CHECK BACK IN EARLY 2022 FOR INFORMATION ON HOW TO APPLY
The 2021....
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Among the new skills interns learned was recording 360° panoramic "photospheres." These photospheres give greater context to the petroglyph panels by showing the surrounding landscape and viewshed. Unlike conventional photographs, 360° panoramas can also be used to make immersive digital experiences, like virtual reality. The first example, above, is of a locus with at least 2 panels located in a shallow wash. Fully repatinated abstract images (visible by rotating the view to look down) indicate these petroglyphs were made during the Early Archaic Period, which lasted from 7,500 to about 1,500 BC. With help from the Project Archaeologist, the interns also made a digital 3D model of this Archaic boulder, also shown above.
Our Interns paired the new mobile-platform mapping app used for recording with 360° photography and 3D modeling to dramatically increase the level of detail in our documentation for some of the more significant petroglyph loci in the areas where the SYIP has been recording in recent years. This year the team collecting a whopping 1.2GB of raw field data, including GPS locations, photographs, and panoramas. This increased amount of detailed data will help MPPP greatly improve the quality and analytic value of our documentation of significant locations, and can be used to inform decisions on how to manage these cultural sites in the future.
While this year's fieldwork component was shortened from the usual eight days to only five, the talent of the youth team and the new, faster recording methods allowed for plenty of time to cover a significant amount of ground in three study areas. In all, the interns hiked about 14.3km (8.9mi) over those five days. With such a blistering pace, we were able to visit a number of remarkable panels. Above, you will find an overview of the highly stylized "Fallen Elk" panel, so named for the ungulate depicted (meaning either a deer or elk), and because it has tumbled partly into a canyon and turned 90 degrees from its original orientation.
Our Summer Youth Interns spent the second week of the program in 'the lab', performing database entry and data analysis on this and previous years' data. ...
In addition, the interns worked together to collaborate on a scientific poster....
On behalf of the Mesa Prieta Petroglyph Project, we are grateful for the hard work, dedication, and skills shown by this year's Youth Interns. These outstanding individuals have contributed significantly to the project in this and previous years. We wish them all the best over the next year and in the future.
Participants for 2021 SYIP
Keenan Greywolf
Hayden Greywolf
Ariana Senger
Joaquin Suazo
Joshua Wheat
Chester Liwosz - Project Archaeologist
Alison Youngs - Volunteer Adult Mentor
Bob Pinto - Volunteer Adult Mentor
