GIS for Archaeology and CRM

Within most GIS projects, particularly when 3D visualization is involved, divergent data sources and formats need to be brought together into a single product (Quickly and Cheaply). As an aid in figuring out how I was going to get data from one visualization platform to another, I created a simple chart that reminded me what went where. As I am sure there are more productive work arounds than listed here, I would be more than interested to hear from any readers who have suggestions.

click image for larger view

Below you will find a list of links for the various programs and plugins for converting these particular data sets. In the future, I will post some project examples.

3D Studio Max
ArcGIS
ArcScene/ArcGlobe
AutoCAD
Blender - Open Source
Google Earth - Open Source
Sketchup
DXF Author (ESRI Shapefile to DXF) - Open Source
Shapefile to Sketchup - Open Source
Blender 3DS Import/Export - Open Source
Blender to KML - Open Source
Sketchup to KML - Open Source

*Please note: I do not endorse these products. I am in no way affiliated with any of these products. I use this software for my day to day work and I though someone may get use out of this information.

The best and the worst thing about archaeology sites is location. Knowing the location of a site or multiple sites can help create models to find more sites and/or better understand what we know about a site. At the same time, archaeological site location is highly secure data. This is for the sites protection. There is a lot of money to be made on archaeological artifacts.

Here is the location of my favorite archaeological site. I may be breaking a rule by showing this, but it doesn’t really matter. Since, Google Maps is living in the past, you wouldn’t know that this site is now covered in dozens of high density housing units. Any potential scavengers would find nothing here except golf balls the folks shanked them.

I guess my point is, to me, archaeological sites are much more than just a point on the landscape that has artifacts buried in the dirt. Each is a place. Each has a personality, a view, a feel. There are numerous websites popping up lately that integrate places and commentary. Platial “The Collaborative Atlas”, for example, is well known. It would be ideal to share with people the places I love and why feel that way about them. Beyond that, archaeological sites are a part of a town, state, county’s heritage that belongs to everyone, not just a privileged few. Archaeological sites deserve to be part of an atlas. With people opening up their minds to spatial thinking and taking in new aspects of the environment, I would argue that archaeological information would be of interest. Anything to get people interested in archaeology should be pursued

This is a pretty big topic in American archaeology. We want everyone to enjoy and learn from these sites. We preach that they belong to everyone and that justifies why we spend money to excavated them. But we secret them away because the integrity and intactness of the sites is the key to being valuable. So in the end, I can only show this place because it is gone.

OpenGraven Be is Google maps based mapping of archaeological excavations in the Flanders region of Belgium (written in Flemish). Below the heading there are links to display sites mapped across Flanders organized by time periods. Each point on the map documents an excavation with a representative photo. Also embedded, is a link to more information regarding that site.

This project represents a first look at what will probably be a pretty common method of deploying archaeological information. One certain advantage is the price and efficiency of using the Google Maps API. Benefiting most from such efforts will most likely be heritage tourism sites. The ability to locate and access information on public excavation and interpretation efforts from an intuitive and common interface will help bring in the people.

A paper [Abstract] on this project is scheduled for presentation by Vereenooghe Tijl (Catholic University Leuvwn, Belgium at the Computer Application and Quantitative Methods (CAA06) April 18th. I will be talking much more about this conference and certain papers throughout the next few weeks. Held for the first time in the United States, the CAA06 is an international showcase for the use of technology in archaeology.

Reported Monday, over at A Life Of Coding, Ynniv released a Python script for Blender 3D that exports your 3D meshes, with diffuse lighting, into Google Earth’s KML format. Blender is an open source 3D modeling, rendering, and animation studio that has just celebrated its 10th birthday. This marriage of open source and user created software significantly adds to the body of available tools to create very low cost 3D modeling and visualization.

Check out A Life of Coding for the script and installation insrtuctions.
Below is an image of the example KML provided by Ynniv.

Tomorrow morning I will be heading to Virginia Beach, VA for the 36th annual Middle Atlantic archaeological Conference. I will try to get the scoop on any new and cool GIS uses or applications in the Mid Atlantic archaeology/CRM world.

Much to the appreciation of UK archaeologists, a new program entitled VISTA (Visualizing integrated information on buried assets to reduce streetworks) aims to map the roughly 1.5 million kilometers of gas, sewer, water, and electricity utilities now in place under the their streets. With a significant portion of these conduits being nearly 200 years old, current knowledge of their whereabouts is sketchy at best (diagram below shows the complexity of utilities). Nottingham and Leeds University based researchers are leading a project team, including a number of archaeologists and ex-archaeologists (information gathered from the ARCHCOMP-L listserv), in a test case study at 6 locations within the UK.

This project aims to drastically decrease the number of holes dug to find long lost utilities, increase the response time to fixing utilities, and nullify the reported 30 – 40 injuries per year caused by accidentally digging into electrical lines. Using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), Global Positioning Systems (GPS), and pseudolites (essentially ground based GPS satellites) researchers will strive for centimeter accuracy.

The idealized product from this mapping effort is a 3D rendered data set of the entire utility system that can be served to linemen in the field on handheld units. From these handhelds, field crews can visualize the entire network under their feet and avoid costly or dangerous impacts.

Archaeologist in the UK would be very well served by knowing the precise location of such utilities. With the appropriate data in place, archaeologists would not only be safer, but would dig fewer disturbed contexts, and foster analysis through knowledge of construction fill locations and dates which utilities were laid.

Check out this article at BBC news for more info.

The “Spatial Data Standard for Facilities, Infrastructure, and Environment” (SDSFIE), developed by the CADD/GIS Technology Center, part of the US Department of Defense DoD, is a set of tools to develop “non proprietary” GIS data content standards that can be used with most major off the shelf GIS/CADD and relational database applications. Basically, the SDSFIE is composed of a set of tools that function within a defined data structure to create both spatial and/or tabular data sets which can be specified for a particular application. This data standard is employed by many DoD installations in the US for cultural, environmental, and physical resource management.

First, take a look at the data structure of the SDSFIE. The hierarchy starts with the “Entity Sets” which houses numerous “Entity Classes”, down to “Entity Types”, which contain “Attribute Tables”, defined by “Domain Tables”. To put this in ESRI lingo:

Entity Classes = Feature Data Sets
Entity Types + Attribute Tables = Feature Classes

The SDSFIE comes prebuilt with a host of Entity elements in place. Generally, these are Entity sets, types, and classes that the DoD felt useful in organizing their facilities and structures, but they are not exclusive to the military. There are a total of 26 Entity Sets, 185 Classes, and 1,122 Types as of the most recent SDSFIE release (2.5). The Sets include Buildings, Geology, Ecology, Communications, and Cultural. I will demonstrate an example using the Cultural Entity Set in a moment. From these sets, the classes and types become more specific.

The Browsers are used to browse the data structure to find attributes and relationships. The Filter Maker is used to create a filter of the data structure for fast and efficient database creation. The Builders/Generator are used to create the database, using filters or manually, for a given application. And the Loader is used for data entry. Also handy is the web based Browser and Filter maker. Use this to take a walk through the data structure.

Here is a quick example using archaeology:
Entity Set: cultural
Entity Class: cultural_archaeological
Entity Type: archaeological_artifact_point
Table: crarcart
Discriminant Domain: art_type_d
Domain Values: “Fire_Rock”, “General”, “Unknown”

The table “crarcart” is used to locate and define “Objects or archaeological significance which, due to their size or nature, have not been removed from the site.” In an implementation of the SDSFIE, this table would be used in relation to classes representing archaeological sites, testing areas, sensitive areas, cleared areas, and installations.

Creating filters and GDBs takes a little getting used to, but fortunately, there is a free online “Basic Training” available. This consists of 15 short courses which culminate in a quiz and a printable certificate of completion.

Over at the Google Earth Community forum, there is an interesting on going competition in the “Fun and Games” board. The “Find the Archaeology” game posts display a Google Earth image of an archaeology site somewhere in the world and it is your job to find it. Play by either searching the boards, or check out the indexed list over at About.com

The most recent archaeological site in question (#22) is:

Although not the ESRI developers Summit, here a few upcoming conferences of interest:

Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA 2006):

• The international CAA 2006 is being held for the first time in the United States. Way up in frosty Fargo, North Dakota, this looks to be a killer conference. Sessions range from the use of Google Earth and Wikipedia as archaeological tools, to modeling, 3D visualization, Digital libraries, simulation, and theory to name a few.

Pennsylvania GIS Conference 2006 (PAGIS 2006):

• Following current trends, the PAGIS 2006 conference, held in Camp Hill, PA, is entitled, “Earth, Arc, Google, and Beyond: The Mass Commercialization of Geospatial Technology, Where Can It Take Us?” I will certainly attend this showing. Although, not CRM related, I’m sure I can work it in there somewhere.

Delaware GIS 2006: Patterns of Change:

• Last year this was a great regional conference and I anticipate the same this year. Focusing on the use of Geospatial technologies to study and react to the way in which people have changed the landscape, there should be some good papers on ecology, landscape studies, transportation, and cultural resources. If any one is in the area of Newark, Delaware, stop on by.

Okay, so it’s not the Dev summit, but they’re a heck of a lot cheaper! If your stuck somewhere cold and windy, like myself, read about the on going fun at the ESRI Developers Summit at Very Spatial or Spatially Adjusted. IF you plan on attending any of these conferences, let me know.