Traditional-based visualization methods for archaeological 3D data: an evaluation

Abstract

3D archaeological visualization is an increasingly frequent and necessary practice, but it still faces application issues. Those are substantiated by the use of visualization tools that are not customized for the archaeological needs and the privileged use of the visual features of models during the archaeological process stages. We propose some visualization methods, based on procedures traditionally practised in archaeology, to stimulate and facilitate their use for 3D visualization of archaeological data. The proposed methods were evaluated by archaeologists to assess their usability and usefulness in the archaeological process. The evaluation concluded that the proposed visualization methods increase the perception of the archaeological 3D models. It was also possible to reveal new elements of archaeological interest.