Repository logo
 

Framing the past: How virtual experience affects bodily description of artefacts

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

Repository DOI


Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Di Giuseppantonio Di Franco, P  ORCID logo  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9371-9553
Matlock, T 

Abstract

This study uses a novel, interdisciplinary approach to investigate how people describe ancient artefacts. Here, we focus on gestures. Researchers have shown that gestures are important in communication, and those researchers often make a distinction between beat and iconic gestures. Iconic gestures convey meaning, specifically, visual-spatial information. Beat gestures do not convey meaning; they facilitate lexical access. In our study, we videotaped participants while they described artefacts presented through varied media: visual examination, physical interaction, and three-dimensional virtual and material replica (i.e., 3D prints) interaction. Video analysis revealed that media type affected gesture production. Participants who viewed actual objects displayed in a museum-style case produced few gestures in their descriptions. This finding suggests that traditional museum displays may diminish or limit museum users degree of engagement with ancient artefacts. This interdisciplinary work advances our knowledge of material culture by providing new insights into how people use and experience ancient artefacts in varied presentations. Implications for virtual reproduction in research, education, and communication in archaeology are discussed.

Description

Keywords

3D digital replicas, 3D prints, embodied cognition, embodiment, perception, gestures, discourse, artefacts, frames, experience

Journal Title

Journal of Cultural Heritage

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

1296-2074

Volume Title

17

Publisher

Elsevier BV
Sponsorship
This paper is part of a larger study on how people perceive ancient artefacts, which was partially funded by the University of California Humanities Network and the Center for the Humanities at the University of California, Merced.