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Virtual Reconstruction as Archaeological Observation: Embracing New Ways of Treating Sites, Places and Landscapes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 April 2019

Matthew J. Douglass ,
Zachary R. Day ,
Jeremy C. Brunette ,
Peter Bleed  and
Douglas Scott
Matthew J. Douglass*
Affiliation:
College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, 149b Hardin Hall, 3310 Holdrege Street, Lincoln, NE 68583-0996
Zachary R. Day
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Kansas, 622 Fraser Hall, 1415 Jayhawk Blvd., Lawrence, KS 66045-7556
Jeremy C. Brunette
Affiliation:
Los Alamos National Laboratory P.O. Box 1663, Mail Stop J978, Los Alamos, NM 87545
Peter Bleed
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Nebraska, 816 Oldfather Hall, Lincoln NE 68588-0368
Douglas Scott
Affiliation:
Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Colorado Mesa University, 1100 North Avenue, Grand Junction, CO 81501-3122
*
(mdouglass3@unl.edu, corresponding author)
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Abstract

Virtual Reconstruction is a powerful tool broadly suited to a diverse array of archaeological heritage applications. In practice, however, reconstruction has largely focused on grand and monumental sites. Here we present two case studies–one from southern Oklahoma, the other from western Nebraska–to explore the use of this technology for more common heritage applications. The goal of this article is to advertise the dilemma we faced with communicating information on ephemeral sites and how we, as nonspecialists, solved the issue using affordable and accessible digital tools. Our workflow makes use of common tools (GIS) and open source software and online tutorials provide step by step instruction to support its replication. In presenting our experiences and the results of these efforts, we hope to spur similar applications in the use of Virtual Reconstruction to communicate information on archaeological heritage more broadly.

La reconstrucción virtual es una poderosa herramienta ampliamente utilizada en aplicaciones relacionadas con el patrimonio arqueológico. En práctica, sin embargo, la reconstrucción se ha centrado principalmente en sitios grandiosos y monumentales. Aquí presentamos dos estudios de caso —uno del sur de Oklahoma y el otro del oeste de Nebraska— para explorar el uso de esta tecnología para aplicaciones de patrimonio más comunes. El objetivo de este documento es presentar el dilema al que nos enfrentamos al comunicar información sobre sitios efímeros y explicar la manera en que resolvimos este problema utilizando herramientas digitales asequibles y accesibles. Nuestro flujo de trabajo hace uso de herramientas comunes como los Sistemas de Información Geográfica (SIG) y software de código abierto, y los tutoriales en línea proporcionan instrucciones paso a paso para respaldar su replicación. Al presentar nuestras experiencias y los resultados de estos esfuerzos, esperamos impulsar aplicaciones similares en el uso de la reconstrucción virtual para comunicar más ampliamente información sobre el patrimonio arqueológico.

Keywords

Virtual reconstructionGreat Plainshistorical archaeologyUnity game engineReconstrucción virtualGreat Plainsarqueología históricamotor de juego Unity
Type
Articles
Information
Advances in Archaeological Practice , Volume 7 , Issue 2 , May 2019 , pp. 127 - 139
Copyright
Copyright 2019 © Society for American Archaeology 

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