| HAA-280996-21 | Digital Humanities: Digital Humanities Advancement Grants | Skidmore College | Architectural walking tour of ancient Maya masterpieces: Visualizations of San Bartolo and Xultun, Guatemala | 10/1/2021 - 12/31/2022 | $49,990.00 | Heather | | Hurst | Franco | | Rossi | Skidmore College | Saratoga Springs | NY | 12866-1698 | USA | 2021 | Anthropology | Digital Humanities Advancement Grants | Digital Humanities | 49990 | 0 | 49506.55 | 0 | The creation of an interactive online platform to present 3D models of Maya artworks that document the spread of cultural and scholarly knowledge across the region.
This project will develop a web-based platform that will interactively present and publicly curate two in situ artworks of global significance from Maya archaeological sites. The two significant finds are the San Bartolo murals and the Los Árboles temple friezes at Xultun, Guatemala. These artworks are tangible evidence of the hallmarks of Maya civilization that include the invention of writing, complex calendrical knowledge, and governance by divine kingship. However, located in extremely remote jungles and buried by the ancient Maya, these important artifacts of Indigenous Maya cultural heritage are nearly impossible to access and visitors to the sealed tunnels threaten their very preservation. Our innovative digital models will expand virtual tours beyond well-known, highly-traveled sites and bring spectacular buried Maya architectural masterpieces to scholars, students, and the public through an open access, bilingual 3D interface—usable in digital research, teaching, and learning. |