Underwater Archaeology In The 21st Century: From Humble Beginnings To Integration With Anthropology And Archaeology
Part of: Society for Historical Archaeology 2024
This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Underwater Archaeology In The 21st Century: From Humble Beginnings To Integration With Anthropology And Archaeology," at the 2024 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.
This symposium addresses the conference theme, “Portals to the Past—Gateway to the Future,” by presenting four views of underwater archaeology, from its roots in adventure diving and treasure hunting to a maturing sub-discipline within the fields of anthropology and archaeology. Topics include early efforts to develop the discipline, social structure, state programs, and new categories, such as shipwreck anthropology and naval archaeology. The first project to fully excavate an underwater site by professional archaeologists employing accepted archaeological methodology did not take place until 1960. “The Cape Gelidonya Shipwreck”, excavated by Dr. George Bass, forever altered the view that “divers” could add little useful information to the archaeological record. Since then, progress has been swift, and underwater archaeology has made many significant contributions to our understanding of the past. However, there is still room for improvement.
Other Keywords
Underwater •
Education •
Technology •
Goals •
Legal •
state •
reflections •
Perspective •
Smithsonian •
Cleopatra's Barge
Geographic Keywords
global •
Caribbean, Great Lakes, Hawaii
Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-4 of 4)
- Documents (4)
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The Smithsonian and Underwater Archaeology (2024)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the session entitled "Underwater Archaeology In The 21st Century: From Humble Beginnings To Integration With Anthropology And Archaeology", at the 2024 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. The Smithsonian has engaged in underwater archaeology and its forebears since the 1950s, starting with Dr. Mendel Peterson’s explorations of multiple Caribbean shipwrecks. In the mid-1970s, the Smithsonian and US Navy recovered propulsion machinery from the...
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Social Structure in Underwater Archaeology During the 1970's and 1980's (2024)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the session entitled "Underwater Archaeology In The 21st Century: From Humble Beginnings To Integration With Anthropology And Archaeology", at the 2024 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Forty and fifty years ago the social structure of what was to become a recognized specialization of underwater research in the context of archaeology and anthropology was very different from today. A review of education, publication, study sites, study...
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The State of Underwater Archaeology in The 21st Century: A State Perspective (2024)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the session entitled "Underwater Archaeology In The 21st Century: From Humble Beginnings To Integration With Anthropology And Archaeology", at the 2024 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. This presentation looks back to the 1981 article, "Nautical Archaeology: Coming of Age, But Facing an Identity Crisis," penned by John Broadwater and both presented at the 12th Conference on Underwater Archaeology and included in its proceedings. That paper...
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Then And Now: Progress During The Past Fifty Years.in the Development Of Underwater Archaeology as a Mature Sub-Discipline of Archaeology and Anthropology (2024)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the session entitled "Underwater Archaeology In The 21st Century: From Humble Beginnings To Integration With Anthropology And Archaeology", at the 2024 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. At the 12th Conference on Underwater Archaeology (“The Challenge Before Us”, 1981), I delivered a paper entitled, "Nautical Archaeology: Coming of Age, But Facing an Identity Crisis.” The primary purpose of the paper, presented at a terrestrial session, was to...