TY - JOUR
T1 - A new method for 3D geometric morphometric shape analysis
T2 - The case study of handaxe knapping skill
AU - Herzlinger, Gadi
AU - Goren-Inbar, Naama
AU - Grosman, Leore
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2017/8
Y1 - 2017/8
N2 - The following study presents a novel method for computerized 3D geometric morphometric shape analysis of archaeological artifacts. It consists of a newly developed tool for automated positioning of 3D digital models and the following placement of 3D homologous landmarks for geometric morphometric analysis. It provides a quick and easy method for acquiring high-resolution 3D landmark coordinate data. This tool is applicable to a wide range of objects which have two opposed faces of relatively similar size and can be consistently positioned along their maximal length in planform view. The acquired data can be subjected to common multivariate statistical procedures for the quantitative description and analysis of shape variability in an assemblage. The method is applied here to a case study of experimentally produced assemblages of Acheulian handaxe replicas made by six knappers of differing skill levels. An analysis is performed to test whether the shapes of the handaxes can be used to classify them according to their knapper's skill level. Generalized Procrustes analysis (GPA), principal component analysis (PCA) and discriminant analysis (DA) are applied to the landmarks' coordinates. The results indicate that applying DA to PC scores allows a reliable classification of artifacts according to the skill level of their knappers, with a minimal misclassification rate. Thus, this method demonstrates that application of high-resolution 3D geometric morphometric methods can be used for the quantitative differentiation of skill levels based on tool morphology.
AB - The following study presents a novel method for computerized 3D geometric morphometric shape analysis of archaeological artifacts. It consists of a newly developed tool for automated positioning of 3D digital models and the following placement of 3D homologous landmarks for geometric morphometric analysis. It provides a quick and easy method for acquiring high-resolution 3D landmark coordinate data. This tool is applicable to a wide range of objects which have two opposed faces of relatively similar size and can be consistently positioned along their maximal length in planform view. The acquired data can be subjected to common multivariate statistical procedures for the quantitative description and analysis of shape variability in an assemblage. The method is applied here to a case study of experimentally produced assemblages of Acheulian handaxe replicas made by six knappers of differing skill levels. An analysis is performed to test whether the shapes of the handaxes can be used to classify them according to their knapper's skill level. Generalized Procrustes analysis (GPA), principal component analysis (PCA) and discriminant analysis (DA) are applied to the landmarks' coordinates. The results indicate that applying DA to PC scores allows a reliable classification of artifacts according to the skill level of their knappers, with a minimal misclassification rate. Thus, this method demonstrates that application of high-resolution 3D geometric morphometric methods can be used for the quantitative differentiation of skill levels based on tool morphology.
KW - 3D geometric morphometrics
KW - Acheulian handaxes
KW - Discriminant analysis
KW - Experimental archaeology
KW - Homologous landmarks
KW - Skill level
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85020027466&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jasrep.2017.05.013
DO - 10.1016/j.jasrep.2017.05.013
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AN - SCOPUS:85020027466
SN - 2352-409X
VL - 14
SP - 163
EP - 173
JO - Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
JF - Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
ER -