Animation of the Day: 1649 Oliver Cromwell Clasp from the City Point Site, Petersburg National Battlefield, VA

by Bernard K. Means, Director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory (VCL)

 

Today’s animation is rare 1649 clasp bearing a shield of Oliver Cromwell, 1st Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland.  It was recovered from the City Point Site on Petersburg National Battlefield in Petersburg, Virginia. It was scanned Monday, September 29, 2014 at the Fort Lee Regional Archaeological Collections Facility on Fort Lee, Virginia.

John Bush and Rebecca Bowman scan an artifact at Fort Lee.

Animation of the Day: Fifteenth Vessel from the Museu De Arqueologia E Etnologia

by Bernard K. Means, Director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory

 

Today’s animation is the fifteenth vessel from the the Museu De Arqueologia E Etnologia in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil that was scanned and animated by Zac Selden of the Center for Regional Heritage Research of Stephen F. Austin State University (SFASU), as detailed here.  The scanning of these vessels is part of a larger cooperative research project involving SFASU,  the University of Missouri, Texas A&M University, the Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, and the Virtual Curation Laboratory

Animation of the Day: Fourteenth Vessel from the Museu De Arqueologia E Etnologia

by Bernard K. Means, Director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory

 

Today’s animation is the fourteenth vessel from the the Museu De Arqueologia E Etnologia in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil that was scanned and animated by Zac Selden of the Center for Regional Heritage Research of Stephen F. Austin State University (SFASU), as detailed here.  The scanning of these vessels is part of a larger cooperative research project involving SFASU,  the University of Missouri, Texas A&M University, the Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, and the Virtual Curation Laboratory

Animation of the Day: Thirteenth Vessel from the Museu De Arqueologia E Etnologia

by Bernard K. Means, Director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory

 

Today’s animation is the thirteenth vessel from the the Museu De Arqueologia E Etnologia in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil that was scanned and animated by Zac Selden of the Center for Regional Heritage Research of Stephen F. Austin State University (SFASU), as detailed here.  The scanning of these vessels is part of a larger cooperative research project involving SFASU,  the University of Missouri, Texas A&M University, the Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, and the Virtual Curation Laboratory

Animation of the Day: Map of Jamestown by a Spanish Spy

by Bernard K. Means, Director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory (VCL)

 

Today’s animation is 1608 map of Jamestown made by a Spanish spy that has been converted into a 3D illustration. The cross in the center of the map represents a 1608 church recently excavated by Jamestown Rediscovery, as detailed here.

 

Animation of the Day: Grommet from the Battle of Bladensburg, 1814

By Bernard K. Means, Director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory.

 

Today’s animation is a grommet from the Bladensburg Battlefield site (51NE44) in Washington, D.C. This artifact  is part of a larger collection of artifacts from the Battle of Bladensburg that were loan to the Virtual Curation Laboratory to be scanned for the battle’s bicentennial on August 24th, 2014.

Animated Object of the Day: 17th Century White Clay Basketry Impression Vessel Base Fragment from Jamestown

by Bernard K. Means, Director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory

Today’s animation is the base of a white clay basketry impressed vessel recovered archaeologically by  Jamestown Rediscovery. White clay was impressed on the interior of an American Indian basket in the early 17th century, presumably by tobacco pipe maker Robert Cotton.  The basket did not survive the passage of time, but the negative impression did.  Prior to the reconstruction of the mostly complete vessel, the Virtual Curation Laboratory scanned a single sherd, as detailed here. Lauren Volkers and I scanned the reconstructed vessel on March 5, 2014, as detailed here. An insufficient number of sherds existed to connect the base fragment to the rest of the vessel, but it is separately of interest because it does preserve the starting point for the basket.

Animated Object of the Day: Cartoon of Martha, the Last Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius)

by Bernard K. Means, Director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory

Today’s animation is whimsical cartoon based on Martha, the last passenger pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) This was drawn by Virginia Commonwealth University alumnus (and now University of West Florida graduate student) Mariana Zechini when she acted as the VCL’s digital zooarchaeologist.  Martha, the last known passenger pigeon, died 100 years ago on September 1, 2014.  For more on our efforts to create a digital zooarchaeological collection of passenger pigeon elements, and those of other extinct and non-extinct animals, visit the Virtual Curation Laboratory here. A Beta version of a passenger pigeon APP can be found here.

Animation of the Day: Susie Hutcheson’s Grave Marker in Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia

by Bernard K. Means, Director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory (VCL)

 

Today’s animation is a grave marker scanned at Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia, on April 9, 2014.  The grave marker was for Susie Hutcheson, who lived from 1892 to 1900.  The grave marker is missing its right hand. A Sense 3D scanner was used by VCL’s Lauren Volkers to scan the grave marker.

Animation of the Day: Close Burgonet Helmet from Jamestown

by Bernard K. Means, Director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory (VCL)

Today’s animation is a a close helmet excavated in 2007 by  Jamestown Rediscovery. The helmet was carefully conserved in the shape in which it was found, with the visor bent away from the bevor, as detailed here Physically unbending the metal helmet could damage the actual object, but this is not a restriction with digitally unbending. This particular animation derives from a 3D scan using a Sense 3D scanner, which is relatively crude for this purpose, but nonetheless illustrates the potential of digital reconstruction and manipulation of archaeological items distorted from their original shapes.  The close helmet will be rescanned with a NextEngine Desktop 3D scanner in the near future.