Deep Sea Mining and Underwater Cultural Heritage

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Integrating Cultural Heritage Into The Work Of The Ocean Foundation" , at the 2021 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Deep Seabed Mining (DSM) is an emergent, international industry targeting mineral deposits from the seafloor (e.g., manganese, copper, cobalt, zinc, and rare earth metals). Regulations for mineral exploitation have not yet been established but are currently being developed by the International Seabed Authority (ISA), under authority conferred by the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), for areas beyond national jurisdiction. Commercial-scale mining of the ocean floor will likely impact deep-sea ecosystems and cultural heritage in the Area. New developments for DSM include the introduction of artificial intelligence used to identify minerals. This technology has not yet been able to identify sites of historic and cultural significance which could lead to the destruction of Underwater Cultural Heritage (UCH). This is particularly troubling considering the growing acknowledgement of UCH relating to the Middle Passage and the possibility that UCH sites may be destroyed before they are discovered.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Integrating Cultural Heritage Into The Work Of The Ocean Foundation   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2021

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology