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.
The goal of the course is to learn how to express and quantitaively treat shape information of archaeological artefacts. At the end of this course students should be able to choose the proper method for a given question and proceed autonomously from data collection, preparation, standardisation to shape variables calculation.
Esential part of the course will be then dedicated to the application of inferential and multidimensional statistics (PCA, DA) of shape data.
The doctoral meeting organized by the European School of Protohistory in Bibracte (EEPB) seeks to bring together European PhD and postdoctoral students working on the Iron Age. This project continues the work of the 1st Doctoral Meeting, organized in April 2015 in Bibracte (Burgundy, France). The principal aim of this meeting is to foster discussions on interdisciplinary topics, in various geographical and cultural contexts.
All PhD and postdoctoral students (who have graduated within the last three years) are invited to present both posters AND oral presentations (which may even have been already presented at another seminar).
More information :
ÚAM Brno and ArTéHiS Dijon
would like to invite you to the presentation of
Josef Wilczek
in collaboration with Fabrice Monna, Nicolas Navarro, Ahmed Jebrane, Catherine Labruère Chazal, Sebastien Couette, Jérome Bolte, Phillipe Barral and Carmela Chateau
named:
dealing with acquisition, automatic drawing and classification of archaeological artefacts,
which will take place on 29/01/2016 at 11:00 in the room C 42.
Paper on the morphometrics of Middle Age Bronze axes was published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.
The classification of Western European flang
ed axes dating to the Middle Bronze Age (1650–1350 BC) is very complex. Many types of axe have been identified, some of which have numerous variant forms. In the current French terminology, all axes are divided into two generic groups: namely “Atlantic” (Atlantique) and “Eastern” (Orientale). Each of these generic groups, however, is highly polymorphic, so that it is often very difficult for the operator to classify individual axes with absolute confidence and certainty. In order to overcome such problems, a new shape classification is proposed, using morphometric analysis (Elliptic Fourier Analysis) followed by unsupervised model-based clustering and discriminant analysis, both based on Gaussian mixture modelling. Together, these methods produce a clearer pattern, which is independently validated by the spatial distribution of the findings, and multinomial scan statistics. This approach is fast, reproducible, and operator-independent, allowing artefacts of unknown membership to be classified rapidly. The method is designed to be amendable by the introduction of new artefacts, in the light of future discoveries. This method can be adapted to suit many other archaeological artefacts, providing information about the material, social and cultural relations of ancient populations.
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jwilczekdotcom 