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Description
My thesis explores accessible methods within the field of cultural heritage preservation and digital archaeology to make headway towards the democratization and decolonization of digital heritage research and data collection. This research uses available tools such as photogrammetry and off-the-shelf LiDAR used in the autonomous vehicle industry to collect digital 3D scans that are of sufficient quality for heritage documentation work. By democratizing the access to tools for the digital preservation of cultural heritage (archaeological sites, monuments, historic buildings, and other landmarks), a variety of heritage management goals, such as sustainable tourism, accessible education, repatriation, and cultural preservation, may be achieved at an augmented rate. By providing low-cost workflows accessible to a wider array of stakeholders, this work has the potential to help decolonize digital archaeology and increase the speed at which endangered cultural material can be digitally preserved. This is showcased with three case studies in local heritage documentation in La Mesa, CA: the Spring House, the Collier Park Fountain, and the Reverend Henry A. McKinney House. The McKinney House, which has been professionally scanned with 3D laser scanning, serves as a test-bed with which to compare the low-cost accessible scanning methods to professional scanning results. The results of this research emphasize why accessible methodologies are imperative to the preservation on both a national and local level, especially for the enhanced integration of collected 3D data into various public sectors such as education, museum, tourism, and public outreach.
