Visualization of Flake Knapping Sequence with Analyzing Assembled Chipped Stone Tools

Abstract

For studying stone tools, repeating assembly and separation of stone tools is an inevitable process. The instructions of this process, however, are ambiguous when traditional 2D illustrations are used. The 3D exploded view is an effective way for instructing the assembly, and it has been widely used in many fields, while it has seldom been used in archaeology. We apply this powerful presentation technique to stone tool models, and study methods of generating exploded graphs and assembly sequences with point clouds of stone tools by computer graphics algorithms. Moreover, lithic knapping methods and relic excavation reports are analyzed to evaluate the difference of flake knapping sequences between the contents of report and automatic generation by using an algorithm. In addition to presentation of principles for restoring stone tools, we design the functions and algorithms of our system based on archaeological rules. The experiment results of stone tool assembly show effectiveness and practicability of the proposed method. The user evaluation indicates that 3D visualization technology can assist in efficient research of flake knapping sequence instruction for chipped stone tools.