MayaArch3D: Building a 3DWebGIS Documentation and Analysis System for Complex Archaeological Sites

DOCUMENT Citation Only Heather Richards-Rissetto. Michael Auer. Jennifer von Schwerin. Nicolas Billen.

From the early 5th to early 9th centuries, a dynasty of sixteen kings ruled at the ancient Maya site of Copan, Honduras. In the mid-7thth century, Chan Imix K'awiil or Ruler 12, is believed to be the first of Copan’s rulers to erect stelae outside the city’s main civic-ceremonial group. Why did he do this? Did these stelae exist as solar markers? Did they serve as territorial markers? Or, were they part of a communication system? Scholars have set forth these and other hypotheses, to explain the...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Laura Stelson.

The term "altar" is a western concept which has been used in the study of the ancient Maya to describe a plethora of carved stone artifacts, ranging from small pedestals, to carved boulders, to three-dimensional, multi-component, carved sculptures. In many cases, it seems unlikely that the only purpose of these altars was to serve as a place to deposit sacrifices. After spending two field seasons cataloguing the carved stone altars at Copán, Honduras, the chronological trends in shape and style...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Franziska Fecher.

Honduran Archaeology has long focused on the investigation of Copan and the ancient Maya culture in the western part of the country. The non-Maya region has only been investigated intensively in the past 50 years, despite the fact that as a bridge between the cultures of Meso- and Southamerica Honduras offers an exciting area of investigation. Access to information about the non-Maya archaeology of Honduras is difficult, given that there are hardly any introductory summaries. In order to make...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Lukas Loos. Michael Auer. Nicolas Billen. Alexander Zipf.

A central goal of the MayaArch3D project is to provide archaeologists with a research platform for the spatio-temporal visualization and analysis of 2D and 3D data over the World Wide Web. To do this we are developing a web-based Geographic Information System (GIS). The client side of our application builds on top of the open-source geomajas 2D web GIS framework and consists of three central components. First, an interface for working with 2D data from different sources and formats. Second, a...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Nicolas Billen. Lukas Loos. Michael Auer. Alexander Zipf.

The MayaArch3D project is developing and investigating a bundle of different services and tools for the integration, analysis and presentation of archaeological datasets.The architecture of this system is designed in a scaleable, flexible and standarized way. Whenever possible, the system uses well known specifications, like OGC-WMS, OGC-WFS and W3DS. For not yet existing standarized service interfaces, the project investigates new suitable approaches. Such interfaces include for instance a...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Markus Reindel. Jennifer von Schwerin.

The documentation and analysis of complex archaeological sites constitutes a challenge for modern research. Large amounts of data have to be stored and accessed, normally by different research teams, based on places all over the world. Funded by the German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF), and in cooperation with partners from Germany, Italy, USA and Honduras, the MayaArch3D project is using data from the Maya site Copan, Honduras, to develop a state-of-the-art, open source, online...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Jennifer Von Schwerin. MIke Lyons.

Archaeological projects are increasingly acquiring 3D data sets of individual finds, as well as whole cities. The archaeologist receives the model as a 3D PDF, video, point cloud or object file. Views of the model are published in a journal, shown in an exhibition and the pipeline usually ends here. Typically, archaeologists do not use the 3D model for much more than visualization purposes. The MayaArch3D project is building a 3DWebGIS to enable archaeologists to do more with these models –to...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Michael Lyons. Jennifer von Schwerin.

The development of a clear approach to creating highly "transparent" (effectively displaying the argument behind a reconstruction) 3D models for visualization and research in archaeology is an ongoing process. The goal of this presentation is to address this problem with a use-case example of a 3D model of Structure 10L-18 (Temple 18, ca. AD 800) on the acropolis at Copán in Honduras. How can data be structured and applied to this 3D model in order to provide a user with a clear understanding of...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Fabio Remondino. Belen Jiménez Fenández-Palacios.

The 3D modelling technology is getting more used for the research, preservation, reconstruction, documentation, communication of cultural assets. Heritage 3D models, accessible on the web, are the most powerful solution to disseminate culture and, at the same time, a great source for tourism, research and education. While the use of 3D technologies in CH have been around for many years there are still some blocking factors that slow down a wider approach. On the technological side we still miss...