HOME CURRENT ISSUE ANTIQUITY+ ARCHIVE CONTRIBUTE SUBSCRIBE CONTACT Figure 1. Screenshot of a Google SketchUp model of structures 2D1 (Great Ballcourt), 2D3 (Platform of the Eagles), and 2D5 (Castillo) at Chichén Itzá, superimposed on the Carnegie Institution's map of the site. Click to enlarge. Figure 2. UCSD graduate student Misha Miller-Sisson (at << Previous Page Explore the Project Gallery Antiquity Volume 083 Issue 321 September 2009 The virtual Chichén Itzá project: modelling an ancient Maya city in Google SketchUp Beniamino Volta, Thomas E. Levy & Geoffrey E. Braswell Background The rapid pace of development in information technologies is radically changing the ways in which archaeologists carry out their research. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software and digital recording methods have had a substantial impact in archaeology over the past decade (Aldenderfer & Maschner 1996; Friedman et al. 2003; Levy & Smith 2007). Along with powerful GIS tools for recording and analysing spatial data, archaeologists have also benefited from the visualisation capabilities of 3D modelling programs (Gillings & Goodrick 1996; Forte & Siliotti 1997; Terras 1999), bringing the field one step closer to the 'virtual archaeology' envisioned in Reilly's (1990) seminal article. Google SketchUp is a powerful modelling program with an intuitive and user-friendly interface that is available for free download from Google. Models created in SketchUp can be integrated in a variety of presentations, from screenshot images to be used as illustrations in reports and publications to interactive reconstructions that users can experience in Google Earth, Second Life, or other virtual-reality environments. Three-dimensional visualisations produced with this method can also aid researchers in data analysis, as spatial patterns of structures or artefacts can be easily viewed and manipulated in the models. Google SketchUp and the CISA3 Project The potential for applying Google SketchUp to archaeological visualisations is being explored by the authors in a collaborative project with the Center of Interdisciplinary Science for Art, Architecture and Archaeology (CISA3) at the University of California, San Diego. The initial aim of the project has been to develop a method for modelling archaeological buildings and landscapes in SketchUp starting with survey and excavation data. The long-term goals include the creation of a 'virtual city' for the Maya archaeological site of Chichén Itzá, Yucatán, Mexico, where Braswell and Volta will be conducting research over the next four years. The integration of SketchUp models and GIS data into a web-based interactive research environment is also being investigated. Chichén Itzá: building a virtual Maya city The CISA3 Virtual Maya Cities project has the goal of modelling an entire ancient city: Chichén Itzá, one of the largest and most powerful centres in the Maya region of northern Yucatán, Mexico, during the Terminal Classic period (AD 800-1050/1100). Over the next few years, an international team of archaeologists led by director Rafael Cobos of the Autonomous University of Yucatán and including Braswell and Volta will conduct extensive mapping and excavations at Chichén Itzá, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The results of this research will be incorporated into a digital model of the site (Figure 1) which will allow viewers to explore the ruins virtually. This is especially important in light of the huge impact that