Anthropological Conversations: Augmented Reality Enhanced Artifacts to Foster Education in Cultural Anthropology

This paper presents a prototype for an application based on a CMS (Content Management System) connected to an augmented-reality engine that allows final users to publish, read and experience multimedia content tied to specific components of physical artifacts. When the physical artifacts are placed under a webcam, a pre-trained 3D feature recognition system scans the entire figure trying to identify some specific components. If any of these elements are recognized, the system retrieves and shows educational content from selected sources (texts, videos, pictures). We created a first instance of this framework and applied it to the Minkisi, artifacts from Congo that are claimed to possess spiritual qualities. Studies on Minkisi play a crucial role in the history of cultural anthropology and in the current ethnographic agenda. The aim of this research project is then to create a learning tool that empowers anthropological scholars and students allowing them to publish their own content on the Minkisi and to access some of the stories that make these ethnographic artifacts alive and powerful.