, Gesichtsrekonstruktion, anthropometische Messpunkte, Paläopathologie und Diagnosen. Mit zahlreichen Links zu Fachzeitschriften und Literaturangaben.
Chapter
Full-text available
O presente capítulo tem por objetivo apresentar os resultados de um estudo efetuado com 34 exames de tomografia computadorizada (CT-Scan) anônimas de malaios e comparar os números com estudos se-melhantes efetuados em brasileiros. O trabalho procurou investigar estruturas cranianas, em projeção média orto-gráfica (2D) a fim de que funcionassem como preditores para a di-mensão de importantes regiões frontais da face como a posição das pupilas, linha central dos lábios (ch-ch), asas nasais e a projeção lateral do nariz, a partir de modelos tridimensionais do crânio. 73
Chapter
Full-text available
O presente capítulo tem por objetivo apresentar os resultados de um estudo efetuado com 33 exames de tomografia computadorizada de feixe cônico (TCFC) anônimas. O estudo procurou investigar estruturas cranianas, em projeção média ortogonal (2D) a fim de que funcionassem como preditores para a dimensão de importantes regiões frontais da face como a posição das pupilas, linha central dos lábios (ch-ch), asas nasais e outros, a partir de modelos tridimensionais do crânio.
Chapter
Full-text available
A fotogrametria é uma das tecnologias mais populares no contexto de documentação tridimensional. Mas, se por um lado se apresenta como uma alternativa de baixo custo frente aos caríssimos scanners 3D, por outro não oferece uma opção universal e acessível de redi-mensionamento automático dos objetos digitalizados. Neste capí-tulo o leitor conhecerá as novas ferramentas de alinhamento e re-dimensionamento automático de objetos, bem como a limpeza dos pontos utilizados para reforçar a precisão do algoritmo.
Article
Full-text available
During 2007-2010 in the USA, 2214 deaths among people aged ≥65 were attributed to choking on food. The death rate for this cause is higher among the elderly than among any other age group. Using data from the US National Vital Statistics System, we examined the relationship between food suffocation and other causes of death listed on the death certificate. Among decedents aged ≥65, the three most common additional conditions listed on the death certificate were heart disease, dementia and diabetes. However, after estimating the expected joint frequency of other causes based on the overall distribution of all causes of death, we find that three causes-dementia (including Alzheimer's disease), Parkinson's disease and pneumonitis-are most strongly associated with deaths from choking on food among older people.