Mixing it Up: 3D Reconstructions, Virtual Reality, and Video Games (part 1)
Channel: Colleen Morgan
Date: 2023-11-21

Virtual reconstructions of archaeological landscapes and architecture have become common products of heritage interpretation schemes. In the time since the early introduction of virtual reconstruction, models have grown increasingly life-like, offering photo-realistic visual interpretations of the past. These virtual reconstructions have infiltrated the landscape through the increasingly transparent immediacy of augmented reality. But how are these models made, and what is the decision-making process behind them? How can we use 3D models to communicate new ideas about the past to diverse audiences without enforcing a single, authoritative vision of our particular interpretation? In this lecture I review the broad array of 3D technologies in archaeology with a critical eye toward evaluating them for different audiences.