Advances in virtual archaeology. Research, preservation, and dissemination

The archaeological and palaeontological record (including human skeletal remains) often bears crack, damage and deformations. The recent rapid development of the diagnostic potentials of “virtual archaeology” has provided innovative tools to manage, study and preserve cultural and natural heritage. These tools include, among others, CT-scans, Laser-scanning, photogrammetry, 3D imaging and rapid prototyping. This approach can contribute to any archaeological context from its discovery to research, preservation, and dissemination. 3D imaging techniques, for instance, substitute physical intervention with a virtual protocol aimed at restoring the original shape of an archaeological item or a fossil specimen. In a similar way, the recovery of digital morphological information can be gathered using data preserved even on a deficient finding through the use of 3D comparative samples. Here we present an extended and updated review about the most innovative protocols applied in virtual archaeology and palaeontology.