Making a rhino visible!
Today a joint article was published with Springer about a whooly rhino on a stone slab, that I analysed via Reflectance Transformation Imaging. My part was actually very small, but I am nevertheless happy this paper is out now and open access! It is also my first paper with the Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology.
The paper
The paper is about a limestone slab found in Central Germany, that features an engraved image of a rhino from the Magdalenien period. It is unusual as the head of the animal is missing, but it has a very distinctive rear. The paper describes the situation in which the slab was found and how it is probable to date it to 15.350 BP, making the rhino image one of the latest of its kind. The excavations were led by the Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology in Cologne.
The paper further proposes, that this might be one of the last sightings of the (then) wholly rhino, as it was extinct since 14.000 BP. Although the engraving was partly visible after cleaning, the team of the Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology decided to let Reflectance Transformation Imaging do its magic and create a RTI file not only for analysis, but also for sharing.
Reflectance Transformation Imaging
RTI was used to have a closer look at the engraving on the limestone slab. I did three recordings of which we finally used only one (the most detailed one) for analysis. As you can see in the blogs title image, we divided the image into different areas an chose the best possible filter and light direction for each area. In combination, we were able to make the rhino most visible in one photo.
Additionally, I also uploaded the RTI dataset to Zenodo (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.8132815), where you can have a look yourself. Just use a RTI Viewer software (e.g. by Cultural Heritage Imaging) and you are good to go. Try to make the rhino visible! The dataset is older now and since then, I utilized RTI often. Last time I used RTI, I was in Austria documenting animal bones.
Where to find it
The paper was published with Springer in the Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology. It is open access, so you can read it either online or download as a PDF.
Richter, J., Sauer, F., Orrin, J., Hageneuer, S. A Possible Depiction of a Woolly Rhino from the Late Magdalenian Hunting Camp of Bad Kösen-Lengefeld in Central Germany. J Paleo Arch 7, 24 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41982-024-00188-w.
