Canyons of the Ancients Digital Documentation Project

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In August 2012, staff from the BLM National Operations Center, Division of Resource Services, traveled to Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwestern Colorado to assist with three-dimensional (3D) data collection and documentation of archaeology structures. This pilot digital documentation project at a late Pueblo III site used advanced light detection and ranging (lidar), High Definition Surveying, close-range photogrammetry and High Dynamic Range photography to create highly accurate (0.2 mm)  3D models of the site's 750-year-old architecture.  Close-range photogrammetry was utilized to produce a highly accurate digital re-creation of the structure. These data can be used for a variety of purposes, including historical interpretation, monitoring structure condition, and assessing the best strategy for conservation and preservation. The 3D models and the associated data will be used to produce Historic American Buildings Survey documents for the National Park Service and the Library of Congress. Additionally, the captured data will be the basis for any future architectural stabilization assessments at the site. A comparative analysis of the techniques used during this project will provide baseline cost/benefit parameters for establishing a protocol to document standing architecture throughout the Monument.

Initial 3D point cloud data generated from stereoscopic photographs showing archeology structures at a late Pueblo site in Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwestern Colorado

Initial 3D point cloud data generated from stereoscopic photographs showing archaeology structures at a late Pueblo site in Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwestern Colorado

http://www.blm.gov/nstc/library/pdf/TN428.pdf

Author Name
Neffra Matthews
Author Email
n1matthe@blm.gov