Assessing the Effectiveness of Various Scanning Technologies in Digitally Capturing Fingerprints on Corrugated Wares

Summary

Methodological advances in the study of fingerprints by criminologists have revived an interest in using dermatoglyphic evidence to conduct archaeological research. The analysis of fingerprint impressions left in ceramics is being used to investigate topics such as craft specialization and social organization. While most impressions left in ceramics lack the completeness needed to identify individual potters, fragmentary prints can be used to analyze things such as ridge density. Given a large enough sample size, the analysis of ridge density can be used to determine the sex ratio of potters, information that can be applied towards many lines of archaeological inquiry. As an initial step in conducting ridge-line analysis, I test four surface scanning technologies (NextEngine and HDI Advance 3D scanners, a Dino-Lite digital microscope, and photogrammetry) to determine which will produce images most conducive to performing such an analysis. Consideration is given to multiple factors, such as image resolution, ease of use, processing time, and the cost of operation. Gray wares from Chaco Canyon, New Mexico are used to conduct the analysis.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21476