A momentous scientific discovery was recently uncovered in Kenya – the oldest stone tools known to man. The tools date back to 3.3 million years ago and push back the beginning of the archaeological record by more than a half million years. These historical findings are detailed in an article published last week in Nature Magazine (May 20, 2015). Now, through the power of Autodesk technology, people all around the world will have the chance to share in this major scientific discovery.
Dr. Louise Leakey, in collaboration with Autodesk, used Memento technology to create high quality 3D digital replicas of the stone tool artifacts, for preservation, education and further research. Memento is Autodesk’s cutting-edge free software that enables users to convert photos or scans into 3D models to be optimized for the web or mobile viewing, or 3D printing. Have a glimpse of the 3.3 million year old tools via Autodesk Viewer:
“Autodesk Memento has been instrumental in my work, allowing me to share fascinating evidence of human evolution with people around the world,” Leakey said. “Memento is powerful, yet simple enough for a non-CAD expert to use. It has allowed me to operate everything on my own, without relying on a team member or CAD expert, which suits my hands-on style of working.”
“Powerful technologies are accessible to everyone today, but due to complexity often people can’t use the tools themselves, unless they’ve had extensive training or have a software background,” added Tatjana Dzambazova, product manager and technology whisperer at Autodesk. “Memento is a tool for digitizing real objects that any professional can use. It combines multiple technology tools in one single workflow. It’s easy and fun to use, scalable and has a toolset to prepare high definition 3D digital models made from reality for many different use cases and purposes.”
Using a variety of capture devices and Autodesk Memento to prepare and present the digitized artifacts, Leakey is spearheading an initiative to place digital models of key fossil collections in a virtual laboratory, African Fossils, where scholars and enthusiasts can explore, interact with online, download and 3D print the models. The site also offers an opportunity for scientists to get an overview of the available fossils and to enter scientific research discussions with the Turkana Basin Institute and Leakey’s team. To date, more than 100 fossils are available for experiential purposes, with additional specimens being added regularly.
Leakey began working with Autodesk in 2011 when she was awarded a grant to digitize a number of fossils from the collection of the National Museums of Kenya. Since that time, Autodesk has been helping Leakey by further developing technologies to help digitize, fabricate and make her discoveries available to everyone on www.africanfossils.org, and at the same time learning from her and her team how to make this technology even more accessible to wide audiences of users.
Leakey’s archaeological work and Autodesk’s technology are enabling people from all over the world to examine and interact with ancient fossils, which previously were available only to a select few.
