Project Overview:

Physical remains lie at the heart of archaeology and physical anthropology. Analyses of these remains are essential for developing an understanding of human history, prehistory, and evolution. Preservation of those remains for future examination and analysis is also crucial. Unfortunately, access to such materials is often difficult and can be costly if one must travel long distances to other repositories.

A solution to these problems lies in the application of scanning technology to create digitized, 3D, visual models of material remains that are stored, along with an associated relational database, in an Internet-accessible archive. A digital archive will significantly improve archaeological analyses, modeling, interpretations, access, and curation, and can be used repeatedly for future studies and in teaching. Researchers will be able to compare their own findings with those of others, and to carry out analyses on large material collections that are otherwise not available. By developing and disseminating a digital-archiving program, we also can play a significant role laying the groundwork for the future creation of a network of digital artifact archives for teaching, research, and preservation of data. Such a network would link researchers anywhere on the globe to realistic, accurate, visual representations of artifacts. Moreover, once the system is worked out, it can easily be modified to any variety of materials important for research and education (e.g., bones, fossils, sea shells, sculptures, etc.).

Feasibility:

While archaeologists have begun to use 3D visualization, those applications have been predominantly aimed at creating virtual environments that simulate archaeological sites or reconstructed buildings. But it is now possible to create actual 3D digital-artifact models using 3D scanners, and to incorporate the digitized information in a sophisticated 3D relational database. This enables a much more realistic and visually rich presentation of information, and is the best alternative to curation of actual artifacts for teaching and research. Attempts to use 3D technology for depicting artifacts have been rare and have had limited success, especially in providing sufficient precision for measurements. Furthermore, I know of no attempts to create a digital archive for Internet access. Nevertheless, I have no doubt that 3D scanning, digital curation, and digital-artifact analysis will be essential components of archaeology in the future.

In January of 1999, North Dakota State University (NDSU), College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, established the Archaeology Technologies Laboratory (ATL). External and internal funds, amounting to approximately $55,000, were used to equip the ATL with the technology necessary to undertake 3D modeling. This equipment includes a Minolta Vivid 700, portable, non-contact, color, 3D digitizer that produces accurate (to within 0.3 mm) polygonal-mesh models with realistic surface texture and color. Also in the ATL is a Dell Precision 610 workstation with dual processors. We recently purchased PolyWorks software (by InnovMetric), which is used in industrial 3D modeling. Other key software in the ATL includes 3D Studio VIZ (for manipulating 3D models in virtual worlds), AutoCAD2000 (for use in 3D renderings), Oracle 8 Client and Microsoft Access (for databases), Photoshop 5.0 and Surface Suite Pro (for surface texture mapping), and several other programs.

We are using the technology and facilities in the ATL to create digitized 3D models of two data sets. One of these is for stone adzes collected by the author during nearly 20 years of field work in the Samoan Islands of Polynesia. This collection is the largest in the mainland US and provides a test case for scanning stone tools in general. The other data set consists of hominid endocasts, which are casts made from the inside of the crania of fossil species in human evolution. These materials are of interest to physical anthropologists and other scholars studying the evolution of the human brain. For each data set a relational database is being constructed with an array of data on attributes and contexts.

The computing infrastructure for this project is being established and maintained by NDSU Information Technology Services (ITS). We will be employing multi-tiered architecture, initially with three tiers and ancillary components. This system consists of a database server, a server for the 3D models, and the NDSU web server. In addition, we are using a server in the Department of Computer Sciences and a WWWTEST server for the development and testing of the applets and servlets. Multi-tiered architecture provides load balancing by allowing different servers to fulfill specific functions and thereby significantly enhance system performance and responsiveness for end users.

This infrastructure has already been put in place by ITS, and most of the key components of the project are in development. Archaeologists are scanning endocasts and adzes. Progress is also being made on establishing the web site and developing the databases. Collaborators from computer science have begun work developing the applets and servlets that will link the multiple tiers with one another and with the end users. Nevertheless, we have much to do over the next year to fully develop and deploy the first generation of the digital archiving system for teaching and research.

Portability:

The Internet is highly effective for rapid transmission of textual information, but only when graphic imagery is limited. Complex 3D models in large data files (up to 30 MB) will require a relatively long time to download; this will be especially troublesome if one wishes to examine a large number of models. Efforts to organize, navigate, and comprehend large databases with complex information and high-resolution graphics will work most effectively with the next generation of Internet. The broadband network of Internet2 will provide a smooth and reliable operating system for comparatively rapid accessing of large data files. Consequently, the databases will be on servers linked with 100MBit connections for Internet2 accessibility. Our goal is to utilize the capabilities of the Internet2 for developing collaborations in the areas of digital-artifact archiving and virtual environments in archaeology. For those without Internet2 access, decimated versions of the 3D models will be available via the standard Internet. The Web site developed for the Internet/ Internet2 will summarize our methods and findings, and will provide access to the databases and 3D models.