Quantitative analysis of pottery from the Tianma-Qucun site based on 3D scanning and computer technology

Abstract

Quantitative analysis is used to classify pottery ware. This type of analysis is auxiliary and supplementary with respect to traditional archaeology, in which the data used in quantitative analysis are manually measured. The manual approach is slow and inaccurate, and the data extracted for each analysed item do not meet unity standards. Adopting pottery unearthed at the Tianma-Qucun burial site as an example, this article introduces a method for obtaining data using three-dimensional scanning technology and computer programming. The method is fast and accurate, and the analysed data can be loaded in batches. This method overcomes the deficiencies of traditional manual measurement and significantly improves data extraction speed and accuracy. The extracted data are subjected to cluster analysis using multivariate statistical methods to classify the pottery ware. The results are compared with those of traditional typology classification, confirming the feasibility of the method. Thus, the described method represents a research approach.