Teaching Archaeology in Virtual Reality: Project Ambrosia

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Field schools have been the best way to provide hands-on experience with archaeological fieldwork in an environment geared to student learning. However, field schools are beyond the financial and logistical reach of many students, particularly first-generation students and those from underrepresented groups. The decreasing costs and increasing accessibility of Virtual Reality simulations have the potential to provide an alternative to traditional field schools. However, most VR applications in archaeology have focused upon immersion in famous archaeological sites, with the student as a passive explorer in this VR world. Our VR development team has instead developed a simulation in which students become members of an archaeological survey team that searches for and records archaeological sites on the fictional island of Ambrosia. Students learn how to conduct archaeological reconnaissance surveys, experience the excitement of discovering sites, and interact with the archaeological materials on those sites to answer questions about site formation processes and learn about the inferences that may be made from material culture, while also being exposed to ethical issues in archaeology. This presentation will provide information on the development and pedagogy of Project Ambrosia, together with data gleaned from student testers.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 23136