3D Models as Useful Tools in Archaeothanatology
Résumé
Since the 1960s, various technological developments have changed research practices in all disciplines. These profound transformations are the consequences of the advent of computers and, above all, access to great computing power. Innovations and tools are rapidly being transferred from industry to the social sciences and humanities, and being adapted for use in archaeology and biological anthropology. The first symposium on quantitative methods in archaeology was the Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA) held in Birmingham, UK, in 1973 (Laflin, 2014). The development of computer tools has changed the recording of data in the field with the creation of databases to guide observations. This profoundly modified the analysis of archaeological sites by introducing multi-dimensional, quantitative and qualitative analysis of archaeological features (Djindjian and Vigneron, 1980). Similarly, the use of digital photography constitutes an important step for the discipline, with modification of not only excavation practices, recording and treatment of data, but also as an aid for framing of research questions. Indeed, digital photographs have made it possible to increase the number of field records but also offer the possibility of being aggregated, annotated or modified using specific software, thus contributing to the creation of new data. That way, they become a real research aid beyond the simple archive document. Digital photography enriches existing data, creates new data, and thus can contribute to the formulation of new research problems. Digital photographs can be both a working medium and a means of dissemination of an object or a site (Collet, 1996). This way, it becomes a real research aid, beyond the simple archive document. In addition, adding light colorimetry that modifies visualisation of statues and clarity of inscriptions also reveals details that permit new insights in a funerary context.