{"title":"Immersing in Mesopotamia","authors":"Peter J. Cobb, J. Nieminen","doi":"10.1086/725775","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Immersive technologies and 3D modeling hold the potential for improving how we teach students about archaeological topics, especially the spatial and visual aspects of the past. This article presents a rapid exploratory pilot experiment that deployed virtual reality (VR) devices for remote group tours of sites within an introductory Mesopotamian archaeology university course. Creating the 3D models of the sites took the most time, so it is hoped that future publication norms will encourage the direct sharing of models for reuse. Through student interviews, the authors found that students could remember and explain the spatial layouts of the sites presented in VR better than those presented by traditional means. Students also informed about challenges with using the technology and their enjoyment of interacting with the sites and other students in this new way. Future archaeological teaching with VR will build upon the practical knowledge gained from this initial pilot.","PeriodicalId":51934,"journal":{"name":"NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3000,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1086/725775","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"ARCHAEOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Immersive technologies and 3D modeling hold the potential for improving how we teach students about archaeological topics, especially the spatial and visual aspects of the past. This article presents a rapid exploratory pilot experiment that deployed virtual reality (VR) devices for remote group tours of sites within an introductory Mesopotamian archaeology university course. Creating the 3D models of the sites took the most time, so it is hoped that future publication norms will encourage the direct sharing of models for reuse. Through student interviews, the authors found that students could remember and explain the spatial layouts of the sites presented in VR better than those presented by traditional means. Students also informed about challenges with using the technology and their enjoyment of interacting with the sites and other students in this new way. Future archaeological teaching with VR will build upon the practical knowledge gained from this initial pilot.
期刊介绍:
Archaeological discoveries continually enrich our understanding of the people, culture, history, and literature of the Middle East. The heritage of its peoples -- from urban civilization to the Bible -- both inspires and fascinates. Near Eastern Archaeology brings to life the ancient world from Mesopotamia to the Mediterranean with vibrant images and authoritative analyses.