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Archaeological Applications (archaeological + application)
Selected AbstractsA NEW TRUE ORTHO-PHOTO METHODOLOGY FOR COMPLEX ARCHAEOLOGICAL APPLICATIONARCHAEOMETRY, Issue 3 2010YAHYA ALSHAWABKEH Ortho-photo is one of the most important photogrammetric products for archaeological documentation. It consists of a powerful textured representation combining geometric accuracy with rich detail, such as areas of damage and decay. Archaeological applications are usually faced with complex object shapes. Compared with conventional algorithms, ortho-projection of such rough curved objects is still a problem, due to the complex description of the analytical shape of the object. Even using a detailed digital surface model, typical ortho-rectification software does not produce the desired outcome, being incapable of handling image visibility and model occlusions, since it is limited to 2.5-dimensional surface descriptions. This paper presents an approach for the automated production of true ortho-mosaics for the documentation of cultural objects. The algorithm uses precise three-dimensional surface representations derived from laser scanning and several digital images that entirely cover the object of interest. After identifying all model surface triangles in the viewing direction, the triangles are projected back on to all initial images to establish visibilities for every available image. Missing image information can be filled in from adjacent images that must have been subjected to the same true ortho-photo procedure. [source] ROCK SURFACE HARDNESS AS AN INDICATION OF EXPOSURE AGE: AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL APPLICATION OF THE SCHMIDT HAMMER,ARCHAEOMETRY, Issue 1 2000M. W. BETTS A Schmidt Hammer was employed in evaluating the surface hardness of rocks which line ancient anthropogenic pit features, known as Pukaskwa pits, on the north shore of Lake Superior, Canada. This technique offers a possible new method of producing relative ana absolute dates for such exposed stone features Analysis of the data has provided a relative chronology for the pit features, representing two distinct construction phases. The range of absolute dates generated from the data indicates that the pits were likely constructed by Blackduck peoples c. 900 to 400 years BP. [source] A NEW TRUE ORTHO-PHOTO METHODOLOGY FOR COMPLEX ARCHAEOLOGICAL APPLICATIONARCHAEOMETRY, Issue 3 2010YAHYA ALSHAWABKEH Ortho-photo is one of the most important photogrammetric products for archaeological documentation. It consists of a powerful textured representation combining geometric accuracy with rich detail, such as areas of damage and decay. Archaeological applications are usually faced with complex object shapes. Compared with conventional algorithms, ortho-projection of such rough curved objects is still a problem, due to the complex description of the analytical shape of the object. Even using a detailed digital surface model, typical ortho-rectification software does not produce the desired outcome, being incapable of handling image visibility and model occlusions, since it is limited to 2.5-dimensional surface descriptions. This paper presents an approach for the automated production of true ortho-mosaics for the documentation of cultural objects. The algorithm uses precise three-dimensional surface representations derived from laser scanning and several digital images that entirely cover the object of interest. After identifying all model surface triangles in the viewing direction, the triangles are projected back on to all initial images to establish visibilities for every available image. Missing image information can be filled in from adjacent images that must have been subjected to the same true ortho-photo procedure. [source] The contribution of limb bone fracture patterns to reconstructing early hominid behaviour at Swartkrans cave (South Africa): archaeological application of a new analytical methodINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OSTEOARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 4 2005T. R. Pickering Abstract Recently, Alcántara García et al. (in press) presented a new method and criteria for distinguishing between fractures imparted by hominid hammerstone percussion and carnivores chewing on ,green' limb bones of ungulates. The method uses a combination of fracture plane and fracture angle data that are useful for elucidating the relative role of hominids in the accumulation of prehistoric archaeofaunas, especially when employed in concert with other classes of taphonomic data. We briefly summarise the method and apply it to the ungulate limb bone subassemblage from Swartkrans Member 3, a c. 1.0 million year old site from South Africa that preserves Early Stone Age lithic artefacts, hominid fossils, and an abundant mammalian fauna with cutmarked, hammerstone-percussed and burned bone specimens. Results of the fracture pattern analysis corroborate indications from other lines of taphonomic data that there was minimal carnivore,hominid interdependence in the formation of the fauna, and that carnivores were probably responsible for the majority of the bone collection in Member 3. However, we also document a significant hominid influence on assemblage formation, a finding that expands and refines our understanding of large animal carcass foraging by hominids in southern Africa during the early Pleistocene. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Thermally activated mineralogical transformations in archaeological hearths: inversion from maghemite ,Fe2O4 phase to haematite ,Fe2O4 formARCHAEOLOGICAL PROSPECTION, Issue 3 2006David Maki Abstract A series of laboratory experiments were conducted in an effort to understand why magnetic field gradient survey techniques failed to detect hearths at a prehistoric archaeological site in southern California. The study used various methods of environmental magnetism to examine the effects of exposing soil samples to a temperature of 650°C over a period 26,h. Results of the study indicate that the failure was associated with a reduction in soil magnetic susceptibility to below background levels within hearth soils. This reduction was due to high-temperature transformation of iron oxides from a highly magnetic form to a relatively non-magnetic form. The reduction in susceptibility is thought to have proceeded via the oxidation of primary (lithogenic) magnetite, Fe3O4 to maghemite, ,,Fe2O4 followed by the inversion of maghemite to haematite, ,Fe2O4. The study suggests that in some instances high temperature inversion can reduce the proportion of ferrimagnetic minerals within a hearth to below initial concentrations (resulting in a negative magnetic field gradient anomaly, the opposite of what is normally expected). A field experiment was also conducted to determine what soil temperatures might be achieved 2,cm beneath a hearth. The experiment recorded temperatures ranging from approximately 400°C to 650°C, with an average temperature of about 470°C. Soil colour changes and magnetic susceptibility enhancement observed at the conclusion of the field experiment indicate that these temperatures were sufficient to activate some mineralogical changes, possibly including inversion to haematite. The implications of high temperature inversion to archaeological prospection are discussed, as is a potential archaeological application. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] An ethnoarchaeological study of chemical residues in the floors and soils of Q'eqchi' Maya houses at Las Pozas, GuatemalaGEOARCHAEOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 6 2002Fabián G. Fernández This ethnoarchaeological study at the Q'eqchi' Maya village of Las Pozas, Guatemala, aimed to refine the understanding of the relationship between soil chemical signatures and human activities for archaeological applications. The research involved phosphorus, exchangeable ion (calcium, potassium, magnesium, sodium), and trace element analysis of soils and earth floors extracted by Mehlich II, ammonium acetate, and DTPA chelate solutions, respectively. The results showed high levels of phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, and pH in food preparation areas, as well as high phosphorus concentrations and low pH in food consumption areas. The traffic areas exhibited low phosphorus and trace element contents, whereas refuse disposal areas were enriched. These results provide important information for the understanding of space use in ancient settlements. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] CONNECTING THE DOTS: TOWARDS ARCHAEOLOGICAL NETWORK ANALYSISOXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 3 2010TOM BRUGHMANS Summary In recent years network analysis has been applied in archaeological research to examine the structure of archaeological relationships of whatever sort. However, these archaeological applications share a number of issues concerning 1) the role of archaeological data in networks; 2) the diversity of network structures, their consequences and their interpretation; 3) the critical use of quantitative tools; and 4) the influence of other disciplines, especially sociology. This article concerns a deconstruction of past archaeological methods for examining networks. Through a case study of Roman table wares in the eastern Mediterranean, the article highlights a number of issues with network analysis as a method for archaeology. It urges caution regarding the uncritical application of network analysis methods developed in other disciplines and applied to archaeology. However, it stresses the potential benefits of network analysis for the archaeological discipline and acknowledges the need for specifically archaeological network analysis, which should be based on relational thinking and can be expanded with an archaeological toolset for quantitative analysis. [source] Helikite aerial photography , a versatile means of unmanned, radio controlled, low-altitude aerial archaeologyARCHAEOLOGICAL PROSPECTION, Issue 2 2009Geert J. J. Verhoeven Abstract During the past 100 years, various devices have been developed and applied in order to acquire archaeologically useful aerial imagery from low altitudes (e.g. balloons, kites, poles). This paper introduces Helikite aerial photography (HAP), a new form of close range aerial photography suitable for site or defined area photography, based on a camera suspended from a Helikite: a combination of both a helium balloon and kite wings. By largely overcoming the drawbacks of conventional kite- and balloon-based photography, HAP allows for a very versatile, remotely controlled approach to low-altitude aerial photography (LAAP). In addition to a detailed outline of the whole HAP system, its working procedure and possible improvements, some of the resulting imagery is shown to demonstrate the usefulness of HAP for several archaeological applications. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] ON ISOTOPES AND OLD BONES*ARCHAEOMETRY, Issue 6 2008J. A. LEE-THORP This review charts the developments and progress made in the application of stable light isotope tools to palaeodietary adaptations from the 1970s onwards. It begins with an outline of the main principles governing the distribution of stable light isotopes in foodwebs and the quality control issues specific to the calcified tissues used in these analyses, and then proceeds to describe the historical landmark studies that have marked major progress, either in their archaeological applications or in enhancing our understanding of the tools. They include the adoption of maize agriculture, marine-focused diets amongst coastal hunter,gatherers, trophic level amongst Glacial-period modern humans and Neanderthals, and the use of savannah resources by early hominins in Africa. Particular attention is given to the progress made in addressing the challenges that have arisen out of these studies, including issues related to the routing of dietary nutrients. I conclude with some firm, and some more speculative, pointers about where the field may be heading in the next decade or so. [source] | |||||||||||||