16 research outputs found
Scientific visualization, 3D immersive virtual reality environments, and archaeology in Jordan and the near east
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Characterizing the rural landscape during the Iron Age and Roman period (ca. 1200 B.C.-A.D. 400): An intensive survey of Wadi al-Feidh, Southern Jordan
Archaeological surveys in the southern Levant have traditionally focused on areas with favorable climates and flat terrain where large urban sites are found, corresponding with a research focus on social complexity and state formation. Fewer surveys have explored the rocky, difficult-to-reach areas where large-scale agriculture was rare. This article uses survey data from the 2009 survey of Wadi al-Feidh, southern Jordan, to demonstrate the importance of exploring these environmentally marginal areas. Employing an intensive survey methodology, we recorded a range of sites and features previously unrecognized in this region. These findings suggest that subsistence patterns shifted from small-scale, mixed agro-pastoralism in the Iron Age (1200-586 B.C.) to a more intensive, top-down strategy of agricultural production by the Roman period (ca. 100 B.C.-A.D. 400). The results provide new insight into regional socioeconomic change in the southern Levant from the perspective of peripheral communities
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Scientific visualization, 3D immersive virtual reality environments, and archaeology in Jordan and the near east
Archaeological data is perfectly suited to 3D modeling and visualization. The geographical remoteness of many heritage sites means that few will ever be able to experience them firsthand. For centuries, practitioners of archaeology have meticulously drafted maps and illustrations, and captured photographs of sites and landscapes (Sanders 2014). Two-dimensional maps and photos reflect scale but never fully embody it. Hence, one of the goals of virtual reality modeling is to take another step toward bridging this gap. This article presents a variety of ways archaeologists, working closely with colleagues from computer science, visual arts, and engineering, have worked toward disseminating archaeological datasets to professionals and non-professional audiences alike through virtual reality
Recommended from our members
Scientific visualization, 3D immersive virtual reality environments, and archaeology in Jordan and the near east
Archaeological data is perfectly suited to 3D modeling and visualization. The geographical remoteness of many heritage sites means that few will ever be able to experience them firsthand. For centuries, practitioners of archaeology have meticulously drafted maps and illustrations, and captured photographs of sites and landscapes (Sanders 2014). Two-dimensional maps and photos reflect scale but never fully embody it. Hence, one of the goals of virtual reality modeling is to take another step toward bridging this gap. This article presents a variety of ways archaeologists, working closely with colleagues from computer science, visual arts, and engineering, have worked toward disseminating archaeological datasets to professionals and non-professional audiences alike through virtual reality
Recommended from our members
Iron Age Nomads and their relation to copper smelting in Faynan (Jordan): Trace metal and Pb and Sr isotopic measurements from the Wadi Fidan 40 cemetery
The Faynan region in southern Jordan is the largest copper ore resource zone in the southern Levant and was exploited for these ores beginning ca. 8000 years BP. We discuss the relationship between nomadic populations and major copper smelting sites during the Iron Age (ca. 1200-500 BCE) based on mortuary excavations and toxic metal analyses at the Wadi Fidan 40 cemetery, the largest Iron Age mortuary complex in southern Jordan. The Iron Age represents the first industrial revolution in this part of the Middle East. The study presented here is the first to employ chemical and isotopic measurements from a systematically excavated Iron Age mortuary population to determine exposure to Cu and Pb pollution and mobility patterns (based on Sr isotopes). We describe a methodology to control for post-depositional diagenetic uptake of chemical elements in human teeth recovered from the cemetery that has not previously been applied in Faynan in ancient pollution studies. The results suggest that most of the excess of Pb and Cu measured in tooth enamel samples were a product of post-depositional diagenetic addition. Our findings suggest that the majority of people buried at the Wadi Fidan 40 cemetery were not exposed to metal pollution during their lives. The few individuals who were exposed to metal pollution exhibited a spectrum of traits indicative of lifestyle and social status. The results bring into question how severe the ancient pollution impacted the lives of the Iron Age population living in Faynan