Indigenous Calendar Knowledge, Research Protocols, and Visualization Technologies

本研究检视原住民科学知识与数位媒体平台整合的社会、技术与文化过程。居住在墨西哥中部高原的Otomi人在几千年的时间里，根据对月球、太阳和金星周期的观察，发展了广泛的天文知识体系，用于历法计时。目前正在努力与Otomi人合作，将他们的土著天文知识数字化并保存下来。这将使Otomi知识持有者能够在地方、区域和全球分享他们的宇宙学知识。然而，像虚拟现实环境和三维成像这样的数字技术也会扭曲空间和时间的概念，造成扭曲，就像二维地图扭曲陆地一样，给翻译过程带来挑战。该项目记录了知识系统的交集，通过叙事、图像和代际交换持有的社区知识被转化为以计算标准化和3d相机为标志的数字系统。研究人员将分析参与式设计过程，因为土著民族科学家、数字媒体制造者和传统知识持有者合作创建了一个原型虚拟现实表示。该项目将鼓励西班牙裔和美国原住民学生对STEM职业和STS研究的兴趣，这对美国劳动力至关重要，同时还将评估虚拟现实技术可能有助于土著知识回收和文化可持续性的方式。根据通过圆桌讨论和参与式设计会议收集的数据，并根据行动者网络理论，本研究解决了四个主要问题：(1)谁是参与翻译土著天文知识的主要合作者，他们将使用什么材料来创造一种新的土著技术科学形式？(2)沉浸式三维视听技术能否准确传达本土认识论的复杂原则？(3)需要什么样的知识、界面设计或数据标准化才能有效地为世界各地的其他土著社区实现最佳案例模型？(4)什么样的协议和方法可以成为确保土著社区及其知识受到尊重而不被利用的最佳案例实践？总体而言，本研究探讨在原住民知识守护者的指导下，并根据原住民社群参与的协议，将原住民日历可视化标准化的过程，以供公众和社群展示。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This research examines the social, technical, and cultural processes of integrating Indigenous scientific knowledge with digital media platforms. The Otomi people of the central Mexican plateau have developed extensive astronomical knowledge systems for calendrical timekeeping over thousands of years based on observations of lunar, solar, and Venusian cycles. Efforts are underway to collaborate with the Otomi people to digitize and preserve their indigenous astronomical knowledge. This will enable Otomi knowledge-holders to share their cosmological knowledge locally, regionally, and globally. However, digital technologies like virtual reality environments and three-dimensional imaging can also warp conceptions of space and time, creating distortions much like a two-dimensional map distorts landmasses, challenging translational processes. This project documents the intersection of knowledge systems as community knowledge held through narratives, images, and intergenerational exchange is translated into digital systems marked by computational standardization and 3-d cameras. Researchers will analyze participatory design processes as Indigenous ethno-scientists, digital media-makers, and traditional knowledge-holders collaborate to create a prototype virtual reality representation. The project will encourage Hispanic and Native American students’ interest in STEM careers and STS research, which is vital to the American workforce, while also assessing the ways that virtual reality technologies may contribute to Indigenous knowledge reclamations and cultural sustainability. Drawing upon data collected through round table discussions and participatory design sessions, and informed by Actor-Network Theory, this research addresses four main questions: (1) Who are the primary collaborators involved in translating Indigenous astronomical knowledge and what materials will they use to create a novel form of Indigenous technoscience? (2) Can immersive 3-D audio-visual technology accurately convey the complex tenets of Indigenous epistemology? (3) What kinds of knowledge, interface design, or data standardization will be needed to effectively accomplish a best-case model for other Indigenous communities around the world? (4) What kind of protocols and methodologies can enable a best-case practice for ensuring that Indigenous communities and their knowledge are respected and not exploited? Overall, this research investigates the processes needed to standardize Indigenous calendar visualizations for public and community presentation, with the guidance of Indigenous knowledge keepers and according to the protocols of participating with Indigenous communities.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.