1. Visualizing the Past for the Present:
Archaeology in an Interdisciplinary Age
Ashley M. Richter
Ashley M. Richter
PhD Student in
Anthropological Archaeology
National Science Foundation’s (NSF)
Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) project for
Training, Research and Education in Engineering for Cultural Heritage Diagnostics (TEECH)
at the Center of Interdisciplinary Science for Art, Architecture, and Archaeology (CISA3)
at the California Institute of Telecommunication and Information Technology (Calit2)
at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD)

2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
•What is Archaeology?
•How does Cultural Heritage Diagnostic Visualization
fit in to Archaeology?
•UCSD & CISA3 pushing the cultural heritage
diagnostic visualization envelope
•Work on Integrated Tech for Data Capture &
Dissemination
•Establishment of the CISA3 Undergraduate Research
Internship (C.U.R.Is)
•The Future of Cultural Heritage Diagnostics…

3. What is Archaeology?
The Scientific Study of Material Remains
of Past Human Cultures
= Artifacts and Sites

4. Why?
So that we can try and interpret intersections
between Objects, Space, and Time
to make sense of our past.
Often works best to visualize for dissemination
- timelines, maps, etc…= BIG DATA issues

5. I study spatial relations within sites and
the placement of sites within the
landscape.
V.S
.
The center of campus
has moved as the
campus expanded
Roman Dining vs Contemporary Dining at the Loft

6. How do we do this in archaeology?

8. New Technologies Continue to Change the Game…

9. PHYSICAL
Evolving Data Capturing Technologies
Mean
INTANGIBLE
(Ceci n’est pas le site!)
The Site A Photograph of the Site
(2D)
Accurate 3D Point Cloud
Model of the Site

11. Layered Realities!!
3D Immersive Cave Systems
Collaborative Visualization Walls
Augmented Reality: ARtifact
Capable Point Rendering Software

12. Center of Interdisciplinary Science for
Art, Architecture, and Archaeology =

13. Terrestrial LiDAR
= The best way to get a dense data scaffold in the field-
if it could be adapted for rapid deployment in uncertain
environments…

14. TEST CASE 2011 Khirbat Faynan, Jordan
*testing the engineering
*creating metadata standards & workflow
*building a digital scaffold

15. Rescue LiDAR at Umm al-Amad

16. SANDCASTLES FOR SCIENCE
NSF-IGERT Mini- Grant Project: Sediment Interval & Site Deformation Processes:
Exploring Time Lapse Laser Scanning Capabilities & Methodologies for Archaeology

17. Jordan 2012:
Back at Faynan looking at integrating more
technologies into the data capture process…

18. Invited to collect data at Petra….
The Temple of the Winged Lions with the
American Center of Oriental Research’s
Conservation Project

19. Petra Mosaic Church

21. Fall Field Work in Italy

23. The CISA3 Undergraduate Research Interns:
Past & Present
•Rebecca Asch, International Studies, Data Collection Management
•Shelby Cohantz, Cognitive Science, Neurological User Interface Design
•James M. Darling, Cognitive Science, Phenomenological User Interface Design
•Ross Davison, Archaeology, Laser Scanning Use in Field Archaeology
(now graduated, works with CyArk)
•Jonathan Eliashiv, Geophysics, Underwater Site De-Formation
•Aliya Hoff, Anthropology- Underwater Archaeology
•Kat Huggins, Anthropology, Illustration Apps, Materiality & 3D Printing
•Annie Jessup-Snyder, Visualizing Lithic Typologies
•Jessica Linback, International Studies, Data Hierarcihes for Point Clouds
•Bridget McGovern, Linguistics, Education Outreach
•Adrian Phillips, ICAM, Social Implications of Augmented Reality Systems
•Savannah Shifrin, Anthropology, Coastal Site Deformation
•Leah Trujillo, Anthropology, Education Outreach
(graduated- now works for LACHMA)
•Lillian Wakefield, Environmental Chemistry, XRF & Multispectral Imaging for Cultural
Heritage Diagnostic Visualization

26. Taking our terrestrial data collection and visualization
methodologies and applying them towards underwater
cultural heritage surveys
Underwater Archaeology

27. Multi-Spectral Imaging
X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF)
Radiography

29. Engineering
Computer
Science
Cognitive
Science
Anthropology
Ancient
History
Museum
Studies
ArchaeologyPublic
Archaeology
Chemistry
Physics
Political
Science
Mathematics
Architecture
Visual Arts
Interdisciplinary & Collaborative
Material
Science
Art
History

30. New something all its own- lots of names for it...
*CyberArchaeology * * Archaeoinformatics*
*Archaeological Visualization *
* Computational Archaeology *
*CulturalHeritage Diagnostics*
*Digital Archaeology* *Digital Heritage *

31. Cultural Heritage Diagnostics PhD Track?

32. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
•The National Science Foundation (NSF) Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT)
project for Training, Research and Education in Engineering for Cultural Heritage
Diagnostics (TEECH)
• the Center of Interdisciplinary Science for Art, Architecture, and Archaeology (CISA3)
•
• the California Institute of Telecommunication and Information Technology (Calit2)
•
•the Anthropology Department at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD)
•My fellow CISA3 Asgardians: Vid Petrovic, Tom Wypych, David Vanoni, and Andrew
Huyhn
•My CISA3 colleagues, esp: John Mangan, Joe DeBlasio, David Srour, Jason Kimball
•My CURIs- especially James Darling and Aliya Hoff
•Professors Thomas E. Levy (Anthropology), Falko Kuester (Computer Science &
Engineering), Maurizio Seracini (EmerituS Engineering)
•The fabulous Alex Hubenko and amazing Vanessa Pool

33. Interested in Learning/Seeing/Participating?
Email contact: arichter@ucsd.edu
Or Come Visit CISA3 at Calit2
Second floor of Atkinson Hall