1. Identify the record
Record the holding institution, accession number, object title, model creator, capture date, licence and stable record URL. A model without these fields is difficult to verify or cite.
2. Read the model
Inspect coverage gaps, blurred or stretched textures, reflective surfaces, reconstructed areas and any scale reference. Polygon detail is not the same as measurement accuracy.
3. Check the claim
Separate what the model directly shows from interpretations about manufacture, use, date or ownership. Confirm those interpretations against the institution record and cited research.
Tour planning worksheet
- Choose one verified institutional model and save its object record URL.
- Define three viewing stops: overall form, manufacture trace, and damaged or reconstructed area.
- At each stop, write one observation and one interpretation in separate fields.
- Note what physical examination, radiography or material analysis would add.
- Provide text alternatives and a non-3D route for keyboard and low-bandwidth access.
Limits to state explicitly
- Photogrammetry and laser scanning record sampled surfaces; hidden interiors are not captured unless another method is used.
- Texture colour depends on lighting, camera response and processing, so it is not a substitute for calibrated colour or spectroscopy.
- Scale and measurement reliability depend on capture control and published uncertainty.
- AR placement and virtual lighting are display choices, not evidence about the object's original setting.
Verified starting points
Use the records and rights statements supplied by the publishing institution. Availability, download formats and reuse terms vary by object.
- Smithsonian 3D Digitization portal
- Europeana rights statements and reuse guidance
- Smithsonian 3D capture and processing overview
Editorially reviewed 10 October 2026. No model, viewer or downloadable media is embedded on this page.
Curator's evidence fileroot / PLANNING-EVIDENCE-AWARE-3D-HERITAGE-TOURS
Planning Evidence-Aware 3D Heritage Tours
Use this checklist to evaluate a museum 3D model or plan a classroom tour. ArtifactView does not currently provide an interactive 3D viewer, AR mode, model downloads, measurements, or annotation export.
| Observe | Describe material, form, marks, wear or spatial relation without assigning identity or purpose. Begin with “1. Identify the record.” |
|---|---|
| Context | Locate the record in excavation, collection, restoration and display history. Check the chain against Smithsonian 3D Digitization portal and Europeana rights statements and reuse guidance. |
| Infer | Digital reconstruction should mark what is directly recorded, what is restored from comparison and what is an interpretive choice. Tie every attribution to the feature that supports it and retain competing readings. |
| Withhold | Do not extend “2. Read the model” beyond the date, sample, comparison or provenance actually documented. |
Provenance checkpoint
List each custody or documentation gap separately; an unknown interval is evidence about the record, not permission to invent continuity.
Catalogue note
Record the holding institution, accession number, object title, model creator, capture date, licence and stable record URL. A model without these fields is difficult to verify or cite. Mark later repairs, labels and digital reconstructions as later interventions rather than original features.
Research-room promptWhat single comparison object, technical test or archive entry would most change the interpretation of Planning Evidence-Aware 3D Heritage Tours?