Using 3-D Digital-Heritage Techniques to Document Heritage at Risk: A Case Study from Florida

Heritage sites around the world are being impacted by the climate crisis, a situation that continues to grow in scope and severity. As archaeologists, land managers, and other heritage professionals seek solutions to mitigate the impacts, three-dimensional (3-D) digital heritage techniques can assist heritage professionals in the rapid documentation of sites. This technology can be particularly impactful where sites may be lost, creating a digital record of what the site once was. Building upon its Heritage Monitoring Scouts (HMS Florida) Program, the Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN) is using terrestrial laser scanning and photogrammetry to document impacted sites across Florida. Documentation techniques include capturing entire landscapes, as well as curating digital models of artifacts in lieu of collecting the physical objects. Several of its projects, including a study of the techniques during a two-year grant-funded project, shed light on the affordances and constraints of the technology's application in historical archaeology.