Where did i see you before.. A holistic method to compare and find archaeological artifacts

Abstract

This paper describes the Secanto (Section Analysis Tool) computer program designed to find look-alikes of archaeological objects by comparing their shapes (sections, profiles). The current database contains the low resolution images of about 1000 profiles of handmade Iron Age ceramic vessels from The Netherlands and Northern Germany, taken from 14 'classic' publications. A point-and-click data entry screen enables the user to enter her/his own profile and within 2 minutes the best look-alikes (best, according to a calculated similarity parameter) are retrieved from the database. The images, essentially treated as two-dimensional information carriers, are directly compared by measuring their surface curvatures. The differences between these curvatures are expressed in a similarity parameter, which can also beinterpreted as a 'distance between'. The method looks very promising, also for other types of artifacts like stone tools and coins.