Three-Dimensional Gigapan Views of Archaeological Sites and Artifacts: Examples from the Paleolithic of Southwest France

<p>The use of Gigapan imagery in an archaeological context allows for quick, very high resolution recording of excavation<br>surfaces, artifacts and surrounding areas. At the Paleolithic site of Abri Castanet (France), we have, since 2008, used a<br>Gigapan imager mounted horizontally to record lateral variation across our active excavation surface. Using GIS software<br>and topographic data from our onsite Total Station, we can then minimize distortion, plot the image relative to artifact and<br>feature locations and display all of these data in three-dimensions. This gives us a unique way to record and analyze patterns<br>of variation across a constrained archaeological horizon. In addition, we have recently began a project using this technique to<br>record, process and project imagery of early Upper Paleolithic engraved blocks and rockshelter ceilings, representing some of<br>the earliest examples of cave art in Europe.</p>