Sivu'ovi

The Arizona Petrified Forest National Park contains one of the world’s largest concentrations of petrified wood, historic structures, archaeological sites and fossils. Scattered throughout the park are traces of nearly 13,000 years of human history and culture. Located in the southern portion of the Petrified Forest National Park, Sivu'ovi is an extensive site containing the remains of a large Basketmaker II period pit house village and several small Pueblo period rubble mounds. The Basketmaker II period is the least studied period of occupation in the region. Many of the structures are situated on the edge of the bluff, which faces serious erosion problems. Theft of petrified wood is also an ongoing problem at the park, and nearly 14 tons of the fossil wood disappear from the forest each year.

In 2011, NPS and CyArk collaborated to digitally preserve Sivu'ovi, Petrified Forest National Park. The main goals of the project were to document the Sivu'ovi sites and the surrounding landscape and to create a base digital dataset of Sivu'ovi for use in archaeological research, conservation, structural analysis, research, education, and tourism. The documentation process included digital photography, terrestrial laser scanning, traditional survey, and HDR panoramic photography. Additionally, the project also created a digital record of the extensive site in case of catastrophic events, such as erosion.