Community Engagement in Archaeology through Photogrammetry

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Photogrammetry is a rapidly-evolving technology that is applicable to a wide array of archaeological contexts and reconstructions. Researchers affiliated with the Proyecto Arqueológico Waka’ (PAW) at the site of El Perú-Waka’, Petén, Guatemala, initiated a program of photogrammetric recording of stelae during the 2018 season. In this process, a series of photos of an object are entered into Agisoft PhotoScan software to create 3D models. The process can create models of not only small, portable objects but also entire buildings. These models are used to create drawings of the monuments and may be used to produce replicas. Photogrammetry has the potential to advance discovery and make information more accessible to both the academic community and the modern Maya populations who live in or near areas of excavation. This presentation focuses on El Perú’s Stela 44 which dates to AD 564 and was found in the site’s primary civic-ceremonial structure, M13-1. In this poster we review the application of photogrammetry to this monument, consider preliminary results of investigation, and possibilities for future developments including community engagement through creation of signage and stelae replication.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24713