-------- Original Message --------
Subject:        Reconstructing data using Morpheus et al.
Date:   Sat, 30 Jan 2010 14:30:04 +0100
From:   [email protected]
To:     morphmet <[email protected]>



Hi morphometricians,

I am a PhD candidate studying craniometric diversity in Upper
Palaeolithic and Mesolithic populations. As I am sure many of you can
appreciate, most of my datasets contain missing values. I plan to
reconstruct these data using a combination of reflected relabelling and
multiple multivariate regressions.

This is my hypothetical workflow for reconstructing data, followed by
some questions regarding my protocol. I've included Morpheus menu
commands in square brackets:

*Reflected relabelling*
1) Perform a GPA on the original data for individual specimen and its
reflected relabelled counterpart. [Points > Superimposition > GPA (=GLS)]
2) Compute mean configuration (creating a symmetric form). [Points >
Superimposition > Save > Means (scaled)]
3) Restore the centroid size, location and orientation of the mean
configuration to return it to the coordinate space of the original
specimen. [*see note below]

*Multiple multivariate regressions*
4) Perform a GPA on complete dataset. [Points > Superimposition > GPA
(=GLS)]
5) Restore scale, so that landmarks of each specimen are aligned but
size differences are preserved. [Points > Superimposition > Restore > Scale]
6) Estimate missing values using multiple multivariate regressions.

My first concern is regarding the validity of my protocol. If there are
any obvious flaws, I would be grateful if someone could point them
out. In Morpheus et al. is there a command that would allow me to
retrieve the centroid size value from a GPA analysis? The only way I
have been able to do this is by performing a GPA, restoring scale and
dividing the restored coordinates by the superimposed coordinates to get
an approximation of centroid size. I imagine that there must be a less
cumbersome way to do this.

*In step 3 above, the restore command in Morpheus, restores the original
data and reflected relabelled counterpart. Is there a way that I can
also restore the mean configuration using the computed values?

I would be also interested in hearing advice on how to deal with the
problem deformed or poorly reconstructed specimens.

Kind regards,

Ciarán

____________________________
Ciarán Brewster, MSc
Department of Archaeology
University College Cork
Western Road
Cork
Co. Cork, Ireland.

email: adhominin[at]me.com
web: http://adhominin.com

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