Three-Dimensional Alternatives to Lithic Illustration

Abstract

Although alternatives have become available, pen and ink drawings of stone tools dominate archaeological publications. Despite the existence of a conventional illustration framework, the work produced by illustrators can be inconsistent and hinges on skill level and time commitment. Discussions going back to the 1880s critically question the use of illustrations for the purpose of scientific publication. Alternatives, such as laser scanning and photogrammetric modeling, are now available for displaying lithics. These alternatives can remove the subjectivity involved in artistic rendering, creating replicable results, regardless of who is collecting the data. In addition to creating more regularized and objective representations, there are a significant number of analytical and other benefits to adopting novel imaging techniques to depict stone tools in publications. A set of three-dimensional (3D) models are presented here to demonstrate the capabilities of laser scanning and, potentially, photogrammetric modeling as replacements for lithic illustration.

Automatic illustration of lithics from 3d scanned models

“…Even if there are several standards in manual drafting of lithic artefacts, the result could be variable because of the involved factors [2]. Indeed, the archaeological technician could evidence different characteristics of the stone based on his experience and on the purpose of the drafting [10,11].…”

“…Originally developed for industrial application, 3D imaging techniques have been successfully extended to the field of artworks acquisition. In lithic studies there are several researches oriented to use of digital models instead of manual drafting [2,3]. Of human made artefacts in prehistorical era, only the stronger, made of stone or flint are enduring to our days.…”

New evidence for the Palaeolithic in Attica, Greece

“…The reflective surface of quartz makes it difficult to see flake removals, especially in direct incandescent or fluorescent light; therefore we used raking natural diffused light to discriminate flake removals from other surface features. For illustrating quartz artefacts we suggest the use of photorealistic models via photogrammetry ( Figure 2) produced with software such as AgiSoft Photoscan Pro with the application of shaders in MeshLab to create 3D images to aid in interpreting patterns of flake removals (e.g., Magnani 2014;Vergne et al 2010). Another added benefit of 3D scans is the ability to use 3D printers to manufacture copies for direct study (Olson et al 2014).…”

3D Scan Data for Selected Artifacts from Blackwater Draw National Historic Landmark (LA3324), New Mexico, USA

“…These attributes can be couched within a variety of theoretical frameworks Hosfield (2009);Costin (2001Costin ( , 2005; however, evolutionary archeology remains the theory of choice for geometric morphometric studies of lithic artifacts. While the production of 3D data are labor and time-intensive (although see Ahmed et al (2014)), the benefits can be seen in their contribution to conservation Kuzminsky and Gardiner (2012), participatory digital archeology Morgan and Eve (2012), and dynamic illustrations Magnani (2014);Carlson (2014). .…”