Archaeology

Computer vision is probing the history of ancient pottery | What’s new: Researchers at Northern Arizona University developed a machine learning model that identifies different styles of Native American painting on ceramic fragments and sorts the shards by historical period.

Machine learning promises to streamline handling of tomorrow’s bureaucratic drudgery — and, it turns out, that of 2,500 years ago. Computer vision is helping researchers at the University of Chicago translate a massive collection of ancient records inscribed on clay tablets.

Image analysis guided by AI revealed a 2,000-year-old picture dug into the Peruvian desert. Researchers analyzing aerial imagery shot over Peru found a pattern that looks like a three-horned humanoid holding a staff.