La Venta was a large regional center located near the Gulf coast in Tabasco, Mexico. From ca. 800–400 BC it was the major Olmec capital in Mesoamerica. Despite its significance La Venta has received little archeological attention. The clay structures of its ritual precinct, Complex A, excavated in the 1940s–50s, were subsequently destroyed. Unfortunately, the published reports on those excavati...

Automatic reconstruction of archeological broken objects is an invaluable tool for restoration purposes and personnel. In this paper, we assume that broken pieces have similar characteristics on their common boundaries, when they are correctly combined. In this paper we work in a framework for the full reconstruction of the original objects using texture and surface design information on the sh...

Recent evaluation of the use of Pleistocene megafauna by Clovis hunter-gatherers has suggested that a small number of reliable associations between Clovis artifacts and the remains of Proboscideans are documented, with perhaps as few as 14 occurrences currently known. Specifically, we ask whether 14 is a large or a small number of associations given the spatio-temporal dimensions of the Clovis ...

In cognitive archeology, theories of cognition are used to guide interpretation of archeological evidence. This process provides useful feedback on the theories themselves. The attempt to accommodate archeological data helps shape ideas about how human cognition has evolved and thus— by extension—how the modern form functions. But the implications that archeology has for cognitive science parti...

A review of the archeological and non-archeological use of visibility networks reveals the use of a limited range of formal techniques, in particular for representing visibility theories. This paper aims to contribute to the study of complex visual relational phenomena in landscape archeology by proposing a range of visibility network patterns and methods. We propose firstand second-order visib...

This paper describes the procedures of reconstructing ancient architecture using solid modeling with geometric analysis, especially the Golden Ratio analysis. In the past the recovery and reconstruction of ruins required bringing together fragments of evidence and vast amount of measurements from archeological site. Although researchers and scholars in the archeological field have used traditio...

The reconstruction of broken artifacts is a common task in archeology domain; it can be supported now by 3D data acquisition device and computer processing. Many works have been dedicated in the past to reconstructing 2D puzzles but very few propose a true 3D approach. We present here a complete solution including a dedicated transportable 3D acquisition set-up and a virtual tool with a graphic...

The Yale University Prehistoric Expedition to Nubia was part of UNESCO'S international program to salvage the monuments of Nubia, with the direct aid of the Department of Antiquities of the United Arab Republic. The Yale Prehistoric Expedition worked in Upper Egypt and Egyptian Nubia for three field seasons during 1962-1965 inclusive (Reed, 1966). My own participation was limited to the last se...