Digital Documentation and Reconstruction of an Ancient Maya Temple and Prototype of Internet GIS Database of Maya Architectur

This is a request for Level II Start-Up funding for an international project to develop and test a working prototype for a new platform for an online, searchable database that can bring together GIS maps, 3D models, and virtual environments for teaching and research. (The planning phase was funded by a Level I Start-Up Grant in 2009.) The prototype will employ existing digital collections on Maya architecture at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Copan, Honduras and a highly-accurate, hybrid 3D model being developed by the project that will test and demonstrate the platform???s capabilities. Art historians and archaeologists from the University of New Mexico (UNM) and the Honduran Institute of Anthropology and History will work with computer experts from ETH Zurich, FBK Trento, and the University of California to design this online tool

QUERYARCH3D: QUERYING AND VISUALISING 3D MODELS OF A MAYA ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE IN A WEB-BASED INTERFACE

Constant improvements in the field of surveying, computing and distribution of digital-content are reshaping the way Cultural Heritage can be digitised and virtually accessed, even remotely via web. A traditional 2D approach for data access, exploration, retrieval and exploration may generally suffice, however more complex analyses concerning spatial and temporal features require 3D tools, which, in some cases, have not yet been implemented or are not yet generally commercially available. Efficient organisation and integration strategies applicable to the wide array of heterogeneous data in the field of Cultural Heritage represent a hot research topic nowadays. This article presents a visualisation and query tool (QueryArch3D) conceived to deal with multi-resolution 3D models. Geometric data are organised in successive levels of detail (LoD), provided with geometric and semantic hierarchies and enriched with attributes coming from external data sources. The visualisation and query front-end enables the 3D navigation of the models in a virtual environment, as well as the interaction with the objects by means of queries based on attributes or on geometries. The tool can be used as a standalone application, or served through the web. The characteristics of the research work, along with some implementation issues and the developed QueryArch3D tool will be discussed and presented

A WEB-BASED INTERACTIVE TOOL FOR MULTI-RESOLUTION 3D MODELS OF A MAYA ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

Continuous technological advances in surveying, computing and digital-content delivery are strongly contributing to a change in the way Cultural Heritage is “perceived”: new tools and methodologies for documentation, reconstruction and research are being created to assist not only scholars, but also to reach more potential users (e.g. students and tourists) willing to access more detailed information about art history and archaeology. 3D computer-simulated models, sometimes set in virtual landscapes, offer for example the chance to explore possible hypothetical reconstructions, while on-line GIS resources can help interactive analyses of relationships and change over space and time. While for some research purposes a traditional 2D approach may suffice, this is not the case for more complex analyses concerning spatial and temporal features of architecture, like for example the relationship of architecture and landscape, visibility studies etc. The project aims therefore at creating a tool, called “QueryArch3D” tool, which enables the web-based visualisation and queries of an interactive, multi-resolution 3D model in the framework of Cultural Heritage. More specifically, a complete Maya archaeological site, located in Copan (Honduras), has been chosen as case study to test and demonstrate the platform’s capabilities. Much of the site has been surveyed and modelled at different levels of detail (LoD) and the geometric model has been semantically segmented and integrated with attribute data gathered from several external data sources. The paper describes the characteristics of the research work, along with its implementation issues and the initial results of the developed prototype

Archäologische Forschungen in Peru und Honduras im Jahr 2013

Im Arbeitsbereich der Autoren fanden im Jahr 2013 archäologische Forschungsprojekte in Peru und in Honduras statt. Das Projekt „Zentrum und Peripherie: der Siedlungsraum der Paracaskultur (800–200 v. Chr.) im Süden Perus“ wurde im zweiten Jahr mit Förderung der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) und in Kooperation mit Partnern von der Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) durchgeführt. Ziel der Forschungen ist es, durch siedlungsarchäologische Untersuchungen sowohl im Tal von Ica, an der Südküste Perus, als auch in den Hochlandregionen der etwas weiter südlich liegenden Täler von Palpa, den Siedlungs- und Wirtschaftsraum der Paracaskultur, einer der wichtigsten formativzeitlichen Kulturen des zentralen Andenraumes, neu zu definieren. Der Arbeitsschwerpunkt lag in diesem Jahr auf der 3D-Vermessung und Ausgrabung des Fundortes Collanco sowie der geophysikalischen Prospektion des Fundortes Huayuncalla. Im Kleinfundelabor wurde die paracaszeitliche Keramik der beiden genannten Fundorte sowie diejenige von früheren Ausgrabungen an dem Küstenfundort Jauranga analysiert. Das Verbundprojekt „MayaArch3D: Ein webbasiertes 3D-GIS zur Analyse der Archäologie von Copan, Honduras“ wurde ebenfalls im zweiten Jahr mit Förderung des Bundesministeriums für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF) und in Kooperation mit dem Institut für Geoinformatik und dem Interdisziplinären Zentrum für Wissenschaftliches Rechnen (IWR) der Universität Heidelberg, sowie mit der Bruno Kessler Foundation (FBK) in Trento und der ETH Zürich durchgeführt. Die Arbeiten galten der Systematisierung und Strukturierung vorhandener Daten zu dem Maya-Fundort Copan in Honduras, sowie der Aufnahme neuer Daten in Archiven und in Copan selbst. Bei den Feldarbeiten wurden Gebäude, Skulpturen und Friese mit Laserscannern und Digitalkameras aufgenommen, um virtuelle 3D-Modelle für das Dokumentationssystem anzufertigen

Archäologische Forschungen in Peru und Honduras

Im Arbeitsgebiet der Verfasser ist im Berichtszeitraum das interdisziplinäre, vom Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung finanzierte Projekt Anden-Transekt ausgelaufen. Im Anschluss daran wurden mehrere, durch Drittmittel finanzierte Forschungsvorhaben initiiert, die in den nächsten Jahren fortgesetzt werden. Die Förderung des interdisziplinären Verbundprojektes Anden-Transekt ging im April 2011 zu Ende. Aus den Forschungsergebnissen ergaben sich zahlreiche neue Fragestellungen für die Archäologie. Eine dieser Fragen, nämlich diejenige nach dem Siedlungsraum der Paracas-Kultur (800–200 v. Chr.), einer der wichtigsten formativzeitlichen Kulturen im Andenraum, wird in einem von der DFG finanzierten archäologischen Forschungsvorhaben weiterverfolgt und vertieft werden. Ein weiteres neues Projekt an der Südküste Perus beinhaltet die Restaurierung und touristische Erschließung einer bereits in früheren Grabungskampagnen freigelegten Grabanlage der Nasca-Kultur (200 v. Chr. – 600 n. Chr.). Mit einem dritten Projekt, MayaArch3D, wird das Engagement des DAI bei der Erforschung vorspanischer Kulturen in Mesoamerika durch die Erforschung einer der wichtigsten Ruinenstätte der Maya-Kultur in Honduras fortgesetzt. Dieses Projekt ist gleichzeitig ein Beitrag zu dem Bestreben des DAI, den Einsatz neuer Technologien und Medien in der Archäologie, insbesondere der Erzeugung, Analyse und langfristigen Speicherung digitaler Daten weiterzuentwickeln

Kinect and 3D GIS in Archaeology

Abstract -This paper explores the potential of using Microsoft's Kinect to create a low-cost and portable system to virtually navigate, through a prototype 3D GIS, the digitally reconstructed ancient Maya city and UNESCO World Heritage Site of Copan in Honduras. The 3D GIS, named QueryArch3D, was developed as part of the MayaArch3D project (http://mayaarch3d.unm.edu), which explores the possibilities of integrating databases and 3D digital tools for research and teaching on ancient architectures and landscapes. The developed system, based on the Flexible Action and Articulated Skeleton Toolkit (FAAST), controls in a remote and touchless mode the movements in the 3D environment in order to create a sense of spatial awareness and embodiment. A user can thus use gestures to interact with information stored in the spatial database, calling up photos, videos, textual descriptions as he/she moves through the virtual space of the ancient Maya city

Morphomata. Kulturelle Figurationen: Genese, Dynamik und Medialität

Das griechische Wort mórphoma bezeichnet den Prozess der Gestaltwerdung und Gestaltgebung. Morphomata ist seit 2009 der Name eines Käthe Hamburger Kollegs in Köln, das als Internationales Kolleg für geisteswissenschaftliche Forschung mit Fellows aus aller Welt die Differenz von Kulturen in ihren künstlerischen Gestaltungen, in Artefakten, aufzuspüren versucht. »Freiraum für die Geisteswissenschaften« heißt die Initiative des Bundesministeriums für Bildung und Forschung, der sich die Entstehung des Kollegs Morphomata verdankt. Der Freiraum gebührt zuallererst den Fellows, die sich in ihren Forschungen im theoretischen Rahmen des Kollegs bewegen können. Das gilt im Besonderen für die erste Fellow-Generation, die an der allmählichen Verfertigung des Morphomkonzepts während der Aufbauphase beteiligt war und deren Ergebnis der erste Band der neuen Reihe Morphomata darstellt. Als wissenschaftlicher Terminus ist mórphoma neu. In drei Teilen gibt dieser Band eine Definition, eröffnet theoretische Perspektiven des Ansatzes und erschließt in Fallstudien die praktische Bedeutung für ein Verständnis konkreter Formen und der Nachhaltigkeit kultureller Figurationen

A Catch 22 of 3D Data Sustainability: Lessons in 3D Archaeological Data Management & Accessibility

Archaeologists can now collect an inordinate amount of 3D data. But are these 3D data sustainable? Are they being managed to make them accessible? The MayaArch3D Project researched and addressed these questions by applying best practices to build four prototype tools to store, manage, visualize, and analyze multi-resolution, geo-referenced 3D models in a web-based environment. While the technical aspects of these tools have been published, this position paper addresses a catch 22 that we, as archaeologists, encounter in the field of 3D archaeology – one that formed the initial impetus for the MayaArch3D Project: that is, while the quantity of 3D archaeological data is increasing, these data are not usually accessible. By researching and addressing 3D data integration and accessibility, we learned many lessons that group around four main issues: sensitivity/security, web-based dissemination, conveying uncertainty, and data storage/reuse/peer review. These are significant current challenges to making 3D archaeological data sustainable

A WEB-BASED INTERACTIVE TOOL FOR MULTI-RESOLUTION 3D MODELS OF A MAYA ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

Continuous technological advances in surveying, computing and digital-content delivery are strongly contributing to a change in the way Cultural Heritage is “perceived”: new tools and methodologies for documentation, reconstruction and research are being created to assist not only scholars, but also to reach more potential users (e.g. students and tourists) willing to access more detailed information about art history and archaeology. 3D computer-simulated models, sometimes set in virtual landscapes, offer for example the chance to explore possible hypothetical reconstructions, while on-line GIS resources can help interactive analyses of relationships and change over space and time. While for some research purposes a traditional 2D approach may suffice, this is not the case for more complex analyses concerning spatial and temporal features of architecture, like for example the relationship of architecture and landscape, visibility studies etc. The project aims therefore at creating a tool, called “QueryArch3D” tool, which enables the web-based visualisation and queries of an interactive, multi-resolution 3D model in the framework of Cultural Heritage. More specifically, a complete Maya archaeological site, located in Copan (Honduras), has been chosen as case study to test and demonstrate the platform’s capabilities. Much of the site has been surveyed and modelled at different levels of detail (LoD) and the geometric model has been semantically segmented and integrated with attribute data gathered from several external data sources. The paper describes the characteristics of the research work, along with its implementation issues and the initial results of the developed prototype

The MayaArch3D project: A 3D WebGIS for analyzing ancient architecture and landscapes

There is a need in the humanities for a 3D WebGIS with analytical tools that allow researchers to analyze 3D models linked to spatially referenced data. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) allow for complex spatial analysis of 2.5D data. For example, they offer bird’s eye views of landscapes with extruded building footprints, but one cannot ‘get on the ground’ and interact with true 3D models from a pedestrian perspective. Meanwhile, 3D models and virtual environments visualize data in 3D space, but analytical tools are simple rotation or lighting effects. The MayaArch3D Project is developing a 3D WebGIS—called QueryArch3D—to allow these two distinct approaches to ‘talk to each other’ for studies of architecture and landscapes—in this case, the eighth-century Maya kingdom of Copan, Honduras. With this tool, researchers can search and query, in real time via a virtual reality (VR) environment, segmented 3D models of multiple resolutions (as well as computer-assisted design and realitybased) that are linked to attribute data stored in a spatial database. Beta tests indicate that this tool can assist researchers in expanding questions and developing new analytical methods in humanities research. This article summarizes the results of a pilot project that started in 2009, with an art historian and an archaeologist’s collaborative research on the ancient Maya kingdom and UNESCO World Heritage site of Copan in Honduras—called MayaArch3D. The project researches innovative approaches to integrate GIS, 3D digital models, and VR environments online for teaching and research on ancient architecture and landscapes. It has grown into an international, interdisciplinary project that brings together art historians, archaeologists, and cultural resource managers with experts in remote sensing, photogrammetry, 3D modeling, and VR. The Start Up Phase was funded by two National Endowment for the Humanities, Digital Humanities Start-Up grants to the University of New Mexico (PI: Jennifer von Schwerin) and developed and beta tested a pipeline and prototype 3D WebGIS— called QueryArch3D. The prototype version is available at http://mayaarch3d.org/ project-history/). Project results indicate that it is possible to bridge the gap between 3D and GIS to create a resource for researchers of Maya architecture to compare and analyze 3D models and archaeological data in the context of a geographically referenced, VR landscape