Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Mouse In The Museum, Maggie Colangelo, Bernard Means

Virtual Curation Lab's Comic Publications

Find out about America's first successful public museum of art and natural history from a unique perspective: a mouse! The museum mouse guides you through Charles Willson Peale's Philadelphia Museum from its founding in his own home to its eventual establishment in what is now called Independence Hall. You will encounter a killer bear, an eagle that has seen better days, and the massive bones of an extinct elephant: the mastodon. This gripping tale is brought to you by Maggie Colangelo and Bernard K. Means, co-creators of Founding Monsters, Founding Monsters Tales, Mystery of the Missing Megafauna, and Tales from …

A Heart Pierced By A Narwhal Tusk And Other Sketches, Maggie Colangelo, Bernard Means

Virtual Curation Lab's Comic Publications

A series of sketches and spot illustrations by artist Maggie Colangelo, Senior Graphics Artist for VCU's Virtual Curation Laboratory. Many of the illustrations are related to various celebrations over the calendar year, usually tied to open houses in the lab.

Tales From The Virtual Curation Lab, Issue 01, Maggie Colangelo, Bernard Means

Virtual Curation Lab's Comic Publications

"Tales from the Virtual Curation Lab brings you fascinating graphic narratives inspired by artifacts, fossils, historic objects—and even one person—3D scanned by VCU’s Virtual Curation Laboratory. Read about an Ice Age camel that had its face ripped of by a bear, the world’s oldest ham, a vampire’s skull, and more!”--back cover

The Mystery Of The Missing Megafauna, Maggie Colangelo, Bernard Means

Virtual Curation Lab's Comic Publications

The creative team behind Founding Monsters and Founding Monsters Tales have created a new comic that takes a more scientific and less historic approach to the giant mammals that once roamed North America. The Mystery of the Missing Megafauna explores how changing climate impacted biodiversity and megafauna populations in North America at the end of the last Ice Age. Particular attention is placed on the extinction of mastodons, mammoths, giant ground sloths and other megafauna whose fossils are found at Saltville in southwestern Virginia. This comic draws a connection to contemporary climate change and the major extinctions happening today. The …

Patterns Of Enslavement And Economic Oppression Of Central Virginia, Hannah Bedwell

Undergraduate Research Posters

I address how anthropologists can identify the patterns and development of slavery and economic oppression through archaeology and the visualization of Virginia enslavement. I focus on the enslaved people of James Madison's Montpelier. I use 3D modeling as a foundation for integrating enhanced visuals with the goal of presenting a tangible understanding of the enslaved individuals in relation to the artifacts and history of the archaeological sites. I intend to show a common theme in economic oppression by comparing modern themes in slavery and examining Fraser D. Neiman's synthesis of the evolutionary perspective of slavery, and how little has changed …

Ancient Egyptian Figurines: An Investigation Into Manufacture, Use, And Culture., Kristina B. Donnally 2455289

Undergraduate Research Posters

I will analyze the social and religious role of figurines in Egyptian society. I will delve into the differences in the figurines in both manufacture and purpose between the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms. I hope to look at religious, political, and other figurines to get a broad spectrum of usage for the artifacts. The main purpose of the research is to identify the time period, purpose, and usage for the figure donated to VCU by Professor Waybright. Questions I have is if the changes in political structure and minute changes in religion between each Kingdom affected the manufacture and …

The Future Of Arabic Music: No Sound Without Silence, Nesma Magdy Khodier Vcuq

Theses and Dissertations

For centuries, Arabic music has been intrinsically linked to Arab culture and by extension bonded to the environmental landscape of the region, reflecting their emotions, moods, and behaviors. Numerous technological advancements in the latter half of the twentieth century, have greatly affected the rich legacy of Arabic music, significantly impacting the natural progression of traditional Arabic musical genres, scales, and instrumentation.

This thesis serves as an introduction to generative methods of music production, specifically music generated through gestures. Through generative music, and its unique ability to map gestures to different musical parameters, music can be produced using computer algorithms.

The …

Homo Heidelbergensis: The Tool To Our Success, Alexander Burkard

Auctus: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

Homo heidelbergensis, a physiological variant of the species Homo sapien, is an extinct species that existed in both Europe and parts of Asia from 700,000 years ago to roughly 300,000 years ago (carbon dating). This “subspecies” of Homo sapiens, as it is formally classified, is a direct ancestor of anatomically modern humans, and is understood to have many of the same physiological characteristics as those of anatomically modern humans while still expressing many of the same physiological attributes of Homo erectus, an earlier human ancestor. Since Homo heidelbergensis represents attributes of both species, it has therefore earned the classification as …

The Fall Of Teotihuacan, Elizabeth P. Ale

Undergraduate Research Posters

In this project I present a survey of multiple theories regarding the dissolution of the ancient Mesoamerican city of Teotihuacan. This complex city-state was established around 100 BCE and became one of the largest and most powerful sites in Mesoamerica. Located about 25 miles northeast of what is today known as Mexico City, Teotihuacan was home to many advanced technological and social structures, including a pyramid called The Pyramid of the Sun that boasted a base as large as the Great Pyramid of Giza’s. At some time between the 7^th and 8^th century CE, Teotihuacan went into decline. …

Beyond The Horizon: The Limitless Potential Of 3d Technology In Archaeology, Rebecca Bowman

Undergraduate Research Posters

My research started during the summer of 2014 with a joint internship at VCU’s Virtual Curation Lab and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources under the supervision of Dr. Bernard K. Means and Katherine Ridgway. The purpose of my research was to conduct a comparative study between the virtual and physical process of mending, or repairing, artifacts. I was granted access to three different vessel fragments which were improperly mended in the 1960s. It was my goal to remove the previous adhesive adhered to the sherds and replace it with a safer adhesive. Simultaneously, I brought the previously mended sherds …

Personal Profile: Amanda Ndemo Archeological Accessibility Through 3-D Laser Scanning, Rebekah Rifareal

Auctus: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

The familiar signs that chide visitors to refrain from touching historical artifacts in museums would have no place in Dr. Bernard Means’ Virtual Curation Laboratory. Thanks to the innovative, fast-paced world of 3-D scanning, senior Amanda Ndemo had an archeological site at her fingertips, all while staying in Richmond for the VCU Honors Summer Undergraduate Research Program (HSURP).