MODELING THE PAST: LIDAR DOCUMENTATION AND 3D VISUALIZATON IN THE BLUE RIDGE**

Abstract

Laser scanning and 3-dimensional modeling of natural and cultural resources affords archaeologists, historians, resource managers, descendant communities, and the captivated public a powerful approach to the documentation and representation of both our past and present. This study provides such an example: a terrestrial LiDAR application at a precontact soapstone quarry and petroglyph complex in the Blue Ridge Physiographic Province of Georgia, followed by intensive data processing and visualization through both static and manipulable digital models. The results reveal yet another example of both the value of advanced technologies in archaeology, and the necessity for accurate documentation of resources imperiled by natural forces and land-use change