Photogrammetry as an Access Tool: A Case Study of Small Collections From the Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science

Abstract

Museums throughout the United States house undocumented collections with variable access. With the technological developments over the past twenty years, digital documentation, particularly photogrammetry, has become more accessible and affordable which can bring these collections to a wider audience. This tool can help enable collaboration among researchers, institutions, and museum professionals, contribute to the stewardship of these collections, and overcome the physical and financial barriers that hinder open-access, allowing museum professionals to display their artifacts in new, engaging ways and make them more accessible to the public and other scholars. With the goal of using digital documentation to make archaeology and anthropology collections more accessible, five small artifacts from disparate collections in the Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science were recorded, drawn, and modeled: a Jerash type oil lamp, a Samaritan type oil lamp, a Roman oil lamp from Meidum, Egypt, an Ottoman ceramic smoking pipe, and a ceramic sherd. This case study illustrates how small to medium size institutions can construct a photogrammetry toolkit with minimal financial and staff resources.