Shelbie Harris
News Editor
An Idaho State University assistant professor of history and her team of collaborators are using a common household entertainment device to complete 3D scans of one of the most diverse Indian art collections in the world.
Project investigator, Yolonda Youngs secured a $39,000 grant from the National Park Service through the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training (NCPTT) to scan historic, social and cultural objects in the David T. Vernon Collection of American Indian art at Grand Teton National Park.
“This project allows us to put some of these artifacts into a format that people all around the country and all around the world can now see,” said Youngs, adding, “and it provides us this incredible opportunity to open up a broader discussion about the cultural history of the park, and the tribal history of the park.”
The grant provided by NCPTT will support Youngs’ project “Digital 3D Preservation and Documentation for Historic Cultural Landscape and Museum Collections, Grand Teton National Park.”
Using cutting-edge 3D scanning technology available on smartphones and the Xbox 360 Kinect platform, Youngs and her team will create digital documentation of a wide range of American Indian clothing, weapons, tools and sacred and ceremonial objects from over 100 American Indian tribes.
“The collection in its entirety is about 1,419 pieces,” said Bridgette Guild, museum curator for Grand Teton National Park. “Many of the artifacts are lithic materials, so archeological artifacts or epigraphic materials also known as an Indian arts collection which sort of detracts from the fact that these were objects actually used by people, not necessarily pieces of art.”
Laurence S. Rockefeller gifted this collection of Indian artifacts to the park in 1972 with Grand Teton’s Colter Bay Visitor Center displaying a portion of the collection.
In recent years, the park identified hundreds of the most vulnerable pieces and sent them to the Western Archeological and Conservation Center (WACC), a National Park Service conservation and curatorial facility in Tucson, Arizona.
Youngs and her team, consisting of Guild, and co-principal investigator Donna Delparte, an assistant professor of geoscience at ISU, will travel to Tucson and complete the scanning of over 60 artifacts.
“This is just an initial scan,” said Youngs. “It’s a huge collection, so what we really would like to do is scan more objects in the future.”
Youngs mentioned her team will not only focus on scanning the objects, but will also contribute to the interpretation of these objects for some potential museum displays in the future.
This project will offer new ways to preserve historic cultural artifacts while also making them accessible to the public through online museums, exhibits, websites and educational programs.
“By utilizing this technology we not only get to exhibit things in a way that reaches a broader audience,” said Guild, adding, “but also we are able to use technology to help us understand long term preservation of museum objects.”
Guild also mentioned this interactive technology would assist the museum in connecting with a younger audience more effectively.
The NCPTT received 62 complete applications, all of which underwent heavy peer and national review. In the end, 12 grants, totaling $427,000 were awarded.
“It’s wonderful, such a tremendous feeling,” said Youngs in regards to being selected for the grant, adding, “it’s a tremendous opportunity for ISU and for the type of research we do here, and could potentially contribute to a much larger vision for the park service in terms of interpreting cultural history.”
