Auburn University Montgomery Carnegie Explorer

The Carnegie Explorer website of Auburn University at Montgomery, Alabama, contains information about the Carnegie Institution of Washington's pioneering research throughout Mesoamerica during the early part of the twentieth century. It is designed to facilitate the distribution of data published by the Institution in digital format for the advancement of research. The site includes descriptions and links to data, imagery, maps, photographs, and reprinted material.

It also incudes an ambitious project to generate 3D renderings of the archaeological sites that Carnegie Institution researchers explored.

This sample 3D rendering was developed in a geographical information system (GIS). It is based upon survey data and maps published by the Carnegie Institution during the  1920s and 30s. The Chichen Itza maps in particular were completed by J.O. Kilmartin in 1924 and 1928, J.P. O'Neill in 1932, published by K. Ruppert in 1935 (Carnegie publication 454) and 1952 (Carnegie publication 595).

The project will use the photographic plates published in those volumes to develop 3D renderings of the facades of principal structures at the site. Viewers will be able to fly through the GIS; the look will be as the Carnegie researchers originally saw the site.

The Chichen Itza GIS is the first of many to come. Mayapan is already in the works as well. As funding allows, eventually all the Carnegie sites will be viewable in 3D.