Digital data
Digital data availability: The Department of Human Origins believes strongly in providing open access to the data underpinning our published research. In addition to providing data in our published papers (and associated supplementary information) we provide access to scientific data through various online archives. Currently, we aim to share most digital information via The Human Fossil Record.org (see below), focused on visual representations of the bones and teeth of extant and fossil primates. Queries about digital data produced by the Department of Human Origins should be directed to
origins_datarequest@[>>> Please remove the text! <<<]eva.mpg.de.
Human Fossil Record.org: The Department of Human Origins collaborates with the Human Fossil Record online archive in its mission to provide visual information about the human fossil record. In particular, CT scans of extant and fossil primates that are produced by our department are made available from the archive through collaborative agreements with the relevant curatorial institutions, which curate the original material and own the copyright to the respective digital data.
Taï Chimpanzee Skeletal Collection: The Department of Human Origins curates a collection of skeletal remains of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) that are part of the national heritage of Cote d’Ivoire. We curate these important specimens in collaboration with the Taï Chimpanzee Project co-directed by Dr Roman Wittig and Dr Catherine Crockford (Institute for Cognitive Sciences Marc Jeannerod, Lyon). The collection is part of the long-term data set of the Taï Chimpanzee Project including behavioral and ecological data as well as urine and fecal samples from five chimpanzee communities across 25 years. Throughout 2023-2024 we will be working to make CT scans and surface models of these specimens available through an application form that will be found under the Taï Chimpanzee Skeletal Collection of the Human Fossil Record online archive. However, please note that any requests for access to these CT data will not be possible until they are available on the online archive.
Our Taï Chimpanzee Skeletal Collection will be closed to in-person visits by external researchers until late 2024 to allow us time for reorganisation of the collection. Therefore, in-person visits to the collection are not currently possible. We will update this website when the collection will be opened again.
CT scans created by the previous Department of Human Evolution: Over 20 years, the Department of Human Evolution under the Directorship of Prof. Jean-Jacques Hublin, produced CT scans of extant and fossil primates. In almost all cases, these scans and their copyright is held by the institution that curates the original material. Information about these scans can be found in the many publications produced by the Department of Human Evolution and researchers interested in accessing these scans should contact the relevant curatorial institutions. The Department of Human Origins, under the Directorship of Prof. Tracy Kivell, is not responsible for these scans and does not have permission to provide access to them. In some cases, information about these CT scans is available on the Human Fossil Record online archive (see above). Queries about scans produced by the previous Department of Human Evolution can be directed to origins_datarequest@[>>> Please remove the text! <<<]eva.mpg.de.