Digital 3D Models From the Field

Autodesk 123D Catch can be used on your iPad! Watch the video to find out how.
Computer models are a useful way to record and share information about archaeological sites and features. They can be used to record sites before and during excavation, or in the case of sites threatened by climate change, before they disappear. Many sites are in remote places and these digital models allow community members to “visit” them online.
 
Colleen Haukaas made the following models of archaeological features on Banks Island as part of her MA project. She used a low-cost photogrammetry program called Autodesk 123D Catch. Photogrammetry is a technique that links photographs of an object taken from lots of different angles to create a 3D model. Colleen used a digital camera to photograph the features but you can also use a smart phone or tablet!

stone cache

This model shows the remains of a meat cache. People placed stones in a circle and piled them on top to protect stored meat from animals.

Thule-Inuit Whalebone house, Cape Kellett

This is a 3D model of the remains of a Thule-period winter house at Cape Kellett, on the south-west coast of Banks Island. This house has been heavily eroded over time.

Thule-Inuit whalebone house, cape kellett

This is a 3D model of another Thule-period winter house at Cape Kellett. It, too, is heavily eroded.

Whalebone post from Thule-Inuit house

This model shows a whale-bone post that was used to support the walls and roof of one of the Thule winter house at Cape Kellett.

Caribou skull, Cape Kellett

This is a model of a caribou skull next to another of the Thule winter houses at Cape Kellett.

Historic Cache with Polar Bear Skull

This model shows another stone cache from a site on Banks Island’s south coast. This one contains a polar bear skull. Other material from the site indicates that it was used around 1400 AD.

Bone Artifact

This in an artifact that the Ikaahuk Archaeology Project team saw in 2014 on the surface of the same site as the cache illustrated above. It was made by shaping and drilling bone or antler.