PUBLICATIONS Inside Illinois Vol. 22, No. 12, Jan. 23, 2003

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Book examines ancient Peruvian sites
Sites once occupied by the ancient people who created some of the pre-Columbian world’s most exquisite art, largest ground drawings, most ingenious hydraulic engineering and most intense "trophy hunting" of human heads, are identified and explored in a new book by a UI professor of archaeology.

Helaine Silverman’s "Ancient Nasca Settlement and Society" (University of Iowa Press) is the first extended study of the ancient Nasca sites in what today is southern Peru. The book combines field research with postmodernist theory to illuminate the Nasca people’s "social construction of space and cultural meaning" through their manipulation of natural settings and creation of built environments. Throughout, she challenges current anthropological theories and practices.

"Rather than interpreting settlement patterns solely as reflections of political decision-making and economic organization, I add a necessary social dimension to consider the meaning of space across multiple domains of ancient society," Silverman said.
Silverman, who has devoted 20 years to surveying and studying the Nasca, is widely regarded as one of the world’s preeminent authorities on the Nasca.

The new book is meant to be read with "The Nasca" (2002), which Silverman co-wrote with Donald A. Proulx. In it, the authors explore many theories regarding the intriguing and immense Nasca lines. Silverman argues that they were pilgrimage routes that were ritually walked, and also "arenas of performance."

Full story    University of Iowa Press

Understanding virtual reality
William Sherman, NCSA senior research programmer, and Alan Craig, NCSA research programmer, have co-written "Understanding Virtual Reality: Interface, Application and Design."

The book arrives at a time when the technologies behind virtual reality have advanced to the point that it is possible to develop and deploy meaningful, productive virtual reality applications. The goal of this thorough, accessible exploration is to help you take advantage of this moment, equipping you with the understanding needed to identify and prepare for ways VR can be used in your field, whatever that field may be.

By approaching VR as a communications medium, the authors have created a resource that will remain relevant even as the underlying technologies evolve. You get a history of VR, along with a good look at systems currently in use. However, the focus remains squarely on the application of VR and the many issues that arise in the application design and implementation, including hardware requirements, system integration, interaction techniques, and usability. This book also counters both exaggerated claims for VR and the view that would reduce it to entertainment, citing dozens of real-world examples from many different fields and presenting (in a series of appendices) four in-depth application case studies.

Morgan Kaufman Publishers

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