Roller Stamp with Speech Scroll

sketchfab

Excavated near the Olmec center of La Venta in Tabasco, Mexico, this artifact was unearthed at the site of San Andrés, shedding light on writing's early beginnings in Mesoamerica during the Formative Period (Pohl et al., 2002). Drs. Lori Collins and Travis Doering, collaborating with Dr. Mary Pohl from Florida State University, used a 3D laser scanner to capture the roller stamp in 2005. Collins and Doering, working alongside 3D Specialist Jorge González, have digitally "unrolled" and 3D printed the ancient relic, which dates back approximately 500 B.C.E. (Pohl personal communication). Newly created visualizations demonstrate how it would have been utilized by our ancestors in ancient times. These models are being employed in digital heritage classes at the University of South Florida and by researchers affiliated with FSU (Pohl et al.). The artifact's availability on Sketchfab enables further study and research opportunities.