This section is about making useful technological suggestions for the communities that created my three chosen artefacts.
I attempted to tailor my suggestions to the time period, rather than trying to bring HDTV to the prehistoric man. I also attempted to not be patronising, and make suggestions that were realistic and useful.
Artefact #1: Ghanaian Coffins
1) Roads: To reach more modernised areas for trade and jobs as well as to take advantage of their technology i.e. planes
2) Tools: The coffins are all handmade, probably meaning that it would be very time-consuming (and expensive) to make. Also in hot countries, bodies have to be buried very quickly otherwise they start to decompose. To speed up this process, and make it cheaper to create (and therefore more accessible to all members of the community), i suggested modernised tools.
3) A digital music player or recorder: To record a message or to play a loved ones music to them in the coffin.
Artefact # 2: Folding chairs
1) interactive bench: people would sit down in the area for longer (and engage more with the exhibits) and it would become part of the exhibition. They would also have something to lean on whilst making notes.
2) A work station: To enable them to find out more about anything that interests them straight away. Possibly would contain digital information (the printed blurbs were quite short), a encyclopaedia britannica, useful websites, and possibly book suggestions. This could be linked upto the museum gift shop or to a big book website like Amazon and the museum could earn comission, creating another revenue stream.
3) Note cards: visitors are able to leave notes about their reception of the piece, their thought, adding their own knowledge, or starting discussions. This would be digitalised and posted online for users to visit. This could pull more visitors in for the museum through search engines (searching for a term would bring up the forum, then theyd come in to see the exhibition). This would also be very useful for researchers, and also for the museum to learn more about how people recieve their exhibitions. It could also create more of a community outside of the museu, encouraging return visits.
Artefact #3
The skull house
1) Maps: To record the location of shrines (As many are scattered around, easily lost after generations, and the materials if places in the wrong place are easily damaged so they may get lost and may never be found again). A map for the people would allow them to never forget where everything is, and to be able to pay their respects if they wish to.
I found it very difficult to think of anything else for these people that wouldn't be patronising to them if it was introduced, or to think of anything that they'd embrace, as many communities are, rightfully so, very proud of their heritage and the way that they do things. It was also a lot further back in time than my other Artefacts.
I am limited by the amount that i could deduce about the community from this one artefact. I did look around the neighbouring exhibits to find anything similar from Rovania, but i couldnt, instead finding out about generally the western Solomon islands (which i later learnt that roviana is part of) and their shell ornaments. I instead decided to look it up online.
I haven't managed to find a lot on it; a single mention in a google e-book about the 'spooky' skull house for the skulls of Rendovan chiefs
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=eUmcHEZLFYgC&pg=PA265&lpg=PA265&dq=solomon+islands+skull+house&source=bl&ots=ys7GEdDoZP&sig=WSFuM3D7XCxPO6a3oYG1drOq-GY&hl=en&ei=pLaxTJy2DceOjAfc4JxZ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=solomon%20islands%20skull%20house&f=false
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