The new course – Modern quantitative methods and shape analysis in archaeology – will take place at the Departement of archaeology at the University of Hradec Králové in spring 2019 and 2020.
The aim of the course is to apprehend to quantitatively express and process the information about the shape of archaeological artefacts. Students will be familiarised with the traditional and modern geometric morphometrics methods (2D/3D landmark analysis, analyses of open or closed contours, etc.). An essential part of the course will be devoted to the recent shape acquisition techniques (3D scanning, photogrammetry, etc.), followed the statistical treatment of the morphometric data. At the end of the course, students should be able to choose an appropriate method to solve variety of archaeological questions concerning various artefact productions (stone, ceramic, metal), dated to diverse chronological periods.
The DACORD functional system, developed within the scope of collaboration between the University of Burgundy (Dijon) and Masaryk University (Brno), orients and draws archaeological pottery, based on 3D model geometry, using modern mathematical, graphical, optimization methods. The orientation workflow combines existing approaches (normal vectors, horizontal / vertical sections, etc.) with new methods, to segment fragments (external and internal surfaces), and to erase parts that provide no information about the rotational axis (fractures, plastic decoration, etc.). Archaeological illustrations adapted to most norms and standards of pottery drawings can then be produced from these correctly oriented models. All pottery orientation and drawing methods are implemented in DACORD software, developed in R.
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Various 3D models of archaeological sites, monuments, rock-arts and artefacts from Mongolia, France and Czech republic are available on Sketchfab webpages.
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