In a rather more earthbound initiative, Google Maps staff in Mexico have pedalled tricycles mounted with cameras around 30 pre-Hispanic sites to create 360˚ photo tours of famous monuments including Teotihuacan, Chichen Itza, and Palenque.
Recorded with the cooperation of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), the sites can be visited virtually through Google Street View. Researchers aim to have 80 locations online by the end of 2012, and eventually to record all 189 archaeological sites under INAH care.
This article is an extract from the full article published in World Archaeology Issue 55. Click here to subscribe