Virtual Anthropology has greatly advanced research by employing 3D imaging for non-invasive studies in evolutionary biology, archaeology, and forensics, and has also played a significant role in preserving and sharing cultural heritage. Within CHANGES, the digitization initiative of the Documented Human Osteological Collections (DHOC) of the University of Bologna (Italy), offers a 3D bone scans database stored in the publicly accessible repository MorphoSource. This allows for the preservation of skeletal materials, making them available for interdisciplinary study, while managing ethical, scientific, cultural, and social complexities of handling this sensitive bio-cultural asset. Using selected bio-cultural assets from the Virtual DHOC, and supported by a collaboration between Spoke 4 and Spoke 6, an ongoing project aims to create a virtual exhibition of the University of Bologna’s “Collezioni di Antropologia”. Due to the challenges in managing the collection and the high preservation risks, the aim is to create a new virtual, appealing, and communicative collection setup. This can be done by taking advantage of a tool like Aton (an open-source mixed-reality CNR framework used within Spoke 4), which, if implemented with functionality so that information regarding the collection object conservation status can be linked to the 3D object, can serve as a helpful tool for risk monitoring and safeguarding the museum’s heritage. The online experience, enriched with accessible information and interactive activities, would provide a new and appealing key to increasing public engagement, bringing scientific knowledge to wider audiences, and fostering a deeper public understanding of human history.
Sorrentino et al. (2025) studied this question.