Shedding Light On Pre-Columbian Crania Collections Through State-Of-The-Art 3d Scanning Techniques

Abstract

During the 19th and 20th centuries, numerous museums, scientific societies, and royal academies were founded in Europe and America. This is the context in which the Anthropological Museum Montané was founded in Havana, Cuba. Its collection has grown over the years, thanks to researchers, antiquarians, and amateurs. Since its foundation, the Museum Montané has become an essential institution for anthropological and archaeological research in the region. Nowadays, the Museum Montané, like other museums in developing countries, faces a challenge in introducing state-of-the-art technologies for digitizing exhibits and creating innovative projects to attract visitors. The current possibilities of virtualization of cultural heritage using digital technologies have a favorable impact on the preservation, access, and management of museum collections. The use of three-dimensional (3D) models fosters engagement with visitors, stimulates new learning forms, and revalorizes the exhibits. In the current study, we use a hand-held structured light scanner to create 3D reality-based models of pre-Columbian crania from the Caribbean and South American collection of the Anthropological Museum Montané. The resulting 3D models were used for producing 3D printing replicas and animated videos. The 3D resources will encourage new knowledge through research and provide broader access to these pre-Columbian crania collection with related learning and outreach activities. Digitizing these specimens has an importance that goes beyond the creation of 3D models: it protects these fragile and valuable collections for future generations. The methodology and results reported here can be applied in other museums with similar collections to digitally document, study, protect, and disseminate the archaeological heritage. In future projects, we seek to continue exploring the application of novel methods and digital techniques to the study of the pre-Columbian crania collections in Latin American and the Caribbean area.