Bonify 1.0: evaluating virtual reference collections in teaching and research

Abstract

Accessibility to zooarchaeological reference materials is a key hurdle when determining species classification, particularly in cases where the differences between two species (e.g. sheep and goat) are nuanced. Bonify is a pilot platform allowing the virtual comparison between 3D virtual animal bone models and zooarchaeological specimens. Two technologies were case studied, online web presentation and augmented reality. The two methodologies were tested by a selection of students and domain professionals. While the physical reference collection was viewed as the most usable, it was limited in terms of accessibility; the second best option turned out to be the web based interface while the augmented reality option suffered in terms of its usability. The web interface is available at www.digitalbones.eu.