학술논문

Computer Algorithm for Archaeological Projectile Points Automatic Classification
Document Type
Academic Journal
Source
Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage (JOCCH). 12(3):1-30
Subject
CSS-map
Projectile points
automatic classification
computer vision
image analysis
lithic technology
pattern recognition
Language
English
ISSN
1556-4673
1556-4711
Abstract
The manual archaeological projectile point morphological classification is an extensive and complex process since it involves a large number of categories. This article presents an algorithm that automatically makes this process, based on the projectile point digital image and using a classification scheme according to global archaeological approaches. The algorithm supports different conditions such as changes in scale and quality of the image. Moreover, it requires only a uniform background and an approximate north--south projectile point orientation. The principal computer methods that compose the algorithm are the curvature scale space map (CSS-map), the gradient contour on the projectile point, and the support vector machines (SVM) algorithm. Finally, the classifier was trained and tested on a dataset of approximately 800 projectile points images, and the results have shown a better performance than other shape descriptors such as Pyramid of Histograms of Orientation Gradients (PHOG), Histogram of Orientation Shape Context (HOOSC) (both used in a bag-of-words context), and geometric moment invariants (Hu moments).