Articles by Cristiano Putzolu
The necropolis as a landscape of power: some reflections
Abstract
This paper focuses on some methodological approaches specific to digital archaeology in the analysis of a particular type of landscape, namely Etruscan-Italic necropolises. First, it highlights the interpretation of a necropolis as a landscape of ancestors and the importance of material and immaterial practices in the formation of such a space. Then it addresses the theoretical framework of phenomenological landscape analysis, developed in recent decades by C. Tilley, as a privileged way to address both aspects. In order to reconcile the phenomenological approach to landscape with the use of digital spatial technologies, which according to Tilley are insufficient because they are at best ‘representations’ of landscape, A. De Guio’s reading of the Powerscape concept is introduced. De Guio presents various spatial analysis algorithms, as fundamental ‘hammers’ to shape our knowledge of multifaceted landscapes such as powerscapes (an example of which is funerary landscapes). The reconciliation between the phenomenological approach to landscape and GIS-based spatial analyses of perceptual fields (especially vision and hearing) allows us to confidently rely on new perspectives, such as J. Ortoleva’s recent research on auditory perception in Etruscan necropolises or the latest approaches to viewshed analysis.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2024, 35.1, 31-40; doi: 10.19282/ac.35.1.2024.03
L’alta Valle del Taro: strategie locazionali in ambiente montano
Abstract
A case-study is examined concerning the location/allocation strategies of the High Taro Valley (Parma-Italy) during the Middle to the Late Bronze Age and a predictive analysis is performed on the basis of a locally-sensitive application of T. Higuchi's (1998) model. The current work derives from a PhD project carried out by the author at the University of Padova. First, the research project database is presented, then three different analyses performed in mountainous environment are illustrated: two viewshed-based and one distance-based. The first is intended to analyze the visual control of each site on the surrounding landscape and to propose the clustering of sites in different geographical districts following the datum of their intervisibility inside a given buffer. The second seeks to highlight the high rate of overall control of Bronze Age sites over the entire landscape. The distance-based analysis shows a high correspondence between Bronze Age sites and ophiolites formations, known in academic literature as geological formations rich in chalcopyrite and possibly related to bronze metallurgy.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2015, 26, 315-323; doi: 10.19282/ac.26.2015.35
Il rilievo delle superfici tramite fotogrammetria 3D: dal microscavo dei complessi tombali agli scavi in open area
Cristiano Putzolu, David Vicenzutto
Abstract
The need for a quick methodology of 3D surface recording, sensitive to the timing of fieldwork, low cost, and suitable for both micro- and meso-contexts, has induced the writers to develop a standard procedure. It is now possible to obtain a dense x, y, z point cloud starting from the photographic coverage of a surface, respecting precise parameters of overlapping for the different photos picturing the scene, and calibrating the camera. The software used to generate the point cloud is PhotoModeler Scanner, chosen firstly for its internal module of camera calibration and correction algorithm of radial distortion, and secondly for its capacity to verify the position of the different frames and point clouds roto-translating in a known reference system. The key point of the procedure is the importing of the point cloud in a GIS environment, where a DEM is created with an interpolation algorithm. The resulting surface is in the same GIS environment of vector and raster themes documenting the excavation. The procedure was tested in two different case studies: a micro-context corresponding to Tomb 112, a cremation tomb in the Iron Age necropolis of Piovego (Padua, Italy), and a meso-context corresponding to the Late Bronze Age settlement of Gradiscje (Codroipo, Italy). In both cases, meaningful because different in scale stratigraphy and survey issues, it is clear how 3D survey and the subsequent modeling of the point cloud has been fundamental for the understanding of the archaeological record.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2013, 24, 355-370; doi: 10.19282/ac.24.2013.19
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