After a long and convoluted process of importing and exporting to different programs, I have finally created a nice-looking mesh for the Pachacamac terrain. I don't think it spans as far as we would like it to, so I may sample from a larger topographic map later (if I can find one).
If you're interested in how I got from a PDF of the site to a mesh of the terrain, here's my process:
1) I opened the PDF in Illustrator and removed all curves that were not topographic data (i.e. roads, buildings, etc.).
2) I exported the resulting file as a .dwg and opened it in AutoCAD.
3) In AutoCAD, I manually elevated each curve ring to the proper height to create a 3D topographic curve map.
4) In 3DS Max, I opened the .dwg and created a terrain form from the curves. The resulting geometry was absolutely horrible face-wise, but form-wise it looked good. So, I exported the terrain as an .obj.
5) I opened the .obj in Maya and created an nCloth from a plane with many, many subdivisions. I "draped" the nCloth over the 3DS Max terrain to create terrain with mostly uniformly-sized faces. This terrain intersected itself in a few places, though, so I (again) exported the mesh as an .obj.
6) I imported the smoother .obj and took the Sculpt Geometry brush to it, removing any "crunchy" areas.
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