Experimental Archaeology and Formation Processes: New Experiments with Spatial Modeling
Hayley Malloy · ScholarWorks -A service of University of Vermont Libraries (University of Vermont) · 2019
Formation processes, or the ways that ancient sites are formed, are of central interest to archaeology. Experimental archaeology has been useful in connecting and correlating human behavior with patterns in the archaeological record and has proved to be a growing field within the discipline. This thesis outlines an experimental study that examines the dispersal patterns of modern pottery during breakage, which can be used to simulate the structure of ceramic sherd assemblages in archaeological contexts. The study demonstrates the utility of 3D modeling in these archaeological contexts and its assistance in understanding the assemblages in a three dimensional context. The results offer a preliminary framework for documenting and analyzing artifact breakage and the formation of archaeological sites.