Guest blog: New ways archaeologists ‘dig out’ answers

By: Victoria Nagy, MSc

After spending a field season conducting consultant archaeological field work in Ontario, I wanted to work in a research facility, an environment I enjoyed during my Masters studies. Therefore, I was excited to join the staff at Sustainable Archaeology: Western University. During my past undergraduate and graduate studies I had been exposed to digital archaeology and database development but I had never been able to directly apply those skills.

I was fascinated by the shear potential for research at Sustainable Archaeology since I was first introduced to the facility back in October 2015. As an archaeologist with a background in scientific applications, I was especially interested in its scope and equipment. Research facilities such as Sustainable Archaeology are extremely rare in Canadian archaeology, its existence and continuing innovation fill a scientific void in Ontario archaeology. Sustainable Archaeology: Western University and Sustainable Archaeology: McMaster University showcase how Ontario values archaeological research and will focus on scientific applications to further understand Ontario’s rich heritage.

Hilary Kiazyk, a part-time employee at SA: Western, using the Artec Spider to scan a mammoth tooth (a part of a collection from the Museum of Ontario Archaeology) (Feb. 29, 2016).

My first week at SA I familiarised myself with two of our 3D scanning technologies: the white light scanner and the mobile Artec Spider scanner (blue light scanner). I created a 3D model of a projectile point using the Artec Spider and tried my hand at using a white light scanner with a Historic smoking pipe. The Artec Spider blue light scanner proved to be my favourite piece of equipment in the imaging lab. The speed at which it captured images greatly shorted the imaging process. Also, the editing functions were easier to use and more comprehensive. I definitely enjoyed forming an opinion about these incredible pieces of equipment.

I was also able to print a previously rendered 3D model to better understand the 3D printing process. I learned how key texture editing is to the printing process. Since SA’s 3D printer is a powder printer that applies texture (colour in layman’s terms) during the printing process, editing the texture before printing to obtain the most lifelike texture (and then ensuring the texture seen on a computer monitor is adjusted to reflect the real texture) is essential to creating a lifelike replica. Through their work with 3D printing, SA is creating a new collection of archaeological mimics that can be used for display, study or function.

The applications of 3D scanning and printing are endless. Two replicas of the famed Ötzi were recently produced at Materialise in Leuven, Belgium as a dual effort by the DNA Learning Center and the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology. The team who replicated Ötzi via 3D printing used a CT scanner to generate the 3D model of Ötzi, much like the Micro CT scanner SA owns and operates. The Micro CT scanner at SA is primarily used to understand the internal structures of artifacts. Internal structures can convey to archaeologists how artifacts were made, what materials were used, and reveal any unseen processes. Using a Micro CT scanner would have brought another dimension to my past research studying the newly introduced rehydroxylation (RHX) dating technique. I was only able to conduct Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), which analyses materials’ response to intense heat (Nagy 2015). Access to a Micro CT scanner would have provided me with a much more accurate examination of the internal construction of my samples. The fact that this equipment is available to Western students, and other researchers is so important for future research in Ontario and the wider academic community.

Staff of Materialise and Gary Staab (the expert paleoartist behind the Ötzi replicas - second from the left) (Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory 2016).

As my time at Sustainable Archaeology continues I am constantly amazed at this facility and the potential it represents for the archaeological community in Ontario. The non-destructive analysis conducted here is necessary for the archaeological research of the future. Sustainable Archaeology is providing the next generation of archaeologists with the tools they need to conduct high caliber research. Sustainable Archaeology has facilitated new processes for archaeologists to ‘dig out’ conclusions. I look forward to my time here and the research in the immediate future that results directly from Sustainable Archaeology’s efforts.


References

Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory (2016). The making of Otzi the Iceman. https://www.dnalc.org/programs/otzi.html?utm_source=ALL+CUSTOMERS&utm_campaign=9ea4241666-MED_Otzi&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_7544445bcb-9ea4241666-63081529&goal=0_7544445bcb-9ea4241666-63081529.

Nagy, V. 2015. A methodological study of a simplified rehydroxylation dating procedure (Unpublished Master’s thesis). Durham University, Durham, UK.


Author biography

Victoria Nagy is a new addition to Sustainable Archaeology: Western University. Victoria graduated in 2015 with Distinction from Durham University with a Master of Science in Archaeological Science. In 2013, she graduated with Distinction from Wilfrid Laurier University with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Near Eastern and Classical Archaeology. Victoria has conducted archaeological field work in Jordan, the United Kingdom, as well as northern and southern Ontario. She has joined Sustainable Archaeology as a Data Entry Assistant to aid existing staff with database development. This week is her fourth week with SA: Western.

Database Testing

Our Western University work study students Sarah (left), Rabia (front right) and Mark (middle right) are hard at work in our Digital Conversion lab, testing the database with boxes of archaeological collections recently transferred by our partners, Archaeological Services Inc. Working closely with our database team (including Colin, sitting in the center) they will work through the data entry forms for sites, intra-spatial contexts, and artifacts by entering real world data from site reports and artifact catalogues. In addition to working with the data entry forms, they will also be testing hardware tools that feed directly into the database (no transcription required!), including the DM barcode scanners, digital scales, and digital calipers.

Zooming in on Microscopic Analysis at SA

Sustainable Archaeology has a new piece of analytical equipment - a Nikon SMZ-25 stereoscopic microscope. We are excited by the versatility of this new instrument, which will allow us to view objects within a range of 6.3 to 315x magnification with both direct and transmitted light sources.

Chad Steele, from Nikon Canada, puts the SMZ-25 together.

No single piece of equipment has arrived at our facility intact - everything from our humidity readers to our microCT scanner, even our building, have arrived in multitudes of pre-assembled pieces. This single microscope was no exception - above is an image of just a fraction of the packaging that this piece of equipment came in.

The SMZ-25 is a fully automated microscope; magnification, zoom and even lighting are mechanically adjusted either on the computer or the separate control unit/monitor. Besides magnification, there are a number of lighting options that increase the versatility of the system. It has a transmitted light source in the base that forces light up through an object, allowing us to view things like thin-sections of ceramic or soil on prepared slides. There is a ring light that sits on the lens, providing even illumination of an object, such as a trade bead, from the top-down. And there are goose-neck fibre-optic lights that allow us to move and adjust the angle of the light source to capture and highlight surface details on an object, such as use-wear on the edge of a projectile point. Oblique coherent contrast (OCC) illumination provides contrast and colour to otherwise clear and colourless objects such as diatoms (microscopic algae) or starch. The unit is also equipped with a 5 megapixel camera for capturing publication-quality images, and the Nikon NIS-Elements software comes with the ability to focus-stack (z-stack) multiple images upon one-another in order to capture a clear image with a greater depth-of-field.

Nikon SMZ-25 stereomicroscope with camera and remote control unit.

We look forward to using the microscope to examine floral remains such as seeds and even pollen, phytoliths or diatoms from archaeological sediments. It will also be used to examine the temper inclusions in ceramics, cut marks on faunal remains, usewear on tools, to identify the species of wood/charcoal samples and even examine fingerprints in clay objects. With analytical software capable of defining regions of interest and morphology, counting, measuring, and filtering, this stereomicroscope makes a valuable contribution to the Imaging capabilities of Sustainable Archaeology: Western.

Canadian Archaeology Association Conference: Public Archaeology Day

In addition to the open house event hosted by Sustainable Archaeology and the Museum of Ontario Archaeology as part of the 2014 CAA conference held here in London, we also had the opportunity at the end of the conference to participate in a Public Archaeology day. Sponsored by the CAA conference, the public day featured free public lectures by Chris Ellis of Western University, Dana Poulton and Christine Dodd of D.R. Poulton and Associates Inc., and Ron Williamson of Archaeological Services Inc., as well as displays by local archaeologists and archaeological firms, the Museum of Ontario Archaeology, the DH Maker Bus, the Ontario Archaeological Society, and others. Sustainable Archaeology's table featured the ever popular Oculus Rift with the virtual recreation of the Lawson site, as well as a number of 3D printed objects.

Events such as the public day provide SA with an opportunity to interface with the public, to share what we are doing, and what we hope to accomplish. The Oculus Rift and the 3D prints offered sufficient "wow-factor" to draw people to the table, but conversations quickly evolved past the "wow" to very interesting discussions regarding how digital technologies can help make archaeological artifacts and data accessible beyond archaeologists, and beyond the facility itself. While SA is not intended to be a public facility in that we are not physically open to the public as a museum would be, our database will be publicly accessible once complete, and events such as the public day can help us to understand what the public would be interested in learning about, and interacting with.

Canadian Archaeological Association Conference Open House

On May 15th Sustainable Archaeology: Western, along with our neighbours at the Museum of Ontario Archaeology, welcomed attendees of the 2014 Canadian Archaeological Association conference for an evening open house.

Tours of the repository and laboratories were conducted by Dr. Neal Ferris, Dr. Rhonda Bathurst, and Kira Westby, with Dr. Andrew Nelson exhibiting examples of scanning projects at the micro-CT station in the Ancient Images Laboratory.

Checking out the micro-CT

Repository tour with Dr. Rhonda Bathurst

It was exciting for us to engage with fellow archaeologists from across the country on issues related to collections management, database development, and integrating digital technologies, to hear their feedback on the facility, and to hear their questions. Garnering particular interest amongst some of the attendees was SA's use of barcoding technologies and inventory management tools, as well as our 3D scanning and 3D printing equipment. And of course the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset, showcasing the re-creation of the Lawson site, is always a big hit, both for those trying it out, and for the crowd watching!

Thank you again to everyone who attended, it was a great evening! We hope to hear from many of you again soon!

Mezzanine Box Packing Stations

After receiving several exciting deliveries from our packaging suppliers, we have set up two box packing/artifact processing stations in the repository's Mezzanine. Our stations will be used by SA staff when Sustainable Archaeology has been contracted to re-package collections as part of a transfer. 

 Each station includes trays for laying out artifacts, polyethylene bags, polypropylene vials, clay desiccant and polyethylene foam from Uline, as well as other archival supplies from Gaylord, such as acid test pens (for testing whether packing tissue is acid-free) Paraloid B-72 resin (used to affix the tiny DM code catalogue numbers to artifacts), and gloves.

For more on Sustainable Archaeology's standards for packing collections, please visit our website and browse through our Procedures and Practices.

Tracking our Progress

One of the reasons that we love sharing and updating Sustainable Archaeology's progress on our blog is the opportunity to look back at how far we have come - literally from the ground up! In March of 2011, our Ancient Images Laboratory was just concrete, an idea of what could be. Now, in March of 2014, we have a fully outfitted and functioning space that features our micro-CT scanner, digital x-ray, artifact photography stations, and 3D printer.

Notes from the SA: Spring 2014 Newsletter

Our Spring 2014 newsletter features the upcoming Canadian Archaeological Association conference in London, ON, as well as updates on activities at both the Western and McMaster facilities. Scroll through the embedded PDF below, or download a copy from the Publications page of our website

3D printer training and our first test print

On February 6th and 7th, we received training for our 3D Systems ProJet 660Pro printer. Training included not only how to set up and complete a print using the software, but also essential steps such as the cleaning  of the machine that is required after the conclusion of each print. 

After completing the necessary setup, calibration, and print head alignment, we performed our first test print, using a scan of a small bone comb that had been completed using Sustainable Archaeology's white light 3D digitizers. To test the process of positioning objects in the build envelope using the software, we printed three copies of the same object.

Printing in progress.

After a print is completed, the parts must be carefully excavated from the excess powder in the build envelope. The parts are quite delicate prior to any post-processing treatment, and can easily be broken during removal from the powder. Our objects were particularly delicate, as to maximize our training time, we did not allow for the usual one to two hours of drying time generally recommended between the conclusion of the printing process and the start of post-processing.

Excavating the prints

For our first test, we experimented with one of the available post-processing techniques, which is infiltration using a solution of Epsom salts and water. We plan to experiment further in the coming weeks to determine what scanning procedures produce the best files for printing, and to determine what post-processing techniques will produce the best colour replication. 

Front and back views of the completed print

The final print (right) and the original object

January Arrivals at SA

Happy new year to our blog readers! We've had a busy January so far, welcoming two new arrivals to the facility: our (much anticipated!) 3D printer, and our new artifact cabinets. 

 

The 3D printer is a 3D Systems ProJet 660Pro from vendor Progressive Educational Systems Inc. The ProJet 660 uses a composite powder rather than plastic for its build material, and has the capability to create replication-quality pieces in full colour. Stay tuned for our inaugural "first print" post!

Interior view of the printer

In addition to the printer we received our Delta and Rousseau cabinets from Spacesaver Solutions Inc. The cabinets will be used to house special or fragile artifacts.

Happy Holidays from Sustainable Archaeology

 

Happy holidays to all of our blog readers! Another busy and productive year is drawing to  a close, and we would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who has expressed interest in and support for Sustainable Archaeology throughout the year. We look forward to sharing more stories and events with you through the blog in 2014. Highlights that we are already looking forward to include the delivery of our 3D printer sometime early in the new year, as well as events hosted at the facility during the 2014 Canadian Archaeological Association conference, to be held in London, Ontario this coming May.

From all of us at Sustainable Archaeology, best wishes for the new year!

Artifact Photography Stations

Our artifact photography stations are taking shape. Purchased from Vistek, we have two stationary work spaces and one flexible kit for large-scale or on-site photography. Each stationary station consists of a Nikon D5200 DSLR camera with 18-50mm lens, a Manfrotto tripod, a Lastolite Cubelite, Lastolite lamps, and Westcott Apollo reflectors with Nikon SB700 speedlights. 

Our floating camera station is outfitted with both an 18-200mm telephoto and 60mm macro lens and a 6' Cubelite for optimal versatility in field and lab, with large artifacts and small. Nikon Camera Capture Pro2 software will be used to take the photographs directly from the tethered laptop at each station. 

In addition to the Cubelites, which serve to diffuse light from every direction, we have several different sized reflectors and diffusers, which can be used to manage glare, reflection, and shadow when photographing and 3D scanning artifacts. Every artifact record in the database will include a photo to aid in identification, and to provide remote users with the means to view an artifact online without traveling to the facility.

Sustainable Archaeology at the OAS Symposium

This past weekend staff from both Sustainable Archaeology Western and McMaster attended the annual Ontario Archaeology Society Symposium in Niagara Falls.

View of both the American and Canadian falls from the conference venue

In addition to our workshop at the end of the day, we were in the book room for the day Saturday, and were able to have some great conversations with a number of professional archaeologists, students, and representatives of other organizations such as the Canadian Conservation Institute and the Canadian Museum of Civilization. 

Book room table setup

We received some great feedback on our use of digital tools and inventory management logic  for labeling and cataloguing of artifacts at Sustainable Archaeology, and enjoyed introducing people to the "immersive archaeological experience" using the Oculus Rift - a virtual reality headset that is designed for the gaming industry. The Oculus at  SA is used to immerse users in a reconstruction of the Lawson village site (located next door to SA: Western at the Museum of Ontario Archaeology) created in summer 2012 by the Sustainable Archaeology Animation Unit internship, using the Unreal game engine. 

Trying out the Oculus

We look forward to continuing conversations from the weekend, and continue to welcome feedback on our draft Procedures and Practices document, available on our website. Thanks to the OAS for a great weekend!

"As it Happens": database development using Neo4J

Database development at Sustainable Archaeology "as it happens": the database team works with Neo4J .

Neo4j is used to power metadata queries, such as searches across attributes recorded for each artifact entered into the database.

Screenshot of Neo4J

This visualization of related nodes will be integrated into each element's record in the database, allowing a user to explore connections between different elements. For example, if the element of interest is an artifact, the user is able to explore the connections between that artifact and other related elements, such as the artifact's unit, and site of origin.

October at Sustainable Archaeology

Work study student Branwen applying labels

October has arrived with a flurry of activity, the shipment of several skids of our green artifact storage boxes, and some beautiful colours out back of the facility in the Medway Valley. This month we welcomed two new faces to the facility: Western work study students Ilsa and Branwen. Together they have been helping us to advance over one of the bigger hurdles we have here at the facility - the application of over 27,000 labels to the shelves of the mobile shelving units. Each individual box in the facility will be stored at a unique shelf address, which will be recorded in the database via the DM code barcoding system. Each label stores the information for two shelf locations, the "front" box, and the "back" box behind it.

Throughout the remainder of the month we will be preparing to host a workshop at the Ontario Archaeological Society Symposium in Niagara Falls on Saturday October 26th. Hope to see you there!

Notes from the SA: Fall/Winter 2013

The Fall/Winter 2013 edition of the SA newsletter Notes from the SA is out! Click through the pages below to view online, or download directly from Issuu.

Flotation Machine in Action

Featured in a previous post, Sustainable Archaeology's soil flotation machine from R. J. Dausman Technical Services, Inc. was put through its paces today. A team from New Directions Archaeology Ltd. was on site to un-crate and set up the machine, running the first tests out in the Lawson village at the Museum of Ontario Archaeology, next door. They will be floating dry sediment samples over the next few days that they have collected from some recent excavations the company has been working on.

The machine requires access to running water for its initial fill, as well as access to a source of electricity for circulating the water in the tank. After its initial fill, the machine recycles water within itself to allow for light-fraction flotation, and heavy-fraction rinsing with an attached spray-hose. The material captured in the screens is then allowed to dry on newspaper before it is packaged, and later analyzed. The fine mesh, as seen in the images below, allows for the capture of tiny floating artifacts, such as tobacco seeds. A courser mesh filters the heavier fraction of sediment, which can include artifacts such as shell, bone and pieces of flaked stone tool.

Collections Repackaging at the Museum of Ontario Archaeology

Over the last week volunteers and work study students at the Museum of Ontario Archaeology have been working to prepare the Museum's collections for transfer to Sustainable Archaeology. The work includes the removal of any cardboard, paper bags, newspaper, and any other non-archival quality materials. When complete, the collections will be held in inert, acid free, archival quality materials, including polyethylene bags, acid-free tissue, and polyethylene foam. The repacking effort is guided by the Sustainable Archaeology Collections Procedures and Practices. The Procedures and Practices document, including standards for collections packaging can be viewed on our webpage. We are currently accepting feedback on this draft document, which be provided directly from the website by clicking the orange "Feedback" button to the left of the page.

Museum volunteers and work study students repackaging collections. Image courtesy of the Museum of Ontario Archaeology.

 The repacking project will continue throughout the summer in the Museum's temporary gallery. Visitors to the Museum are invited to view the students and volunteers while they work, and to ask questions about the process and the collections.

Ark of the Covenant, or....?

While the large crate and black wrapping material may give off an exciting aura of mystery, we have to  disappoint our fellow archaeologists with the news that the latest arrival at the facility is not the Ark of the Covenant, but in fact a soil flotation machine from R. J. Dausman Technical Services, Inc.

Sustainable Archaeology's Collections Procedures and Practices

Sustainable Archaeology's Collections Procedures and Practices are now available on our newly re-vamped website at sustainablearchaeology.org/procedures-practices. These procedures and practices will ensure that all collections transferred to and held in-trust by Sustainable Archaeology are effectively cared for over the long term.

We are currently seeking feedback on this draft version of the Procedures and Practices, and welcome comments and suggestions. Feedback can be provided via email by clicking on the orange "Feedback" button on the left side of every page of the website. Please make reference to the section of the Procedures and Standards that you are providing comments on in your email.

We thank you in advance for your continued interest in Sustainable Archaeology, and for your contribution to the finalization of our procedures and practices.