- Title: Google helps digitalise the Mayan world
- Date: 16th October 2019
- Summary: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO (OCTOBER 15, 2019) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) HEAD OF PRESERVATION AT GOOGLE ARTS & CULTURE, CHANCE COUGHENOUR, SAYING: "I see the future of technology and art continuing to meet in incredible ways." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) COUGHENOUR, SAYING: "In this specific project, being able to recreate a staircase that was carved. It's written history from more than a thousand years ago, that has deteriorated over time because of the environmental variables and because of rain. But we are able to use technology to create a replica and install it at the physical site at Palenque. That's absolutely a new step that we've never done before at Google Arts & Culture." SMALL EXHIBITION COPY OF PALENQUE PALACE STAIRCASE PLASTER CAST REPLICA DETAILS ON COPY REPLICA (SOUNDBITE) (English) COUGHENOUR, SAYING: "It (the project) takes place in three different time periods. It really takes place in the ancient Maya, more than a thousand years ago, and the stories that they were writing and recording on the walls and on stairs, in this case. But also, Victorian explorers a hundred years ago, and then, today."
- Embargoed: 30th October 2019 21:10
- Keywords: plaster cast Yucatan Chichen Itza Maya Palenque digital technology art digitalizing Alfred Maudslay Google British Museum Mexico history Google Arts & Culture
- Location: PALENQUE, CHIAPAS + MEXICO CITY, MEXICO / LONDON, ENGLAND, UK
- City: PALENQUE, CHIAPAS + MEXICO CITY, MEXICO / LONDON, ENGLAND, UK
- Country: Mexico
- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA007B1CLTFR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Google has partnered with The British Museum and Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) to digitalise the ancient Mayan world.
The new project, presented in Google's Mexico City office on Tuesday (October 15), is part of the tech giant's online platform named "Google Arts & Culture", that aims to make artworks from partner museums accessible to anybody with an internet connection.
"Exploring the Maya World" specifically focuses on this civilisation, that reached its peak between around 250 and 900 CE and that centred mostly out of what is now southern Mexico northern Central America.
The digital platform, found online and through Google Arts & Culture's app, contains articles, videos, juxtaposed old photographs and 3D digital models allowing viewers to delve into Mayan culture, history, art and architecture.
Central to the project is a plaster cast of the ancient city of Palenque's palace steps brought back to London by Victorian explorer Alfred Maudslay. The 19th century cast allowed curators to create a slightly oversized replica that is due to reside in situ at Palenque, for visitors to see, as the design on the original steps has since eroded and is no longer legible.
Chance Coughenour, Head of Preservation at Google Arts & Culture, told Reuters " this project is about preserving the Maya story" and "that today, we are using the technology of our time to make those stories accessible to anyone, anywhere."
British Museum project curator for the Maya Project, Claudia Zehrt told Reuters that they hope this project can lead to further digitalisation of other works that reside at the London museum.
Zehrt mentioned the project also includes a focus on the role of women in the Victorian exploration period and in Mayan exploration specifically, as well as the roles of local communities and workers.
Coughenour says, "I see the future of technology and art continuing to meet in incredible ways."
(Production: Christina Anagnostopoulos) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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