Chichen Itza 3D Atlas

Cite this project:

McAvoy, S., Stanton, T.W., Rissolo, D., Osorio León, J.F.J., Pérez Ruiz, F., García-Solís, C.A., Barba Meinecke, H., Méndez Petterson, A.E., Sarvide Primo, B., Coltman, J.D., Meyer, D.E., Herver Santamaria, A., Romero Butrón, A.E., Gallegos Flores, J.M., Rodríguez Catana, L.A., Vilchis Zapata, K., Quetz León, G., Marengo Camacho, N.I., Drohobytsky,D., Meacham, S.S., Fernández-Diaz, J.C., NCALM, CyArk, Buck Kachaluba, S., Zavala Murrieta, C., Mercado Hurtado, G., Chockalingam, R., Salazar Gamboa, M., Campiani, A., Mirón Marván, E., Kuester, F.
(2023) Chichen Itza 3D Archaeological Atlas . University of California.
https://doi.org/10.34946/D6B88P

Abstract:

Chichen Itza is an extensive site containing a vast and distinctive corpus of monumental architecture, carved stone iconography, and painted murals. Since its initial excavation in 1913, artifacts have been collected and distributed widely between collections. A large number of artifacts are housed within the former Chichen Itza Museum, the Palacio Cantón Museum in Mérida, the Gran Museo del Mundo Maya in Mérida, and the Chichen Itza INAH archaeological camp. In 2005, CyArk undertook a comprehensive terrestrial LiDAR scan of 6 key structures (CyArk 2018). In 2014, 2017, and 2022 the National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping (NCALM) at University of Houston conducted aerial LiDAR surveys of the site and surrounding area (Stanton 2019). These LiDAR surveys provide a geo-reference to align all datasets.

In 2018 and the Cultural Heritage Engineering Institute (CHEI) at UC San Diego, in partnership with the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) Yucatan, performed 60 complementary large site and feature scale aerial and terrestrial photogrammetry scans contributing to the analysis of architecture and iconography within the Initial Series Group (Taube et al. 2020). In 2023, CHEI and INAH undertook another field season, capturing 17 more structures via photogrammetry, 21 structures, substructures, and caves with a handheld mobile LiDAR, and over 200 artifacts, sculptures, inscriptions, murals, and rooms, using a sub-millimeter resolution structured light scanner. Advances in 3D digitization and visualization technologies (Schütz 2016) allow us to capture, contextualize, and analyze artifacts within site-wide LiDAR and aerial photogrammetry, and feature specific terrestrial/mobile LiDAR. In this project the authors extend a large scale interactive digital archive and web visualization framework (Campiani et al. 2022) enabling a fusion and contextualization of site, feature, and artifact data.

Data Accuracy Statement

All digital models differ from the physical objects and locations they portray. Each sensor and capture methodology possesses inherent inaccuracies. Additional error is introduced as data is combined and transformed (e.g. as multiple TLS scans are combined into a single model). Be sure to consult the data’s contributors before employing them in any study requiring accurate measurement.

References

Campiani, A., McAvoy, S., Lercari, N., Palenque 3D Archaeological Atlas. University of California.
https://doi.org/10.34946/D6KS34

CyArk (2018). Chichen Itza - LiDAR - Terrestrial . Collected by CyArk , Metco Services , Epic Scan . Distributed by Open Heritage 3D.
https://doi.org/10.26301/2atk-cq42

Lercari, N.; Jaffke, D.; Campiani, A.; Guillem, A.; McAvoy, S.; Jiménez Delgado, G.; Bevk Neeb, A. Building Cultural Heritage Resilience through Remote Sensing: An Integrated Approach using Multi-temporal Site Monitoring, Datafication, and Web-GL Visualization. Remote Sens. 2021, 13, 20.
https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13204130

Schütz, M., 2016. Potree: Rendering Large Point Clouds in Web Browsers. (unpublished master’s thesis), Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria.
cg.tuwien.ac.at/research/publications/2016/SCHUETZ-2016-POT (5 February 2023).

Stanton, T. (2019). Lidar Transects along Yucatan Peninsula and San Gervasio, Mexico. National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping (NCALM). Distributed by OpenTopography.
https://doi.org/10.5069/G9H70CZ3. Accessed: 2023-03-12

Taube, K. A., Stanton, T. W., León, J. F. O., (Archaeologist), F. P. R., de la Mata, M. R. G., & Coltman, J. D. (2020). The Initial Series Group at Chichen Itza, Yucatan: Archaeological investigations and iconographic interpretations.