The advent of Big Data is a recent and debated issue in Digital Archaeology. Papers consider the historiographic context and current developments, as well as comprehensive examples of a multidisciplinary and integrative approach to the recording, management and exploitation of excavation data and documents produced over a long period of research.
3D Data Acquisition for Bioarchaeology, Forensic Anthropology, and Archaeology serves as a handbook for the collection and processing of 3-D scanned data and as a tool for scholars interested in pursuing research projects with 3-D models. The book's chapters enhance the reader's understanding of the technology by covering virtual model processing protocols, alignment methods, actual data acquisition techniques, basic technological protocols, and considerations of variation in research design associated with biological anthropology and archaeology. - Thoroughly guides the reader through the "how-to on different stages of 3D-data-related research - Provides statistical analysis options for 3D image data - Covers protocols, methods and techniques as associated with biological anthropology and archaeology
This text reviews the theory, concepts, and basic methods involved in archaeological analysis with the aim of familiarizing both students and professionals with its underlying principles. Topics covered include the nature and presentation of data; database and research design; sampling and quantification; analyzing lithics, pottery, faunal, and botanical remains; interpreting dates; and archaeological illustration. A glossary of key terms completes the book.
In the decade since its publication, the first edition of Statistics for Archaeologists has become a staple in the classroom. Taking a jargon-free approach, this teaching tool introduces the basic principles of statistics to archaeologists. The author covers the necessary techniques for analyzing data collected in the field and laboratory as well as for evaluating the significance of the relationships between variables. In addition, chapters discuss the special concerns of working with samples. This well-illustrated guide features several practice problems making it an ideal text for students in archaeology and anthropology. Using feedback from students and teachers who have been using the first edition, as well as another ten years of personal experience with the text, the author has provided an updated and revised second edition with a number of important changes. New topics covered include: -Proportions and Densities -Error Ranges for Medians -Resampling Approaches -Residuals from Regression -Point Sampling -Multivariate Analysis -Similarity Measures -Multidimensional Scaling -Principal Components Analysis -Cluster Analysis Those already familiar with the clear and useful format of Statistics for Archaeologists will find this new edition a welcome update, and the new sections will make this seminal textbook an indispensible resource for a whole new group of students, professors, and practitioners.
A wide variety of organizations are both creating and retaining digital data from archaeological projects. While current methods for preservation and access to data vary widely, nearly all of these organizations agree that careful management of digital archaeological resources is an important aspect of responsible archaeological stewardship. The Archaeology Data Service and Digital Antiquity have produced this guide to provide information on the best way to create, manage, and document digital data files produced during the course of an archaeological project. This guide aims to improve the practice of depositing and preserving digital information safely within an archive for future use and is structured in three main parts: Digital Archiving - looks at the fundamentals of digital preservation and covers general preservation themes within the context of archaeological investigations, research, and resource management, with an overview of digital archiving practice and guidance.The Project Life cycle - looks at common project life cycle elements such as file naming, meta-data creation, and copyright and covers general, broad themes that should be considered at the outset of a project.Basic Components - looks at selected technique and file type-specific issues together with archive structuring and deposit. This section covers common file types that are frequently present in archaeological archives, irrespective of a project's primary technique or focus.The accompanying online Guides to Good Practice take these elements further and address the preservation of data resulting from common data collection, processing and analysis techniques such as aerial and geophysical survey, laser scanning, GIS and CAD.
This second edition of the classic textbook, The Archaeologist’s Laboratory, is a substantially revised work that offers updated information on the archaeological work that follows fieldwork, such as the processing and analysis of artifacts and other evidence. An overarching theme of this edition is the quality and validity of archaeological arguments and the data we use to support them. The book introduces many of the laboratory activities that archaeologists carry out and the ways we can present research results, including graphs and artifact illustrations. Part I introduces general topics concerning measurement error, data quality, research design, typology, probability and databases. It also includes data presentation, basic artifact conservation, and laboratory safety. Part II offers brief surveys of the analysis of lithics and ground stone, pottery, metal artifacts, bone and shell artifacts, animal and plant remains, and sediments, as well as dating by stratigraphy, seriation and chronometric methods. It concludes with a chapter on archaeological illustration and publication. A new feature of the book is illustration of concepts through case studies from around the world and from the Palaeolithic to historical archaeology.The text is appropriate for senior undergraduate students and will also serve as a useful reference for graduate students and professional archaeologists.
Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS), or lidar, is an enormously important innovation for data collection and interpretation in archaeology. The application of archaeological 3D data deriving from sources including ALS, close-range photogrammetry and terrestrial and photogrammetric scanners has grown exponentially over the last decade. Such data present numerous possibilities and challenges, from ensuring that applications remain archaeologically relevant, to developing practices that integrate the manipulation and interrogation of complex digital datasets with the skills of archaeological observation and interpretation. This volume addresses the implications of multi-scaled topographic data for contemporary archaeological practice in a rapidly developing field, drawing on examples of ongoing projects and reflections on best practice. Twenty papers from across Europe explore the implications of these digital 3D datasets for the recording and interpretation of archaeological topography, whether at the landscape, site or artifact scale. The papers illustrate the variety of ways in which we engage with archaeological topography through 3D data, from discussions of its role in landscape archaeology, to issues of context and integration, and to the methodological challenges of processing, visualization and manipulation. Critical reflection on developing practice and implications for cultural resource management and research contextualize the case studies and applications, illustrating the diverse and evolving roles played by multi-scalar topographic data in contemporary archaeology.