Homo Naledi Jaw from Rising Star Cave

myminifactory

You'd have to be living in isolation for the past couple of weeks not to know about the incredible discoveries made in South Africa's Rising Star cave. Over 1500 specimens representing parts of at least 15 skeletons have been unearthed so far. The skeletons are believed to be the first representatives of a new species, Homo naledi. Scientists from the University of the Witwatersrand's Evolutionary Studies Institute scanned a portion of the artifacts with a Next Engine desktop scanner and made many of their models available on http://morphosource.org/. Many of the models would only be of interest to someone in that field, but there are also a couple of more spectacular crowd-pleasing specimens. I selected U.W. 101-1261, a mandible or lower jawbone, and U.W. 101-127, a partial maxilla, or upper jaw, which goes with it. The models required some cleaning up to make them printable. I suggest printing them at about a 45-degree angle (see picture) on full support and a raft if necessary. This orientation minimizes top surface topo artifacts and support scarring. We discussed this technique and much more on the 3D Printing Today podcast available on iTunes or Stitcher radio, learn more at http://www.threedprintingtoday.com/. I printed copies for my kids' schools, and so can you.