New Archaeology and its emphasis on quantitative analysis and model building

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 New Archaeology  and its emphasis on
quantitative analysis and model building
Presented by Maile Fabienne
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Summary

• What archaeologists can expect from using a
  virtual environment such as the  Cave  for
  archaeological research ?
• Three-dimensional computer visualization of
  historic buildings
• My projet using computer applications and
  quantative methods in Archaeology
• Conclusion and prospects
• References

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 New Archaeology  and its emphasis on
quantitative analysis and model building

• Presentation
• Computer Archaeology has developed chiefly in
  Europe and the US (Wilcock 1992). Nevertheless,
  few archaeologists are familiar with new
  technologies, even as they spread in the context
  of their archaeological applications. Work and
  research within the sphere of the application of
  computers to archaeological endeavors are already
  engaged in a fundamental questioning of the
  principles and concepts which have long
  underpinned traditional archaeological enquiry
  and interpretation. For instance, GIS in
  archaeological research/ Allen, Green and Zubrow
  1990) and quantitatives methods (Djindjian 1989).
  These changes constitute a major social upheaval
  in our field.

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.What archaeologists can expect from using a
virtual environment such as the  Cave  for
archaeological research ?

• The ARCHAVE system developped at Brown University
  (Vote, 2001) is a relevant application which
  provides archaeologists new methods of analysis.
  This system offers different overviews from a
  data set in the manner of formulate hypotheses,
  such as the following 
• - an adequate interface and the contextual
  information necessary for analysis.
• - preservation and visualization of the data
  collected in a 3D environment.
• . - a potential for organizing and accesing
  the amounts of data usually unpublished

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Three-dimensional computer visualization of
historic buildings

• Three-dimentional computerized models can be
  created according to different methods  solid
  and surface modellers.
• Solids modellers
• In the case of the use of solid modeller
  software, there are two main ways of representing
  solids 
• by constructive solid geometry (CSG).
• or by boundary representation (B rep).

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Three-dimensional computer visualization of
historic buildings

• Surface modellers
• This second type of software provides a
  wire-frame model, resulting from information
  stored both in graphical database (the x, y and z
  co-ordinates of vertices of each object), and
  about the surfaces, or faces of the object as
  well as its vertices.
• One lists the vertices with their co-ordinates 
  the other lists the faces of the object with the
  vertices which are joined together to make up
  each face.

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My projet using computer applications and
quantative methods in Archaeology

• I came to Brown University this year in order to
  become familiar with new technologies and to
  collaborate with the Engineering Department team
  that has worked since 1997 on the two following
  projects
• - ARCHAVE-ARCHAeology in Virtual Environments
• - SHARP-Shape Architectural Reconstruction of
  the Petra site
• Both projects use advanced technologies and
  softwares such as, 3D Studio Viz for the
  reconstitution modelling.
• http//www.lems.brown.eduvote
• http//www.lems.brown.eduleymarie
• http//www.cs.brown.edu/research/graphics/research
  /sciviz/archaeology/archaeology.html
• http//www.lems.brown.edu/vision/extra/SHAPE/
• http//www.cs.brown.edu/research/graphics/research
  /cave/home.html

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Conclusion and prospects

• Prospects
• Enable the rapid development of archaeological
  publications
• To fill the need for a common archaeological
  format suitable for all researchers and
  institutions.
• Transform the way archaeological research is
  driven using approaches to spatial analysis
  (GIS), computer applications and quantitative
  methods, and virtual reality.

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Conclusion and prospects

• Conclusion
• The use of computers by researchers in
  archaeology is more extensive than in the past.
  This is reason enough to incorporate systematic
  data processing and visualization systems whereby
  all the data recovered during excavations will
  enlarge and facilitate the field of
  archaeological research.
• My aim today was to outline several unsolved
  archaeological problems and to suggest various
  ways to solve them. You are aware that an
  archaeological upheaval is coming, specifically
  concerning the way archaeology can be taught in
  the near future - combining computer information
  processing.

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References

• Allen, K. M.S., S. W. Green and E. B.W. Zubrow,
• 1990 Interpreting space  GIS and archaeology,
  London.
• Djindjian, F.,
• 1989  Fifteen years of contributions of the
  French School of Data Analysis to Quantitative
  Archaeology , in Computer Applications and
  Quantitative Methods in Archaeology 1989,
  Rahtz, S. J. Richards(eds), 193-204. Oxford 
  British Archaeological Reports.
• Doran, J.,
• 1990  Systems theory, computer simulations and
  archaeology , World archaeology, vol.1, n3
  (Fev.)  289-298.
• Vote, L. E.,
• 2001 A New Methodology for Archaeological
  Analysis  Using Visualization and Inetraction to
  Explore Spatial Links in Excavation Data.
  (Dissertation), Brown University, Providence, RI.
• Wilcock, J.,
• 1992  On the importance of high-level
  communication formats in world archaeology , in
  Archaeology and the Information Age  a global
  perspective / Paul Reilly and Sebastian Rahtz
  (eds), chapter 8. London  Routledge. - One World
  archaeology series 1 69-77.

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References

• GAINES, Sylvia,
• 1984  The impact of computerized systems on
  American Archaeology  an overview of the past
  decade , Information Systems in Archaeology /
  Martlew, Roger  63-77.
• Huggett, J., Ryan, N., Campbell, E., Orton, C.,
  Shennan S.,
• 1995 Computers applications and quantitative
  methods in archaeology. Oxford  Tempus
  Reparatum BAR 600
• Reilly, P., Rahtz, S.,
• 1992 Archaeology and the Information Age A
  global perspective / ed. P. Reilly, S. Rahtz.
  London and New York.

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References

• Vote, L. E.,
• 2001 A New Methodology for Archaeological
  Analysis  Using Visualization and Inetraction
  to Explore Spatial Links in Excavation Data.
  (Dissertation), Brown University, Providence,
  RI.
• Wilcock, J.,
• 1992  On the importance of high-level
  communication formats in world archaeology ,
  in Archaeology and the Information Age  a
  global perspective / Paul Reilly and Sebastian
  Rahtz (eds), chapter 8. London  Routledge. -
  One World archaeology series 1 69-77.

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Contact

• MAILE Fabienne Archaeologist / DEA
• Paris I - University / Pantheon-Sorbonne
• Brown University
• Division of Engineering, Box D/
• ShapeLab - Lems
• Providence, RI 02912, USA (USA)
  maile_at_lems.brown.edu
• Tel (Fax) 1.401.863.2760 (France)
  fabm20_at_hotmail.com