3D Laser Scanning

Introduction | Long Range Scanning | Short Range Scanning

Two laser scanning systems were used to acquire high resolution data for structures, excavation areas and excavated artifacts within the Monumental Core of Tiwanaku. Long-range, large area survey was conducted with the Optech ILRIS-3D system, collecting landscape and architectural elements of the Monumental Core at a resolution of approximately one to three centimeters to ensure that individual stones used in the construction of these monuments could be resolved in the data. The main structures surveyed with the Optech scanning system include the Kalasasaya, the Putuni, the Templeté, the Poncé and Puerta del Sol monoliths, and excavated stone architecture around the Akapana Pyramid. Short-range, high-resolution scanning was conducted using a Konica-Minolta VIVID 9i system, collecting sub-centimeter resolution scans of artifacts, osteological elements, and the frieze of the Puerta del Sol monolith.

The work at Tiwanaku has yielded a very comprehensive survey of the Monumental Core at Tiwanaku, making it one of the most extensively documented archaeological sites in the world. The digital nature of these data allow for its transmission to any interested researcher via a number of methods. Accurate measurements extracted from these models reduce the necessity for on-site visits to collect metric data. These models may also form the basis for scientific visualizations and virtual reconstructions of the site.

Data collection and processing was performed by Adam Barnes, Angelia Payne, Christopher Goodmaster, and Snow Winters, Research Assistants at the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies.

Angelia Payne scanning from atop the Akapana Pyramid using the Optech ILRIS-3D unit in 2005	Adam Barnes scanning the frieze of the Puerta del Sol on a cold night in Tiwanaku in 2006
Christopher Goodmaster scanning osteological specimens late into the evening using the VIVID9i	Field setup for the Optech unit to scan the Putuni monument

CAST has conducted several large scale high density surveys (HDS) at other world-renowned archaeological sites including Machu Picchu, Peru; Ostia-Antica, Italy; Samaipata, Bolivia and Amarna, Egypt. In addition, CAST has scanned hundred's of Native American artifacts for an online virtual museum and has also created 3D visualizations of rock art sites using HDS data. Please visit sections on HD Survey/LIDAR and Techniques on Laser Scanning to learn more about the scanning technologies discussed here.