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Caroline VanSickle (she/her) @cvansickle.bsky.social · 3d

Dart thought these were tools used by #Australopithecus africanus, his “killer ape”. Turns out, they are remains left by a carnivore with no hominin intervention.

One of my favorite examples of a scientist just completely getting it wrong. And a reminder that getting it wrong is part of science!

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Caroline VanSickle (she/her) @cvansickle.bsky.social · 3d

Look at all these “tools” that aren’t tools! Raymond Dart’s ostedontokeratic tool culture, on display at the Evolutionary Sciences Institute at Wits University.

#paleoanthropology #archaeology

Photo of a wooden display case with a glass top. Inside, the shelf is lined in red fabric. There are multiple broken animal bones and antlers arranged in four rows. In the middle of the display is a white card that reads “Raymond Dart’s Osteodontokeratic Culture of Australopithecus africanus (Makapansgat Grey Breccia)”. There is a second card in the top left of the display that isn’t readable but has black ink like drawings of what an Australopithecus using tools might look like. I don’t recall the exact text, but the card mentions that Dart’s ideas about early tool use inspired the famous hominin scene in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. The photo has a warm filter to make up for the harsh overhead fluorescent lights. Taken at the Evolutionary Science Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand.

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Reposted by Caroline VanSickle (she/her)

Michelle A. Rodrigues 🐒 @marspidermonkey.bsky.social · 7d

As a primatologist, Jane Goodall was a huge inspiration to me. I admired the way she describes chimpanzee behavior with such detail and empathy, and she’s inspired so many people and advocated for chimpanzee conservation and welfare.

However, I'm dismayed at what her narrative leaves out (1/10)

Photo of Jane Goodall in the center, signing a book, with three women standing slightly hunched behind her. A very young Michelle is to the right, smiling.

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Caroline VanSickle (she/her) @cvansickle.bsky.social · 7d

I’ve been scanning fossils: vertebrate take ~5min to scan and process fully. Flat fragments, especially with sharp edges, take a little longer but are still quick once you have the right scans. I actually haven’t had an opportunity to scan a full hipbone yet so I’m not sure how it does with those.

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Caroline VanSickle (she/her) @cvansickle.bsky.social · 7d

They have different focal lengths so the mini can capture small items in great detail while the pop can capture larger items in still pretty good detail. They both use the same software so you could conceivably fuse scans from both depending on the detail needed.

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Caroline VanSickle (she/her) @cvansickle.bsky.social · 7d

Today was the first day using the Pop 3 Plus. So far it is really easy to use and the scans look good, but I haven’t directly compared it with other scanners yet. Website says the accuracy is 0.08 mm.

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Caroline VanSickle (she/her) @cvansickle.bsky.social · 7d

I’ve used the MINI2 for over a year. The accuracy is listed as 0.02 mm. My tests have it delivering similar results as Artec, but faster, cheaper, more portable, and waaay easier to post-process.

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Caroline VanSickle (she/her) @cvansickle.bsky.social · 8d

#Paleoanthroplogy #3Dscanning

I am beyond pleased with my new Revopoint Pop 3 scanner. It’s even easier to use than their MINI2 that I bought previously! It’s rare that I can get new equipment to work as expected (or better) immediately, so this is a total success! Plus it’s so portable!

Photo of my 3D scanning setup. A Mac laptop is open on a black topped wooden table. The screen shows an app that is black and red with multiple panels (this is the RevoScan 5 software). Next to it is a manual turn table that is black with silver spots on it. In front of the turn table is a device on a small tripod: the device is rectangular and black and has a single cord connecting it and the laptop. What’s not shown is the front surface that has camera and lights on it. This is the Revopoint Pop 3 scanner.

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Caroline VanSickle (she/her) @cvansickle.bsky.social · 11d

This post brought to you by my jet lagged brain after I spent the morning squinting somewhat discerningly at some such fossil fragments.

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Caroline VanSickle (she/her) @cvansickle.bsky.social · 11d

I wonder if ancient hominins ever felt self doubt or like they weren’t important. Little did they know that one day whole teams of scientists would dedicate years of research to understanding the fragments of the skeleton they left behind. #Paleoanthropology

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Reposted by Caroline VanSickle (she/her)

Zach Cofran @dizachster.bsky.social · 13d

Showing some work in progress at #ESHE2025 - Homo naledi inner ears, inside-out #FossilFriday

(with @ameliebeaudet.bsky.social Gideon Chinamatira and @johnhawks.net)

Nerd standing next to research poster presentation titled “The bony labyrinth of Homo naledi”

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Caroline VanSickle (she/her) @cvansickle.bsky.social · 16d

#NewBook alert: A Visual Atlas of Skeletal Growth and Development by Kyra Stull & Heather Garvin. Just look at the number of ages in this image!

www.amazon.com/Visual-Atlas...

#BiologicalAnthropology #Paleoanthropology #ForensicAnthropology #Bioarchaeology #GrowthAndDevelopment #TeamPelvis

A page from the ebook version of "A Visual Atlas of Skeletal Growth and Development" by Kyra Stull and Heather Garvin. This page features an image of acetabular development from newborn to 17.5 years. Each of the 19 acetabulae shown are yellow 3D models based on CT scans and oriented in lateral views such that the image focuses on the acetabulum. The upper part of the ilium is cropped out in hipbones after the age of 1.5 years. The age labels and title of the image ("Acetabular Development") are light blue boxes with black text. The bottom of the page has the caption "Figure 4.1 Acetabular development, newborn to 17.5 yoa. Lateral views presented at each designated age."

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Caroline VanSickle (she/her) @cvansickle.bsky.social · Aug 8

Forvo is my favorite site for pronunciations, so in case this helps: forvo.com/search/Dryoc...

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Reposted by Caroline VanSickle (she/her)

Faine Greenwood @faineg.bsky.social · Jul 30

Listening to someone else watch short videos on their phone is the most annoying thing in the universe, and I believe our society has not adequately grappled with this

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Caroline VanSickle (she/her) @cvansickle.bsky.social · Jul 28

I am this old.

Gnome Anne @annethegnome.bsky.social · Jul 28

I was sharing screen while typing something in a meeting

Zoomer colleague: what kind of predictive text are you using?
Me: I’m not.
Z: wait — you just type that fast? How?!
Me: When I was in middle school, we raced boats by typing fast, and I really wanted my boat to win.

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Reposted by Caroline VanSickle (she/her)

Jacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · Jul 24

I’m thinking today about all the women doing DEI work in universities, and how all of our canceled grants and shuttered initiatives means that not only are we losing the time we’ve already put in, we’re now even more behind our male peers who stayed focused on their research.

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Reposted by Caroline VanSickle (she/her)

anthrofuentes.bsky.social @anthrofuentes.bsky.social · Jul 18

My latest and last essay for @science.org expert voices: “This is not the time to step back from diversity, equity, and inclusion” a short 🧵 (link at end)

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Reposted by Caroline VanSickle (she/her)

Dr Panti Bliss-Cabrera @pantibliss.bsky.social · Jul 11

Excellent thread that everyone who thinks gender and sex are as simple as you learned in school should read before they ever offer up an opinion of any kind on trans or intersex people

ChristopherE @christopher664023.bsky.social · Nov 8

In 1890, the X and Y chromosomes were discovered. It was found that the men who were tested had 46 chromosomes, including an X and a Y, while women who were tested also had 46 chromosomes, including 2 X chromosomes.
So obviously the conclusion was that the Y chromosome defined masculinity.

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Caroline VanSickle (she/her) @cvansickle.bsky.social · Jul 10

In my undergrad Intro to Physical Anthropology course, there was a quiz where we had to list all the bones that articulate with the sphenoid. No word bank given. Lefts and rights counted as separate bones. – May have ruined me on the sphenoid for life, though I do appreciate it's cute shape now!

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Caroline VanSickle (she/her) @cvansickle.bsky.social · Jul 10

TIL the clavicle isn't just another long bone

#Anatomy #AnatomyEd #Embryology #MedEd #PaleoSky #Skeletal #Skeleton #Bones #Biology #Physiology #Histology #HumanAnatomy

Caroline VanSickle (she/her) @cvansickle.bsky.social · Jul 10

I may study pelvic #anatomy for my research, but my favorite bone in the body is definitely the #clavicle (collarbone). It’s one of the first bones to ossify (become bone) before birth, yet it continues to grow with us all the way to adulthood, making it one of the last bones to finish ossifying.

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Caroline VanSickle (she/her) @cvansickle.bsky.social · Jul 10

Citing my sources (and thank you to these authors):
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/books/...

Anatomy, Shoulder and Upper Limb, Clavicle

The clavicle is a sigmoid-shaped long bone with a convex surface along its medial end when observed from cephalad position. It serves as a connection between the axial and appendicular skeleton in con...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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Caroline VanSickle (she/her) @cvansickle.bsky.social · Jul 10

This makes so much sense. You know how cranial bones are pretty flat? So is the shoulder side of the clavicle that also uses intramembranous ossification!

And no wonder it takes the clavicle so long to finish growing, I bet it takes time for the 2 sides to figure out how to fit together.

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Caroline VanSickle (she/her) @cvansickle.bsky.social · Jul 10

The #clavicle uses both endochondral and intramembranous ossification. The medial side (closer to the breastbone) forms like a long bone, with a cartilaginous template. The lateral side (closer to the shoulder) forms like a cranial bone with no template! So cool!

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Caroline VanSickle (she/her) @cvansickle.bsky.social · Jul 10

2. Intramembranous ossification: those same initial cells form directly into skeletal tissue, skipping the cartilaginous template entirely! The first draft is messy (called “woven bone”) that gets replaced by more organized ("lamellar") bone later. This is how most cranial bones form.

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Caroline VanSickle (she/her) @cvansickle.bsky.social · Jul 10

TIL how the clavicle ossifies, and it is neat! 🤩

To explain, let’s review the 2 ways bone forms before birth:

1. Endochondral ossification: cells form a cartilaginous template of the bone, that is later replaced by skeletal tissue. This is how long bones, vertebrae, and the pelvis form.

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