RTI Photography Part of a Greater Whole in Archaeological Documentation Methodology

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Digital photography has ushered in many new methods of documenting archaeological resources in the past 15 years. Many of these new methods have been flawed because of a misunderstanding of the potential of the digital technologies and the analog methods they replace. Reflective Transformation Imaging (RTI) photography is a relatively new technique to document geometric surface textures and gather high resolution dynamically lit surfaces of archaeological resources but it is not a replacement for on site drawing and mapping. Nor is photogrammetry a replacement for mapping; these are all components in a greater strategy of archaeological documentation, blending analog (traditional) methods with digital technologies to enhance our understanding and public accessibility to the archaeological resources we all share. Digital file management and migration is a concern regarding these new techniques and recognition of redundancy is necessary. A greater discussion of traditional methodologies and emerging technologies and practices is needed to ensure a complete, accurate, and archival record of the resources documented by archaeologists today. In this paper we will highlight a case study of traditional and digital documentation from Xunantunich, Belize.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 26153