Application of imaging technology for archaeology researches: framework design for connectivity analysis in pieces of Jomon pottery

Jomon pottery is one kind of earthenware produced in Jomon period in Japan. Potteries are found by the excavations in archaeological sites, however their original whole shapes have been dismissed because those are broken and separated into small pieces. In the archaeological investigation process, reproduction of the whole shape of the potteries is one of the important and difficult tasks because there are a lot of pieces and the number of combinations among the pieces is huge. In this paper, a framework for an application of the imaging technology is explained at first, then connectivity analysis among the pieces of Jomon potteries is focused on to reduce the number of trial and error to find connectable combinations in the pieces. The authentic pieces are chosen and taken by a digital camera, and each piece in the image is labeled to calculate the statistical information in the analysis of the connectivity. A coefficient showing the connectivity of the pieces is defined and calculated to indicate probability of connection among the pieces in the image. Experimental result showed that the correct pieces could be detected by using the coefficient.