Comparison of Measurement Accuracy Between Caliper and iPhone Apps

Measuring artifacts is a fundamental method of archeological research. Measurements assist scientists in gaining knowledge about past human-animal interactions, the effects of those interactions on ecosystems, environmental changes over time, changes in ecological resources, and more. The caliper is the traditional tool for such work, but it is uncommon for scientists to carry a caliper around in their bag or pocket while in the field. There is a tool, however, that almost every person carries around with them constantly: the smartphone. In this experiment we endeavored to discover if two measuring apps, the “Ruler” app and the “ARuler” app would make quality replacements for the caliper when measuring archeological artifacts. Measurements of 50 Common Atlantic Oyster (Crassostrea virginica) artifacts and 50 faunal artifacts of varying species were taken with each tool. The measurements between the caliper and both apps were found to be significantly less than 1mm in difference (single sample t-test, p 0.96 for both oyster and bone), indicating that the apps are suitable to replace the caliper for archeological measurement. Despite some limitations, this is useful for archaeologists in both lab and field settings for many reasons, especially for persons with physical limitations in their hands such as arthritis, missing digits, etc. This study therein supports the UN Sustainable Development Goal 10 (reduced inequalities) by increasing accessibility of this method.