New challenges for research and dissemination in virtual anthropology: applications to the case study of fossils and artifacts from Saccopastore (Rome, Italy)

Virtual anthropology has been rapidly developing in recent years. Innovative tools, as well as software and methodologies, allow the study of specimens with increased detail and limited physical intervention. The first step in a virtual anthropology study is represented by the acquisition, that can be carried out by different methods. The one that is becoming more and more common is the photogrammetry, because of its affordability, its ease of execution and its versatility in acquiring objects of different nature and composition. We chose, as a case study, three specimens presenting some of the challenges that can be find in an acquisition by photogrammetry (i.e. reflecting surfaces, flat or thin objects, complex portions). All the specimens come from the archeological context of Saccopastore (Rome, Italy) [1-2]: the Neanderthal cranium Saccopastore 1, a Mousterian point (F3 S7) and a bovid hemi-mandible (B7). The choice of the specimens has been driven by their peculiar morphology, reflecting the afore-mentioned issues, but also by the displaying purposes of this work. Concerning the protection, conservation and restoration of the specimens of interest, photogrammetry is an easy process of acquisition, which allows the production of a 3D copy with limited costs. We presented some implementation of the procedure of photogrammetry, and among them a system for the automation of the acquisition which further limits the contact with valuable or fragile specimens. Moreover, since the texture of the objects as well as its shape are acquired, the 3D models can be scaled to different sizes and 3D printed for musealization and dissemination purposes, creating a wider access to specimens of interest for museums, schools, researchers and teachers worldwide.