Digitisation of Cultural Heritage in the Field: Methodological Approaches and the Application of 2D and 3D Technologies in Ethnology

Abstract

Digitalization brings significant changes to contemporary ethnographic practice, enabling, among other things, new methods of recording, analysing, and presenting cultural heritage. This paper explores how digital technologies, such as 2D representations and 3D models, can enhance ethnographic research through more precise documentation and cultural preservation. The use of these methods facilitates data collection while also enabling a deeper understanding of cultural contexts through interactive and visually rich displays, for example, within virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR). The paper will briefly focus on introducing digitalisation in general and its relationship with cultural heritage, before moving on to practical examples of 2D and 3D digitalisation. The aim of this paper is to present their potential for the long-term (digital) preservation of cultural heritage.