Re-excavating the Highbourne Cay Shipwreck: The Converging Worlds Project Overview

Summary

The Converging Worlds project focuses on the presence of the earliest surviving shipwreck in the Americas; a shipwreck thought to be representative of the first vessels to routinely cross the Atlantic, the first to circumnavigate the globe, and the harbingers of the modern globalized economy we have today.  However, amidst this Euro-centric perspective of events, these vessels were also the carriers of disease, mass enslavement, imperialism, and identicide.  The Highbourne Cay Shipwreck in the Exumas, Bahamas has the most diagnostic and best-preserved ship timbers that remain accessible to archaeologists and the public.  Previous assessment work at the site showed the shipwreck is being destroyed by natural and anthropogenic factors, and to address these concerns, while simultaneously incorporating multiple research opportunities and affected voices, an international team volunteered to help develop novel reef transfer techniques, shipwreck excavation methodologies, and multiscalar research designs that address the holistic ideals of the discipline.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Converging Worlds: Excavation of the Highbourne Cay Shipwreck   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2018

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 1024