Finger flutings are lines and markings drawn with the human hand in soft cave sediment in caves and rock shelters throughout southern Australia, New Guinea and southwestern Europe, dating back to the Late Pleistocene. Analysis of these markings can reveal characteristics of the creators, such as age, sex and group sizes. However, despite a comprehensive method of study, data collection is still reliant on in field measurements and is often constrained by physical challenges within the caves. Advances in technology allow us to record archaeological data in three dimensions. Creating 3D models of finger fluting panels would allow for off-site measurements and other forms of detailed analysis. In this thesis, I test three different 3D scanning techniques, photogrammetry, tripod structured light scanning, and handheld structured light scanning, to determine the most appropriate method for the documentation of finger flutings based on factors such as portability, cost, efficiency, accuracy, as well as other challenges present in cave and rock shelter settings. I created replica fluting panels in three different media and created 3D models of them. I then compared measurements taken from the panels in person to measurements taken from the 3D-scanned models to see if there is statistically significant difference between the models and the panel. The results of my experiment show that 3D models of finger fluting panels are accurate representations of the experimental panels and that photogrammetry is the technique that best meets the requirements of finger fluting research. / Graduate

The aim of this study was to map and date glacial flutings with ice flows deviating from the predominating northwesterly ice flow direction in the southern part of Norrbotten County in northern Sweden, and also to investigate if parts of the glacial landscape are older than previously thought. The traditional view is that most landforms in the area were formed during the late Weichselian (W3). Analysis of the new high resolution elevation model (2 m grid) derived from laser scanning was performed after treating the data with a hillshade tool in ArcMap to reveal terrain features such as flutings. The analysis resulted in a map showing four main groups of deviating ice flows (N-S, NO-SV, SO-NV and S-N) and several westerly ice flows. The majority of flutings with deviating ice flows were found in low terrain. This, together with studies suggesting a cold based late Weichselian ice sheet in Norrbotten, implies an old age of the deviating ice flows. The deviating ice flows are interpreted to originate from the first early Weichselian (W1), or predate the onset of the Weichselian glaciation. Some NV-SO flutings were located in high terrain, which implies a younger age relative to the low terrain flutings. They represent the youngest ice flow found in the area, possibly from the second early Weichselian (W2). The new elevation model clearly offers new possibilities for studying small scale landforms and shows that the traditional view of the Weichselian glaciation in northern Swedish needs to be reconsidered.