Data for this model is from the 1934 Historic American Building Survey of the architecture of the Pueblo. All measured exterior elevations and plans were scanned, and used as model templates. The VR model was first ray traced, and then a scanned image of the sky was pasted into the background to give a more realistic effect. This new freedom to interactively animate a model in VR space, look at it at will in real time, photo-realistically from any angle, inside or outside, and at different points in its temporal existence, is the most radical new way of looking at objects in space, since the early European Renaissance. It has enormous implications on the advancement of all fields using visual 3D information.
Virtual Reality can be a very powerful media for presenting new ideas about the past.
The potential societal impact of new archaeological knowledge gained from VR experience should be taken very seriously by the VR model builder. Today, at the dawn of the cyber age, and with the new VR technology, the past can be remembered like never before. By refreshing cultural memory, archaeology has been a powerful influence in the development of emerging world ideas and politics. Utilizing the tool of Virtual Reality, archaeology will continue to gain in importance. Certainly the culture of Native Americans will be empowered.