An Integrated System for Digital Image Acquisition, Image Processing, and CD-Rom Publishing in Archaeology

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With National Science Foundation support, Dr. David Killick and the University of Arizona will purchase a CD-ROM system which will permit primary research data to be recorded and distributed inexpensively to other scientists. These CD-ROM `publications` will allow large amounts of visual information to be shared as high resolution pictures in a form which can be inspected, manipulated and analyzed. In many areas of archaeology, such visual material forms an essential research component but traditional publishing costs make it impractical to present more than a very limited amount. The integrated system will permit digital image acquisition, processing and archiving, linked to a system for assembling digital images, text and other graphics (such as AUTOCAD maps) in a multimedia editing system. In its initial phase, the system will be used for three main areas: 1. Archaeological metallurgy. To reconstruct prehistoric metallurgical processes both finished artifacts as well as manufacturing byproducts such as slag must be examined in detail. Microscopic thin sections and polished blocks of such samples will be recorded and annotated with text, tables of chemical analyses and other references aids. 2. Dr. Barbara Mills has examined ceramic thin sections to reconstruct prehistoric Southwestern Native American social organization. Ceramic thin sections mounted on glass slides as well as photographic images of whole vessels will be placed in a CD-ROM data base. 3. Dr. Steven Kuhn analyzes stone tools from both Europe and the Near East. On the basis of images available through CD-ROM it will be possible to conduct extensive attribute analyses.