Klaus Hanke

Miners and mining in the Late Bronze Age: a multidisciplinary study from Austria

The extraction and processing of metal ores, particularly those of copper and tin, are regarded as among the principal motors of Bronze Age society. The skills and risks of mining lie behind the weapons, tools and symbols that drove political and ideological change. But we hear much less about the miners themselves and their position in society. Who were these people? Were they rich and special, or expendable members of a hard-pressed workforce? In this study the spotlight moves from the adits, slags and furnaces to the bones and seeds, providing a sketch of dedicated prehistoric labourers in their habitat. The Mauken miners were largely dependent on imported meat and cereals, and scarcely hunted or foraged the resources of the local forest. They seem to be the servants of a command economy, encouraged to keep their minds on the job.

How to Put Archaeological Geometric Data into Context? Representing Mining History Research with CIDOC CRM and Extensions

A wealth of information on cultural heritage coming from archaeological investigations exists in the form of geometric information. Here we want to question how this geometric information relates back to the reality it was intended to document. Building upon the CIDOC CRM - an ontology to represent data for cultural heritage - we apply CRMgeo, an extension to the CIDOC CRM that treats space always in combination with time which is essential to archaeological investigations. Interdisciplinary research on mining sites in Austria within the project HIMAT serves as the field of application for showing our proposal how to put geometries into context. From the various research conducted in the course of HIMAT we selected prospection activities, archaeological excavations, survey and dendrochronological analysis for a prototypical modelling. We want to show how such a modelling may help to answer practical research questions like reconstructing the spatial organisation of the metallurgical production chain.

Genetic Algorithms for Automatic Registration of Laser Scans with Imperfect and Subdivided Features (GAReg-ISF)

The easy on-site application and the possibility of high quality post processing of terrestrial laser scans make their use highly attractive for architectural, archaeological and sculptural documentation. In this paper we present a strategy for handling the fully automatic registration of point clouds characterized by significant noise level, imperfect geometry and occlusions. To handle these datasets we propose to work with both imperfect and subdivided features and to divide the pair-wise matching process into three subsequent stages. First rough feature registration finds auspicious regions in search space, next Genetic Algorithms are used to exploit those areas and form approximate solutions which are then refined in a third step. By combining imperfect and subdivided features with Genetic Algorithms in general feature detection, pair-wise scan matching and multi-view registration, we are able to show globally consistent registrations of real world scenes. Zusammenfassung: Vollautomatische Registrierung von Laserscans mit Genetischen Algorithmen sowie genäherten und unterteilten Merkmalen. Die einfache Vor-Ort-Anwendung und die Möglichkeit einer hochwertigen Weiterverarbeitung terrestrischer Laserscans machen deren Einsatz bei architektonischen, archäologischen und skulpturalen Dokumentationen überaus interessant. In diesem Artikel präsentieren wir eine Methode zur vollautomatischen Registrierung von Punktwolken, welche durch einen signifikanten Rauschpegel, unvollendete Geometrie sowie Verdeckungen gekennzeichnet sind. Um diese Datensätze zu verarbeiten, verwenden wir genäherte und unterteilte Merkmalen und führen die paarweise Registrierung der Scans in drei aufeinander folgenden Schritten durch. Zuerst erfolgt eine Grobregistrierung mittels Merkmalen um erfolgversprechende Bereiche im Suchraum ausfindig zu machen. Im nächsten Schritt werden Genetische Algorithmen verwendet, um diese Bereiche zu erforschen und Näherungslösungen für die im dritten Schritt durchgeführte, abschließende Verfeinerung zu bilden. Durch die Kombination genäherter und unterteilter Merkmale mit Genetischen Algorithmen in der Merkmals-Erkennung, der paarweisen ScanZuordnung und der Multiview-Registrierung können global richtige Registrierungen von realen Scans erstellt werden.

Interpretation of Hand Tool Movement's Trajectories by Spatial Analysis of Bronze Age Tool Marks

The Bronze Age timber construction methods and carpentry techniques can only be studied in unique cases as the ancient wooden artefacts are rarely preserved in good conditions. On the other hand, few archaeological finds as the sluice box from Mitterberg, Austria offer novel interpretation opportunities since the spatial analysis of hand tool impressions results additional information about the utilized hand tool characteristics and about the woodworking processes. An experimental survey was carried out for the better understanding of the tool mark based impact angle investigations of various hand tool strikes. The fine longitudinal morphological parameters of the unknown hand tool heads have also been studied through additional materials as e.g. technical drawings. The combination of the different slope values at the facet outsets and at the adze heads describe the geometry attributes of the unknown impact strikes and these values must be between 25-30 degrees. The trajectory calculations could be achiev...

Using the Photo-CD as a source and digital memory for photogrammetric images: a report on its data compression method and the geometry of the transferred images

The photo compact disk is on its way to becoming a very important tool for every photogrammetrist involved in digital close range applications. The maximum resolution of 2048 by 3072 pixel referring to a 24 by 36 mm negative image, respectively a resolution of 4096 by 6144 with the professional version (Pro Photo CD), leads to the expectation of a high quality standard. The presented paper deals with its data compression method, the analysis of accuracy and geometrical stability of the transferred photo-CD images as a tool for low-cost and easy analog-digital conversion of images. Because the special method of data compression it hits exactly the needs of digital photogrammetry concerning an efficient and fast data storage.