For the first time in Penn history, the University Museum has joined forces with the School of Engineering in an interdisciplinary attempt to improve the quality and efficiency of archaeological research.
As part of a project aimed at studying the remains of an ancient city in Tiwanaku, Bolivia, archaeologists from Penn's University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, the University of Denver and the University of Arkansas are employing advanced technology from the School of Engineering and Applied Science to locate and model subterranean artifacts with increased accuracy.
Often called the "American Stonehenge," the remains at Tiwanaku boast huge pyramids and statues -- evidence of a city that prospered despite the apparent uninhabitability of the landscape.
University Museum research assistant Alexi Vranich said that the engineering-archaeology collaboration resulted from efforts made by the University Museum to become more technologically savvy -- a move consistent with the "future of archaeology."
"This is hopefully going to give a message to archaeologists across the world that it is possible to understand the past in an efficient and cost-effective manner," said Vranich, who is also the director of the Tiwanaku project.
The 12-year project at Tiwanaku -- funded by a $1.05 million grant from the National Science Foundation -- was initiated to help archaeologists better understand what the city looked like.
To achieve this goal, Penn engineers used digital photographs to create three-dimensional models of recovered artifacts, replacing manual measurement.
"In the past, it took archaeologists forever to measure by hand ruler what they found," said Tiwanaku Project Principal Investigator Kostas Daniilidis, who is also an assistant professor of computer and information science.
With the new modeling device, the formerly monthlong procedure for creating three-dimensional models can be completed overnight.
Other technology, such as ground-penetrating radar, allows archaeologists to pinpoint the exact location of subterranean structures.
"A lot of times when we excavate, we're just guessing," Vranich said. "Now we can direct it."
The radar-imaging procedure, similar to that used by gold miners or oil drillers, prevents archaeologists from wasting their time and money digging at unfruitful locations.
According to Daniilidis, radar measurements can also be used to create three-dimensional models of underground structures without having to physically excavate them.
The radar technology enables material to be recovered up to three meters below the surface, thus reducing the need to destroy sites through excavations.
"We can get something like a [computerized tomography] scan" or magnetic resonance imaging, Daniilidis said.
Vranich said the reduced need for excavations does not threaten the livelihood of archaeologists, and will only serve to increase the efficiency of their work. He added that museums will not be affected by the smaller number of artifacts produced, as most new artifacts go into storage.
"We've got half a million artifacts and enough glass cases to display 100," he said.
Other devices will also be used to combine data collected concerning the magnetic and electric properties of the structures.
Students and professors working on the Tiwanaku project were enthusiastic about the engineering-archaeology collaboration.
"It's a great way for the departments to interact. ... It's a hot topic having engineers help out other scientists," first-year Engineering graduate student Alexander Patterson said.
"We really want to support information technology for the humanities," Daniilidis said. "In the humanities, there are many questions that are challenging for computer scientists."
The project is scheduled to be completed in 2007.
