AIA | Preserving Underwater Maya Finds Using 3D Technology

Join us for our next Archaeology Abridged webinar with Dr. Heather McKillop! Archaeology Abridged talks are short, thirty-minute talks featuring different archaeologists discussing a variety of archaeological topics. The talks are free, but registration is required.

This lecture will also be available in American Sign Language. ASL interpretation will be provided by Trail Blazing Interpreters. Due to Zoom limitations on mobile devices and tablets, participants interested in accessing ASL interpretation should log in using the desktop version of Zoom.

“Preserving Underwater Maya Finds Using 3D Technology”

Waterlogged wooden building posts and artifacts, including the K’ak’ Naab’ canoe paddle, presented a conservation nightmare when removed from the water for study. If allowed to dry, the wood shrunk, cracked, and decayed, not good for study or preserving long-term for exhibit in the case of the canoe paddle. The solution was to create 3D digital replicas of waterlogged wood, with some objects professionally conserved and others curated in deep silt in the lagoon. In this talk McKillop will describe setting up the DIVA Lab (Digital Imaging and Visualization in Archaeology), 3D digital imaging research-quality replicas of the underwater material. She will also discuss 3D printed replicas for exhibits in Belize funded by an AIA Site Preservation Grant.