From fossils to machines: 3D imaging and artificial intelligence in paleoanthropology
Advances in digital imaging have revolutionized paleoanthropology, allowing both internal and external morphometric sampling of skeletal remains in unprecedented fashion. Dr. Tesla Monson is Director of the Primate Evolution Lab at Western Washington University where her research focuses on understanding the evolution of human biological variation within a comparative mammalian framework. She uses 3D morphometrics, machine learning, and phylogenetics to quantify phenotypic patterning in fossil and extant species and investigate the evolutionary forces shaping variation in skeletal morphology. For this talk, the primate cranium will serve as a roadmap to walk through her published and ongoing work 1) using dental variation to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships in the fossil record, 2) investigating primate vision through the lens of cranial modularity, and 3) developing a paleoneurology and reproductive ecology model for understanding the evolution of cognition. Dr. Monson is a member of the Middle Awash Research Team and is currently describing new primate fossil assemblages in Ethiopia. She is also the founder of the Integrative Human Evolution Symposium and was host and producer of The Graduates science radio show for 5 years before starting a new Twitter and radio outreach project called Washington Women. Her ongoing DEIJ work integrates 3D imaging technology into the curriculum at Western Washington University to improve accessibility in the classroom.