Archaeology, biology, and borrowing: A critical examination of Geometric Morphometrics in Archaeology

Okumura, Mercedes; Araújo, Astolfo Gomes de Mello

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2017.09.015

Cited by 52 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 126 publications

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“…Analyses of artefact shape are neither new or novel (Okumura & Araujo, 2018), and it is not surprising that geometric morphometrics (GM) (sensu Corti (1993)) has captivated analysts of material culture due to the substantive contribution of morphology to lithic (Fox, 2015;Thulman, 2012;Wilczek et al, 2015) and ceramic typologies (Girrulat, 2006;Topi et al, 2017;Wilczek et al, 2014), additional categories of material culture (Chitwood, 2014;Ros et al, 2014;Windhager et al, 2012) and novel applications (Barceló, 2010;Lenardi & Merwin, 2010). Applications of GM in archaeology began with an analysis of irregular shapes by elliptic Fourier analysis (EFA) (Gero & Mazzullo, 1984), and iterative methodological improvements continue to expand the potential for analyses of shape as it relates to material culture ( Figure 1).…”

Section: Geometric Morphometrics In Archaeologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While not explored here, this line of evidence may prove useful in discussions of standardisation (Topi et al, 2017) couched within examinations of craft specialisation (Costin, 1991(Costin, , 2005Costin & Hagstrum, 1995;Rice, 1991;Shepard, 1954). Certainly craft specialisation is not the only theoretical construct that has utility here, and results might also be expressed in discussions of communities of practice and identity (sensu Eckert (2008) and Eckert et al (2015)), or a wide range of additional approaches; however, the bulk of current archaeological applications of GM enlist evolutionary archaeology (Lycett, 2015;Okumura & Araujo, 2018).…”

Section: Hickory Fine Engraved and Smithport Plain Base/body Comparisonmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ceramic Morphological Organisation in the Southern Caddo Area: The Clarence H. Webb Collections

Selden¹

2018

Preprint

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Analyses of ceramic vessel shape are neither new or novel; however, the relatively recent adoption of geometric morphometric (GM) methods by archaeologists provides a preview of the contribution of GM to the systematic and rigorous study of morphology as applied to material culture. This study is focused upon an analysis of Caddo bottle shapes for Belcher Engraved, Hickory Fine Engraved, Keno Trailed, Smithport Plain, and Taylor Engraved vessels from the Allen Plantation, Belcher Mound, Gahagan Mound, and Smithport Landing sites in the Clarence H. Webb collections from northwest Louisiana. Results indicate some significant relationships between bottle shape and size (allometry), bottle shape and type, and bottle shape and site. A test of morphological integration indicates that the bottles are significantly integrated, meaning that those discrete traits used to characterise their shape (rim, neck, body, and base) vary in a coordinated manner. It also highlights significant integration between the rim and base, and significant integration between the neck and body for this sample. The Smithport Plain and Hickory (Fine) Engraved bottles found at the Belcher Mound, Smithport Landing, and Gahagan Mound sites also provide evidence for two discrete (north-south) base and body shapes.

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Section: Geometric Morphometrics In Archaeologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Hickory Fine Engraved and Smithport Plain Base/body Comparisonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ceramic Morphological Organisation in the Southern Caddo Area: The Clarence H. Webb Collections

Selden¹

2018

Preprint

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“…While there are several morphometric approaches, landmarks-based geometric morphometrics is a powerful tool for the quantitative description of shape variability within and between groups [ 5 ]. This approach has been borrowed by archaeologists from various fields in biology, such as evolutionary biology and physical anthropology, where this method was originally developed and applied [ 21 – 22 ] (see [ 23 ] for a comprehensive review).…”

Section: Landmarks-based Geometric Morphometrics: a Brief Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These landmarks should have homology, that is, respective points should correspond across all specimens in the sample. While in biology homology can be based on phylogenetic, developmental or functional considerations, material culture objects lack such readily identifiable homologous landmarks [ 5 , 23 ]. To overcome this problem, the study of archaeological artifacts usually defines semi-landmarks [ 24 , 25 , 5 ].…”

Section: Landmarks-based Geometric Morphometrics: a Brief Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

AGMT3-D: A software for 3-D landmarks-based geometric morphometric shape analysis of archaeological artifacts

Herzlinger

Grosman

2018

PLoS ONE

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We present here a newly developed software package named Artifact GeoMorph Toolbox 3-D (AGMT3-D). It is intended to provide archaeologists with a simple and easy-to-use tool for performing 3-D landmarks-based geometric morphometric shape analysis on 3-D digital models of archaeological artifacts. It requires no prior knowledge of programming or proficiency in statistics. AGMT3-D consists of a data-acquisition procedure for automatically positioning 3-D models in space and fitting them with grids of 3-D semi-landmarks. It also provides a number of analytical tools and procedures that allow the processing and statistical analysis of the data, including generalized Procrustes analysis, principal component analysis, a warp tool, automatic calculation of shape variabilities and statistical tests. It provides an output of quantitative, objective and reproducible results in numerical, textual and graphic formats. These can be used to answer archaeologically significant questions relating to morphologies and morphological variabilities in artifact assemblages. Following the presentation of the software and its functions, we apply it to a case study addressing the effects of different types of raw material on the morphologies and morphological variabilities present in an experimentally produced Acheulian handaxe assemblage. The results show that there are statistically significant differences between the mean shapes and shape variabilities of handaxes produced on flint and those produced on basalt. With AGMT3-D, users can analyze artifact assemblages and address questions that are deducible from the morphologies and morphological variabilities of material culture assemblages. These questions can relate to issues of, among others, relative chronology, cultural affinities, tool function and production technology. AGMT3-D is aimed at making 3-D landmarks-based geometric morphometric shape analysis more accessible to archaeologists, in the hope that this method will become a tool commonly used by archaeologists.

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“…Thus, discipline would benefit from transparent and reproducible methods that are widely applicable in distinguishing between the knapping techniques. During the last decade, geometric morphometrics (GMM) approaches have been more commonly applied to various forms of material culture, including knapped stone artifacts (Okumura and Araujo, 2019). GMM is a quantitative approach to shape analysis, where the shape is defined as -geometric properties of an object that are invariant to location, scale, and rotation‖ (Slice, 2005, p. 3).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Outlining the knapping techniques: Assessment of the shape and regularity of prismatic blades using elliptic Fourier analysis

Radinović

Kajtez

2021

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

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An important aspect of prismatic blade production is the choice of a knapping technique. This study tests the utility of elliptic Fourier analysis (EFA) for discriminating between different knapping techniques and offers a new perspective on blade variability. Our results indicate that there is an overlap in the outline shape and symmetry of individual blades produced by direct percussion, indirect percussion, and pressure debitage. Nevertheless, the EFA points out certain group-level differences regarding the shape and regularity of blade outlines and yields classification accuracy which is comparable to the previously proposed quantitative approaches for distinguishing blades produced by different knapping techniques. However, a more detailed analysis of technique-related factors shows that the emerging variability of blade outlines is more complex and that tripartite division might not always be suitable for reconstructing the past knapping behavior. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this method, and how it could complement the standard technological analysis in exploring and explaining blade variability.

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Archaeology, biology, and borrowing: A critical examination of Geometric Morphometrics in Archaeology

Cited by 52 publications

References 126 publications

Ceramic Morphological Organisation in the Southern Caddo Area: The Clarence H. Webb Collections

Ceramic Morphological Organisation in the Southern Caddo Area: The Clarence H. Webb Collections

AGMT3-D: A software for 3-D landmarks-based geometric morphometric shape analysis of archaeological artifacts

Outlining the knapping techniques: Assessment of the shape and regularity of prismatic blades using elliptic Fourier analysis

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