GIS for Archaeology, Module 8

This week the topic was 3D modeling, which I was excited about as there are numerous ways to use 3D modeling in archaeology. For this assignment, we used data from a shovel test survey to predict and model the stratigraphy across the entire study area, using ArcMap for analysis and ArcScene for visualization. I did my best to describe the size and orientation of these views, since ArcMap can't create an accurate scale bar or north arrow for a 3D scene. I forgot to note, however, that the shovel tests were dug to a depth of one meter, and these surfaces represent the top of each stratum.

We also used ArcScene to create a 3D visualization of the stratigraphy within the shovel tests themselves, and ArcScene's Fly tool to explore it. My video is a little awkward because I'm still getting the hang of using the Fly tool, but here it is:

Finally, we used the interpolated stratigraphic surfaces to predict the stratigraphy of a cross section of the site, using points along a line through the study area. Below you can see these points, with predicted stratum depths, fitted into the interpolations from before.