Preservation of archaeobotanical remains and the analytic process using X-ray microtomography
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2448-1750.revmae.2023.187986Keywords:
X-ray Microtomography, Archaeobotany, Non-destructiveness, Preservation, MacrovestigesAbstract
X-ray microtomography use to study macrobotanical remains is a recent practice in archaeology, despite its broad spectrum of applications in several research areas, which point to the non-destructiveness of microtomographic procedures as one of its main attributes, along with the high resolution of the resulting tridimensional images. This paper explores the importance of this particular feature regarding some aspects of studying and preserving macroscopic archaeobotanical remains. By preserving the integrity and enabling the re-analysis of investigated objects, X-ray microtomography optimizes the quality of the results and expands the scope of the analytical techniques used. This advantage is expressed both in current and future research since the object can be preserved for further studies and analyses following the development of new techniques and approaches. Along with the preservation of the physical object, a tridimensional digital replica or model is generated, which can be used for analytical purposes or as a back-up for analytical data. Moreover, these virtual tridimensional models enhance the mechanisms of sharing and availability of research data and have a noticeable effect in emphasizing the visual value of archaeobotanical materials.
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Copyright (c) 2023 Cristina Marilin Calo, Marcia A. Rizzutto
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Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
Grant numbers 2016/12867-7