3D Printed Tactiles of Chaco Petroglyphs

Near-life-size 3D printable models of two petroglyphs located at a Sun-watching site called Rock of the Sun in Chaco Canyon, NM. LEFT: 14 inch models on display at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe, NM. LOWER RIGHT: 14 inch model in the hands of the PUNCH PI during the NASA launch broadcast. UPPER RIGHT: Comparing the size of the actual petroglyph to an adult hand - NOT touching the rock face.
Near-life-size 3D printable models of two petroglyphs located at a Sun-watching site called Rock of the Sun in Chaco Canyon, NM. LEFT: 14 inch models on display at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe, NM. LOWER RIGHT: 14 inch model in the hands of the PUNCH PI during the NASA launch broadcast. UPPER RIGHT: Comparing the size of the actual petroglyph to an adult hand - NOT touching the rock face.

To give sighted and blind & low-vision learners the opportunity to experience a part of Ancestral Pueblo culture, we created these depth-enhanced, 3D-printable models of two petroglyphs (rock carvings) found at a Sun-watching site in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico.

We made these models with respect and appreciation for the ancestors who created the petroglyphs on Chaco’s sandstone walls. We also acknowledge that this cultural site remains alive and important for modern-day Pueblo descendants who still live in the region. We created the downloadable models below using remote-sensing technologies without physical contact to the real petroglyphs.

There are multiple 3D model files to choose from. The photos above show the 14-inch models, which feature a near life-size depiction of the “curlicued” petroglyph. This large scale set has proven popular for display. The photos below show the 8-inch square representations of the spiral and the “curlicued” petroglyphs, which we scaled down for ease of printing and transport.

Find the 3D printing instructions and downloadable 3D model files below. STL files are for use with 3D printers. Please be mindful of the dimensions of your 3D printer, and consult the “General 3D Printing Guide” for more instructions.

8 inch Spiral petroglyph 3d print (left), 8 inch Curlicue petroglyph 3d print (right). Images courtesy of NASA PUNCH Outreach, Solar Stones Team.
8 inch Spiral petroglyph 3d print (left), 8 inch Curlicue petroglyph 3d print (right). Images courtesy of NASA PUNCH Outreach, Solar Stones Team.

Resources

NOTE: To download STL files, right click on the filename and choose 'Save link as' option.

  • 8 inch Spiral petroglyph 3D model download (STL, 8 MB)
  • 8 inch Curlicue petroglyph 3D model download (STL, 25 MB)
  • 14 inch Spiral petroglyph 3D model download (STL, 14 MB)
  • 14 inch Curlicue petroglyph 3D model download (STL, 21 MB)
  • General 3D printing instructions (PDF, 3 MB)
  • Project credits (PDF, 1 MB)

To learn more, we offer two other valuable resources for you to explore:

  1. Rock of the Sun in Chaco Canyon (5-min video). This short video introduces an unusual, curlicue petroglyph (rock carving) located in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico at a Sun-watching site we call Rock of the Sun. The petroglyph might be humanity's first known representation of a solar storm in the Sun’s corona, but we can never know for sure.
  2. THE PETROGLYPH INQUIRY: Does an Ancient Rock Carving in Chaco Canyon Depict the 1097 Total Solar Eclipse? The Outreach team for the NASA PUNCH mission invites all learners to join us in using historic and contemporary images of the Sun (in thermoform tactile and/or visual form) to help evaluate a solar interpretation for an ancient petroglyph. We can never know for certain how to interpret the petroglyph, but we can learn a lot about scientific inquiry and about Ancient & Modern Sun-watching by exploring the strengths and weaknesses of the “eclipse hypothesis.”

Please contact PUNCH Outreach with questions, ideas, or other comments about this product.

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