Social Structure in Underwater Archaeology During the 1970's and 1980's

Summary

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 questions, gender, race, legal issues, geographical distributions, technology, and other topics show contrast.

Back then, underwater sites were considered a jumbled mass of broken artifacts with no provenience and no way to excavate them in an orderly manner; National Register site boundaries for a port city were drawn at the water’s edge; survey was done by dragging a scuba diver behind a boat; and objectives for search were Atlantis and gold from Spanish galleons.

Change has taken place and for the most part for the better. In the future, underwater activities can be better integrated with the encompassing fields of anthropology and archaeology.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2024   •
• Underwater Archaeology In The 21st Century: From Humble Beginnings To Integration With Anthropology And Archaeology

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow