New Media Applications on Cultural Heritage Assets

Abstract

New media is a relatively new concept for cultural heritage field. New media is usually considered the same as digital media and technology-driven alternatives. A better understanding of new media concept especially for cultural heritage studies could provide limitless possibilities for preserving, monitoring, representation and management of cultural assets. Using digital techniques make it possible to build 3D models, reconstructions, environments of virtual reality of archaeological sites or ancient structures and related cyber games. However, the nature of the object that is “cultural heritage components” of such applications requires collaboration with experts and academics, which specialize in the field of cultural heritage studies. Since, if the applications are not formed involving preservation and conservation principles, users/subjects of these applications could be easily manipulated and misdirected. Therefore, a conceptual context of new media applications for cultural heritage sites should be created. In this study, the very fundamentals of new media concept were analyzed and the latest trends in new media applications for archaeological sites and structures were determined in order to suggest an appropriate way of understanding such studies for cultural heritage area. It is concluded that nearly all of the latest applications and general scientific approach involves the view merely from the point of technological side.