Archaeology and Computer Analysis Computer databases and generated imaging are more than an aid in illustration. They help archaeologists comprehend ancient structures and sites. Computer models allow archaeologists to accurately measure and analyze ancients monuments, to extrapolate the original appearances of deteriorated monuments, or to recreate the forms of ruined domestic structures and the morphology of ancient settlements. CAD and GIS CAD systems emphasize computer graphics, whereas GIS technology places emphasis on building an intelligent database of artifacts, features, and their attributes, based on their spatial coordinates and complex interrelationships as objects in three-dimensions. GIS programs use spatially related data to perform a host of analyses, and they can create new spatial information from existing spatial data.
Topology is a branch of mathematics that deals with relationships among geometric objects.
A topological data structure is the foundation for many of the analytical functions found in a vector-based GIS program, defining and managing the connectivity and contiguity among database features. Connectivity and contiguity are the types of relationships that are intuitively obvious to the human brain when viewed on a map but difficult to translate to the computer. Topology provides the means by which to accomplish this translation. Vector-based GIS programs use a topological structure consisting of discrete points, line segments, and arcs to represent features and identify locations. Lines can also be joined to form polygons representing boundaries, such as features, settlements, vegetation zones, etc.