Photogrammetric Mapping at Three Sites in Wupatki National Monument

Summary

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

In the fall of 2017, EnviroSystems Management, Inc. conducted architectural mapping of three sites at Wupatki National Monument, part of Flagstaff Area National Monuments, Coconino County, Arizona. The Monument required scaled planimetric drawings and cross-sections of standing architecture at WS323/Small Tower, WS1027/Cloud House, and WS1762/Coyote Water. These sites are located in the backcountry of the Monument which is also a wilderness study area prohibiting the use of drones for mapping purposes. The standing structures were more than 2-meters-high in some cases generating complications for safe placement of a 3D laser scanner. As an alternative to aerial imagery, laser scanning, and traditional field mapping techniques photogrammetric methods were employed to create a 3D model of the structures at each site. These models were created in AgiSoft PhotoScan Professional and converted into georeferenced orthophotographs. Scaled drawings were completed using ESRI ArcGIS. In addition to plan maps, cross-sections of standing structures were made using digital elevation models derived from the 3D models in ESRI ArcScene. A total of 25 masonry structures consisting of habitation rooms and associated features were mapped at the three sites. The work resulted in a cost-effective alternative to drone mapping and laser scanning for standing architecture.

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): 25896