Current Archaeological Research: Applications in Three-Dimensional Geographic Information Systems

Part of: Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

The application of geographic information systems in archaeological research has become widespread over the past decade. Archaeologists focusing on Mesoamerica have discovered GIS and allied technologies including remote sensing and GPS have the potential to solve many questions regarding ancient locational decisions. The technology can also be used to perform analysis in three and four dimensions. This symposium includes papers on the advanced use of three-dimensional GIS to solve a variety of archaeological problems.

Geographic Keywords
Mesoamerica


Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-3 of 3)

  • Documents (3)

Documents
  • A THREE DIMENSIONAL VIEW OF ARCHITECTURE AND BUILDING MATERIAL USE AT STRUCTURE B-4 CAHAL PECH, BELIZE C.A. (2015)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Christopher Blair.

    Excavation information at Cahal Pech structure B-4 present some of the most complete data on the Maya formative period in the Western Belize River Valley. Structure B-4 contains fourteen floors which represent increasingly complex and chronological construction events. Excavated floor level information contains architectural and construction material elements which can be stored and analyzed in a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) database. Using available excavation and publication data,...

  • Using 3D Geographic Information Systems to Understand Settlement Decisions at Calakmul (2015)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only William Folan. Terance L. Winemiller. Lynda Florey Folan.

    In 1982, fifty years after the Carnegie Institution of Washington surveyed and mapped sections of Calakmul, a project under the direction of William J. Folan began mapping the site. The completed map published in 2001 covers 30 square kilometers of the ancient site. Many printed maps or datasets like those from Calakmul created with laser total stations or conventional surveying equipment can provide the essential geospatial information to produce accurate topographic maps and 3D map objects...

  • Visualizing Prehistoric Artifacts: 3D Scanning, GIS, and Data Sharing (2015)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Virginia Ochoa-Winemiller. Terance Winemiller.

    Since 2009, the 3D Scanning of Molded and Modeled Artifacts Project has collected a sample of approximately 100 specimens. The main goals of our project include the assessment of mold and stamp use as methods of standardized mass production of clay artifacts in prehistoric Mesoamerica and beyond, as well as, digitally archiving images housed in various collections. In this presentation, we aim to introduce a virtual catalogue of clay artifacts that contains digital raw 3D data. The Digital 3D...