There was an interesting piece on NPR this week about high-resolution images, panoramas and 3D scans of archaeological sites. This type of capture is very useful for all sites, but has been particularly invaluable for sites which have been destroyed in recent years. In addition to viewing a structure that may no longer exist, they enable us to look at it from physically possible angles. Many of these 3D recreations have been made by non-profits, such as CyArk or the British Museum, that need assistance with storage and access. They have partnered with Google Arts & Culture, which has provided a platform for both, as well as a single portal for like projects.
While assembling all these resources in one place is convenient and valuable for students and educators, there has been criticism on the ethics of these collaborations. The fact that the images are controlled by an entity other than the country where the structure resides has been called out, and was called “digital colonialism” by one critic in the NPR story.
Have a look through Google Arts & Culture, read the story, and let us know your thoughts on this by commenting here.
