3D Documentation of a Basketmaker Petroglyph Panel in Southeastern Utah

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Interdisciplinary Approaches to Rock Art Documentation, Research, and Analysis" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Our research involves creating and analyzing a 3D model of an inaccessible petroglyph panel in southeastern Utah. The rock art panel occupies the cliff face of an alcove approximately 10–30 m above the modern ground surface. Such heights make documentation difficult; this lofty position likely caused the initial archaeologists who recorded the alcove in 1961 to miss the panel. The development of photogrammetry and drone technology provided an effective way to overcome the challenge of inaccessibility. A drone systematically captured over 1,300 partially overlapping high-resolution images of the cliff face, including a few measured control points. These images were then “stitched” together using digital software (RealityCapture) to generate a 3D model of the cliff face and petroglyphs. This model allows observers to view the panel comprehensively without visiting the field and to export 2D images of the cliff face as needed. Much of the imagery appears to derive from the Basketmaker II period (~400 BC–AD 400); earlier elements are also present. Generating a permanent record of an inaccessible petroglyph panel using a noninvasive and efficient method meets the objective of both heritage management and archaeological research. This approach has wider applicability in other archaeological contexts.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Interdisciplinary Approaches to Rock Art Documentation, Research, and Analysis   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39306.0