Whaleships as Workplaces: An Industrial Approach to Shipwreck Interpretation

Summary

Pelagic whaling ships of the early to mid-nineteenth were workplaces which incorporated complex industrial processes that resulted from wider social, cultural and technological changes. Unlike vessels employed in other seaborne trades, whaleships were self-contained and fully integrated industrial platforms that incorporated both the equipment necessary to carry out whaling operations and the domestic spaces that became a meager home for officers and crews for up to five years. The unique nature of pelagic whaleships provides an opportunity to investigate their remains through the adaptation of methods used in industrial archaeological research.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2015   •
• Fluidity and Connectedness in the Pacific: Maritime Cultural Landscapes and Seascapes

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 467