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Pictures of the past: Artifact density and computer graphics

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Abstract

The excavation of the site of a colonial fort produced a large quantity of artifacts but little else. The only data acquired were about artifact type and location of find. A computer was used to draw maps of various combinations of artifact distributions. Methods were borrowed from the engineering discipline of Image Processing in order to facilitate site interpretation. The implications of this are discussed in detail and its use demonstrated by the display of computer-produced isometric plots of artifact density over the excavation area.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

    Reid W. Kaplan & Michael D. Coe

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  1. Reid W. Kaplan
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  2. Michael D. Coe
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Kaplan, R.W., Coe, M.D. Pictures of the past: Artifact density and computer graphics. Hist Arch 10, 54–67 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03373999

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03373999

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