Understanding the Architecture of the Virgin Branch Ancestral Puebloan Using a Digital 3D Model-Based Process

Summary

On the Shivwits Plateau, there is scarce information concerning how the Virgin Branch Ancestral Puebloan people constructed their pueblos. This is a result of post-depositional processes that have destroyed much of the building materials. Thus, to further our understanding of the Ancestral Puebloan efforts to live in a semi-arid environment, this research incorporates information obtained from Puebloan ethnographies, experimental archaeology, and excavations. The data is combined through a parametric 3D model-based process known as Building Information Modeling, to produce digital reconstructions of the ancient pueblos. These digital 3D models output volumetric data that are used to estimate material quantities and labor investments, and to evaluate whether the pueblos were occupied seasonally or year-round.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Archaeology of the Virgin Branch Puebloan Culture

Keywords

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