The Contemporary Digitization of Historic Material
Background
The act of archiving can be considered primordial with respect to history. History itself can attribute almost its entirety to those who have achieved its components. However, what purpose does an object have when left to wither away until unidentifiable? How does that contribute to our understanding of the past? As any historian will exclaim, the study of the past allows for a deeper understanding of the world we live in today. Historic information offers much insight for contemporary application. The preservation of historic material is just as important as its discovery. With the proliferation of technology and data readily accessible in the twenty-first century, antiquarians and archivists are dedicatedly working to further archive and interpret historic material via contemporary digitization processes.
Cuneiform Clay Tablets
The cuneiform script, of which is written on clay tablets, is the oldest written language known to humankind. Early developments of cuneiform can be traced all the way back to 3200 B.C.E. With the use of a stylus, Sumerian scribes were able to precisely impress various triangular-esque symbols [wedges] onto a clay substrate (Anderson Archival). Such a practice was passed down and taught only to the brightest of scholars, as the required technique took much time to cultivate and perfect. Meanwhile, the art of cuneiform was a revolutionary technology with respect to its function of documentation—typically with regards to accounting and record keeping (THE EDITORS). In fact, the first known receipt resides within the substrate of a cuneiform clay tablet. Although, even once solidified, what protects these malleable clay slabs from fraud or corrosion? According to Assyriologist Dr. Irving Finkel, important information inscribed upon cuneiform tablets were often protected by yet another layer of clay as an acting envelope (Finkel). To access an enveloped receipt, one would have to carefully smash the envelope open. However, the envelopes themselves often bear information, as well, of which is also considered an invaluable component worthy of preservation. Therefore, the ultimate question surfaces: how can the historical contents of a cuneiform tablet be analyzed without damaging the contents inscribed on the substrate or the envelope?
With the help of emerging contemporary technologies, archeologists around the world have been refining digitization processes in hopes of constructing an immortal library of historic information without permanently dismantling original artifacts. Similar to sensitive medical methodologies, cuneiform substrates are examined with a “micro-CT [computed tomography] scanner” to “make a 3D reconstruction of the object” (Leiden University). Tomography is an imaging technique comprised of pulsating frequencies of certain wavelength that penetrate through the desired material. The micro-CT scanner has detectors to sense when a beam has passed through an object, thereby outlining its shape. The beam of use is most commonly known as an x-ray. The total cross-sectional analysis obtained from the summation of these lasers produces a computer-generated 3D visual. The utilization of tomography allows archivist to effectively fossilize historic material into a perpetual digital interface.