Tracing Marks in the Dark: Documenting Mud Glyph Cave by Drawing on Methodology of the Past and Present

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Since the rediscovery and canonization of Paleolithic and precontact cave art, researchers have grappled with different ways to document and reproduce sites containing ancient artwork. Early methods utilized hand drawing in situ and, soon after, cave art reproduction included film photography. Later, digital photography became the primary mode of capturing ancient artwork. Contemporary methodology uses photogrammetry, three-dimensional modeling, VR, and AR to transport us to the artwork through digital realities. This paper focuses on the synthesis of traditional methods of drawing, analog photography, digitization methods, and design technology for creating an archive of the Southeast cave art site, Mud Glyph Cave. The artwork of Mud Glyph Cave is comprised of drawings, impressions, incisions, smoothing, and other types of surface preparation that are encased in Pleistocene mud deposits. The simultaneous homogeneity of the surface color and the complexity of surface development in Mud Glyph Cave presents a unique challenge for art reproduction. Drawing on past and present technological methods, this research demonstrates a novel approach to documenting ancient three-dimensional cave art that is created solely in clay.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 41561.0