Building and Visualizing 3D Textured Models for Caribbean Petroglyphs

George V. Landon and W. Brent Seales. Building and Visualizing 3D Textured Models for Caribbean Petroglyphs. In 21st Congress of The International Association of Caribbean Archaeology (Trinidad and Tobago), July 2005.

Abstract:
We present a system for building and visualizing 3D textured models of Caribbean petroglyphs. Through a collaboration with the Instituto de Cultura Puertorrique~na, we show reconstructions of petroglyphs located at the Taino ceremonial center at Caguana, Puerto Rico. Our methods allow digital access to and preservation of objects located in remote areas that remain unprotected from the elements. Our approach creates 3D textured models and allows users to intuitively visualize subtle aspects of petroglyphic art, such as dimension, texturing, and application of synthetic lighting, that are not possible without the digital model. We discuss the performance of these methods in practice and show resulting high-resolution 3D scans of Taino petroglyphs. We believe these techniques can be useful in promoting access, scholarship and in fostering preservation for artifacts that are inaccessible and obscure.

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