Reasoning on the original appearance & use of a bronze implement with 3D models
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 31/10/2019

The use of 3D models in object analysis is not a widespread method and the few exceptions are mostly restricted to studies of prehistoric weapons and lithic tools. This study introduces a new type of object to this kind of approach: a bronze figurine composed of a human torso and head ending with a half-moon shaped spatula or blade. This find was brought to light in 2016 at the coastal site of Pyla-Kokkinokremos (Cyprus), a fortified Late Bronze Age settlement occupied for a short period of time in the decades surrounding 1200 BC (Late Cypriot IIC-IIIA). Archaeologically speaking, the object has very few, if any, parallels in the material culture of the region. The figurine was scanned with a high-resolution structured light scanner and further analyzed in a variety of software environments specialized in the visualization, manipulation and geometric analysis of 3D models. Through them, it was possible to observe previously unidentified decorations and, based on geometric and surface analyses, to formulate a hypothesis on the possible use and manipulation of the object. Following these analyses, we propose a virtual reconstruction of selected geometric features, which may suggest possible analogies with other figurines from the region. Moreover, we introduce the concept of virtual experimentation, through which we suggest how the object was handled and used. Our hypotheses were tested by further rugosity (smoothness) analyses of the surfaces of the figurine’s edge and supported by the discovery of possible geometric alterations of its head.

Full title: Virtual Experimentation - Reasoning on the original appearance and use of a bronze implement from Pyla-Kokkinokremos (Cyprus) with high-resolution 3D models 

(Martina Polig, Sorin Hermon, Simon Jusseret, Jan Driessen, Giusi Sorrentino, Athanasia Kanta, Joachim Bretschneider)