Getting to the point: making, wayfaring, loss and memory as meaning-making in virtual archaeology

Abstract

Abstract:The initial construction of a digital virtual object is the three-dimensional (3D) point. Using the notions of making, wayfaring, meshwork and agency, this discussion focuses on Ingold's (2011) theoretical approach to these comments as a means for the construction of archaeological knowledge as applied to the 3D virtual landscape. It will demonstrate that 3D points, whether constructed or captured, can be considered to be agents within an actor network, have agency and are subject to memory and loss within the digital archaeological record. By their interconnections they become a meshwork that can exchange and retain unique attributes of materiality. As such, they challenge our notions of meaningmaking beyond the rote actions of visualizing within archaeology to a form that is more theoretically deeper. By viewing the construction and capture and the production of 3D or 2D visual data through a different lens but within theoretical archaeological terms, we can begin to understand our role in the creation of meaning within virtual archaeology.Key words: virtual archaeology, digital archaeology, 3D modelling, making, wayfaring, agency Resumen:La construcción inicial de un objeto digital y virtual es el punto tridimensional (3D). La discusión en el uso de la noción de fabricación, expedición, malla y agencia, se centra en el enfoque teórico de Ingold (2011) y en estos comentarios como un medio para la construcción del conocimiento arqueológico aplicado al paisaje virtual en 3D. Se demostrará que los puntos 3D, ya sean construidos o capturados, pueden ser considerados como agentes dentro de una red de actores, que tienen agencia y están sujetos a la memoria y a la pérdida dentro del registro arqueológico digital. Por sus interconexiones, se convierten en una malla que puede intercambiar y conservar los atributos únicos de importancia relativa. Como tal, desafían nuestras nociones de significado de decisiones más allá de las acciones rutinarias de visualizar dentro de la arqueología una forma más teórica y más profunda. Al ver la captura y la producción de datos visuales 3D o 2D a través de una óptica diferente, pero dentro de los términos teóricos arqueológicos, podemos empezar a entender nuestro papel en la creación de significado dentro de la arqueología virtual.Palabras clave: arqueología virtual, arqueología digital, modelado en 3D, fabricación, expedición, agencia

Models and Metadata: The Ethics of Sharing Bioarchaeological 3D Models Online

“…Reproduced with permission from Gartner (2017) Table 1 Comparison of the stages outlined above with Weber and Bookstein's (2011) steps in virtual anthropology togrammetry and applied structure from motion (SFM) algorithms, laser scanning, structured light scanning (SLS), as well as micro-computed tomography (MicroCT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (Curless and Seitz 1999;Remondino and El-Hakim 2006;Minozzi et al 2010;Ulguim 2017b). These generate data, which as per the Royal Society definition (2012) comprises ''numbers, characters or images that designate an attribute of a phenomenon''; in 3D models, data may take the form of points, pixels or voxels (Carter 2017a).…”

“…Furthermore, the International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) Publication API (Application Programming Interface) is driving metadata standards for serving images on the Web and will extend to other types of archive and filetype through initiatives such as IxIF. Other more advanced solutions have been proposed recently such as applying point-embedded metadata attached to each vertex point of the model (Carter 2017b). Importantly, across all solutions, the use of persistent unique identifiers is critical as these allow unique cross-references between model and metadata, even on platforms where the metadata cannot be embedded.…”

Virtual Archaeology, Virtual Longhouses and "Envisioning the Unseen" Within the Archaeological Record

“…In undertaking this VA research, I took a three-phased approach to the investigation, characterized by "wayfaring" moments of discovery (see Ingold 2011 andCarter 2017).…”

“…Further, those decisions had to be weighed against the additional prop, environmental and atmospheric 3D interactive assets that also needed to be added into the overall longhouse environment to create a phenomenological presence for the users (e.g., objects, smoke, light, etc.). Although only two points are needed to make a line (or what in 3D computer graphics terminology is called a spline), a minimum of three points is required to make a surface, or polygon (see Carter 2017). To make a second surface, only an additional point needs to be added, and so on.…”

Different expressions of the same mode: a recent dialogue between archaeological and contemporary drawing practices

“…For example, temporal dynamics are re-enacted when the marks are expressed as 3D physical instantiations in the form of linear card strips cut to the same length as the trowel traces, orientated correctly, and then stacked each in turn on top of the previous stroke. Here the points of contact between each successive card line or linear inflexion are also paradata, every one referencing an instant of pre-reflexive divination, an Ingoldian 'moment of tension', a 'seemingly inconsequential micro-decision' (Carter 2017), that usually passes unnoticed within the unfolding flow, or ductus, of the moving trowel. The physical objects, or linear inflexion mappings, that Gant develops recall the uncanny lines of confused divination created when a priest spills out qian sticks in Taoist rituals.…”