Computing Material Culture: The utility of mobile photogrammetric techniques in capturing structures

Summary

Photogrammetric techniques have been around for many years but have not been widely implemented because of the requirements of known camera positions and expertise in registering photographs, as well as the difficulty involved with going from data points to actual models. This paper addresses concerns with accuracy, efficiency and overall utility of using more mobile photogrammetric techniques and related software which we began using in 2013. In addition, some of the benefits of photogrammetry in capturing architecture and in capturing irregular structures (ex. chultuns) will be discussed. The techniques were also used in the capturing of pit profiles at a number of active BRAP excavations.

To test these concerns, the authors conducted an intensive experiment in photogrammetric recording during the summer field season of 2015. Over 50,000 images of over 60 structures in the Puuc region of the Yucatan were captured as input for the 3D modeling program Photoscan. This paper discusses camera selection and methods of photographing larger objects such as buildings. The accuracy of the models will be compared to laser models generated at the same sites during earlier field seasons.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• The Bolonchén Regional Archaeological Project: Sixteen Years of Investigating Maya Society in the Eastern Puuc Region from the Preclassic through the Historical Period

Keywords

Spatial Coverage