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human habitation of the
American continents." The project will feature the work of Native American anthropologists, archaeologists, and artists as part of an educational for children combining virtual reality exhibits and hands-on activities. Its principal collaborators include a number of the Archive's core team members: anthropologist Joe Watkins, Ph.D., a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; filmmaker Josh Cawley, a descendant of the Northwestern band of the Shoshone Nation; and Dustin Mater, a multimedia artist, storyteller, and member of the Chickasaw Nation. The Mural of America's inaugural project is an annotated 3D capture of
118:) teamed up to document Northern Alabama's 19th Unnamed Cave (so named to keep its location secret for preservation purposes). The cave, which Simek and Cressler had previously explored in the 1990s, is less than half a meter high and contains multiple artworks engraved into the clay ceiling, which Simek and colleagues identified as the work of Native American artists between 500 CE and 1000 CE. The purpose of the project (in conjunction with the Archive's Unnamed Caves Project) was to use
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50:, mining operations, and vandalism—the Archive has launched the Mural of America, a collaboration of anthropologists, archaeologists, and Native American artists to document and provide cultural and scientific context to ten North American cultural landmarks. In 2022, members of the Archive team received wide media attention for their use of 3D photography in uncovering previously unseen cave art in Alabama's 19th Unnamed Cave.
66:. As Alvarez described it, the experience of photographing the cave art—some as much as 35,000 years old—inspired him to find a way to "digitally preserve what's there and deliver that to many more people than could otherwise see it." In 2016 Alvarez launched the Ancient Art Archive, a project to use photography,
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Although the original purpose of the photogrammetric photography was simply to measure distances and relationships between the engravings, on later analysis the images revealed engravings that had been previously undetectable due to naturally accumulating mud, the shallowness of the etched drawings,
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In 2023 the
Ancient Art Archive launched The Mural of America, an initiative to document, share, and provide cultural and scientific context for ten landmark sites across North America. According to Alvarez, the project seeks to "reframe American History to include the first 20,000 plus years of
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archaeologist Thomas
Pluckhahn observed that the project helped overturn previously held beliefs that "forty years ago, no one would have thought the southeast had much cave art." The team's discovery was covered by global media including
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to capture high-resolution images of the cave and its artworks. During the mapping of the cave, Alvarez captured more than 16,000 separate images that were later assembled by software into a fully explorable 3D model.
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story on the roots of artistic expression (published as "The
Origins of Art" in the January 2015 issue), Alvarez photographed prehistoric cave paintings in France's
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technology to capture detailed, three-dimensional records of ancient works of art. The
Archive's founding board of advisors included archaeologists
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The use of 3D photogrammetry to identify cave art has been called "exemplary and important work" by Carla Klehm, an archaeologist at the
46:. As part of its mission to create and distribute 3D images of ancient artwork for educational purposes—many of which are threatened by
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and the cave's narrow confines. These works of art—believed by Simek to be among the largest in North
America—included three
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organization dedicated to the preservation, visual documentation, and sharing of prehistoric works of art, particularly
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461:"Humanity's Oldest Stories, Told in the First Person: Photographer Stephen Alvarez's Ancient Art Archive"
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and many other films. To date the
Ancient Art Archive has created explorable 3D models of rock art of
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686:"Scientists use 3D technology to uncover largest collection of ancient Native American cave art"
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131:(humanlike figures), an enigmatic figure, and an eleven-foot engraving of a snake (possibly an
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436:"Unexpected discovery of mysterious drawings could change the way scientists look at cave art"
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In 2022, Simek, Alvarez, and Alan
Cressler (a photographer and hydrologic technician with the
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661:"In a secret Alabama cave, 1,000-year-old carvings thought to be largest discovered in U.S."
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In
September 2023, a selection of Alvarez's images of ancient artworks were presented by
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376:"Ancient Aboriginal rock art destroyed by vandals in 'tragic loss' at sacred SA site"
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810:"Bridging Millennia: The Fusion of Art and Technology in Cultural Preservation"
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212:'s Storytellers Summit, where they presented the work of The Mural of America.
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849:"National Geographic Storytellers Summit 2024 » Ancient Art Archive"
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34:, around the globe. The organization was founded in 2016 by photographer
834:"Echoes of art reverberate through the Curb Center's latest exhibition"
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637:"The Largest Cave Drawings in North America Have Been Found in Alabama"
604:"Largest US cave figures, about 1,000 years old, discovered in Alabama"
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535:"In Alabama's '19th Unnamed Cave,' a Trove of Ancient Dark-Zone Art"
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In
February 2024, Alvarez and Mater were featured speakers at the
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that was sacred to Indigenous people during the Woodland Period).
343:"World's oldest art under threat from cement mining in Indonesia"
314:"Ancient Silk Road Art Faces Risks From Climate Change in China"
736:"3-D Scans Reveal Gigantic Native American Cave Art in Alabama"
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585:"Largest Native American cave art revealed by 3D scans"
710:"3D scans reveal largest cave art in North America"
110:Discovery of prehistoric art in 19th Unnamed Cave
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90:, visual effects supervisor on James Cameron's
38:following an assignment to photograph France's
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555:. Vol. Spring 2011, no. 196. 2011.
900:Non-profit organizations based in Tennessee
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785:"James Cawley | Director, Writer, Producer"
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635:Mattei, Shanti Escalante-De (2022-05-04).
503:"Alan M Cressler | U.S. Geological Survey"
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408:"Mural of America Project Virtual Program"
225:Dustin Mater, Chickasaw multimedia artist
222:Joe Watkins, Ph.D., Choctaw archaeologist
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260:National Parks Conservation Association
203:Reverberations: Roots of the Cedar Tree
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188:in Alvarez's home state of Tennessee.
16:Organization recording prehistoric art
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479:"Messages from Across the Millennia"
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201:Curb Center in an exhibition titled
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58:In 2014, while on assignment for a
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915:Organizations established in 2016
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910:2016 establishments in Tennessee
374:Rachwani, Mostafa (2022-12-21).
341:Varagur, Krithika (2020-02-21).
847:Alvarez, Stephen (2024-02-20).
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82:, Arctic researcher and diver
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228:Stephen Alvarez, photographer
583:Joosse, Tess (May 4, 2022).
291:. 2019-08-05. Archived from
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96:Bears Ears National Monument
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483:The University of the South
288:National Geographic Society
210:National Geographic Society
192:Exhibitions and appearances
144:University of South Florida
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602:Yang, Maya (2022-05-05).
256:"The Writing on the Wall"
234:James Cawley, filmmaker
199:Vanderbilt University's
98:, Chauvet Cave, Utah's
80:Christopher Henshilwood
20:The Ancient Art Archive
764:The Montgomery Fellows
836:. September 8, 2023.
740:Smithsonian Magazine
179:The Mural of America
853:Ancient Art Archive
169:National Geographic
60:National Geographic
44:National Geographic
905:Sewanee, Tennessee
153:The New York Times
84:Joseph B. MacInnis
412:Explore Oak Ridge
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28:cave painting
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64:Chauvet Cave
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40:Chauvet Cave
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920:Ancient art
641:ARTnews.com
173:Smithsonian
68:3D modeling
32:petroglyphs
22:(AAA) is a
894:Categories
858:2024-02-28
819:2024-02-28
794:2024-02-28
770:2024-02-28
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299:2024-02-28
265:2024-02-28
239:References
690:USA TODAY
616:0261-3077
561:0031-2037
388:0261-3077
355:0261-3077
217:Core team
165:USA Today
76:Jan Simek
24:nonprofit
925:Archives
814:Grow Ada
664:NBC News
161:NBC News
88:Van Ling
54:Founding
714:History
589:Science
465:ArtsAtl
92:Titanic
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171:, and
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70:, and
789:IMDb
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30:and
440:CNN
157:CNN
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