Citizen Science In Maritime Archaeology

Examples and strategies for partnering with volunteers in maritime heritage research This volume is the first to address the ways maritime archaeologists have engaged citizen scientists, presenting examples of projects and organizations that have involved volunteers in the important work of gathering and processing data. With a special focus on program development and sustainability, these practical case studies provide reference points for archaeologists looking to design their own citizen science projects. In these essays, contributors describe initiatives such as the Diver-Archaeological Reconnaissance Cooperative (DivARC), which involves combat veterans in meaningful research missions; Diving With a Purpose, which trains adults and youth in documenting and preserving African slave trade shipwrecks; and classroom education that encourages high school students to develop an interest in the field. As volunteers learn the scope, goals, and outcomes of their research, these studies show, they are empowered to become active participants—and true partners—in scientific inquiry. Throughout the wide range of experiences represented here, the chapter authors discuss challenges they encountered as well as ideas for optimizing future projects and strategies for welcoming diverse communities to this work. Arguing that these initiatives will create space for public engagement in heritage research, management, and preservation, Citizen Science in Maritime Archaeology serves as a foundation for discussion of this goal. Contributors: Della A. Scott-Ireton | Jennifer E. Jones | Jason T. Raupp | Elizabeth A. Moore | John D. Broadwater | Daniel J. Houlihan | Calvin H. Mires | Stephen D. Nagiewicz | Peter F. Straub | Shannon M. Chiarel | Steve Evert | Jaymes Swain | Ryan J. Bradley | Erik C. Denson | Ayana Omilade Flewellen | Earnest Franklin | Kamau Sadiki | Jay V. Haigler | Laurel Seaborn | Charles E. Wainwright | Victor T. Mastone | Gustav Milne | Danielle Newman | Oliver Hutchinson | Lawrence M. Northall | Andy Viduka | Austin L. Burkhard | Nicole R. Grinnan | Peta Knott | Mark Beattie-Edwards | Kimberly J. Wooten

Examples and strategies for partneringwith volunteers in maritime heritage research Thisvolume is the first to address the ways maritime archaeologists have engagedcitizen scientists, presenting examples of projects and organizations that haveinvolved volunteers in the important work of gathering and processing data.With a special focus on program development and sustainability, these practicalcase studies provide reference points for archaeologists looking to designtheir own citizen science projects. In these essays, contributors describe initiatives such as theDiver-Archaeological Reconnaissance Cooperative (DivARC), which involves combatveterans in meaningful research missions; Diving With a Purpose, which trains adultsand youth in documenting and preserving African slave trade shipwrecks; and classroomeducation that encourages high school students to develop an interest in thefield. Asvolunteers learn the scope, goals, and outcomes of their research, thesestudies show, they are empowered to become active participants--and truepartners--in scientific inquiry. Throughoutthe wide range of experiences represented here, the chapter authors discuss challengesthey encountered as well as ideas for optimizing future projects and strategiesfor welcoming diverse communities to this work. Arguing that these initiativeswill create space for public engagement in heritage research, management, andpreservation, Citizen Science inMaritime Archaeology serves as afoundation for discussion of this goal.

This volume initiates a new series of books on maritime or underwater archaeology, and as the editor of the series I welcome its appearance with great excitement. It is appropriate that the first book of the series is a collection of articles intended for gradu ate or undergraduate courses in underwater archaeology, since the growth in academic opportunities for students is an important sign of the vitality of this subdiscipline. The layman will enjoy the book as well. Academic and public interest in shipwrecks and other submerged archaeological sites is indicated by a number of factors. Every year there are 80 to 90 research papers presented at the Society for Historical Archaeology's Conference on Historical and Underwater Archaeology, and the Proceedings are published. Public interest is shown by extensive press coverage of shipwreck investigations. One of the most important advances in recent years has been the passage of the Abandoned Shipwreck Act of 1987, for the first time providing national-level law con cerning underwater archeological sites. The legislation has withstood a number of legal challenges by commercial treasure salvors, a very hopeful sign for the long-term pres ervation of this nonrenewable type of cultural resource. The underwater archaeological discoveries of 1995 were particularly noteworthy. The Texas Historical Commission discovered the Belle, one of La Salle's ships, and the CSS Hunley was found by a joint project of South Carolina and a private nonprofit organization called NUMA.

Our Blue Planet provides a comprehensive introduction to the field of maritime and underwater archaeology. Situating the field within the broader study of history and archaeology, this book advocates that an understanding of how our ancestors interacted with rivers, lakes, and oceans is integral to comprehending the human past. Our Blue Planet covers the full breadth of maritime and underwater archaeology, including formerly terrestrial sites drowned by rising sea levels, coastal sites, and a wide variety of wreck sites ranging across the globe and spanning from antiquity to World War II. Beginning with a definition of the field and several chapters dedicated to the methods of finding, recording, and interpreting submerged sites, Our Blue Planet provides an entry point for all readers, whether or not they are familiar with maritime and underwater archaeology or archaeology in general. The book then shifts to a thematic approach with chapters exploring human interactions with the watery world, both along the coasts and by ship. These chapters discuss the relationships between culture, technology, and environment that allowed humans through time to spread across the globe. Because ships were the primary means for humans to interact with large bodies of water, they are the focus of several chapters on the development of shipbuilding technology, the lives of sailors, and the uses of ships in exploration, expansion, and warfare. The book ends with chapters on how and why the non-renewable submerged archaeological record should be managed, so that both current and future generations can learn from the achievements and failures of past societies, as well as on how anyone can become involved in maritime and underwater archaeology. Throughout, the reader benefits from the personal reflections of a number of leading figures in the field.

The theory and practice of underwater archaeology includes nearly every archaeological discipline from prehistoric archaeology to the modern era.

Jeremy Green's systematic overview of maritime archaeology offers a step-by-step description of this fast-growing field. With new information about the use of computers and Global Positioning Systems, the second edition of this handbook shows how to extract as much information as possible from a site, how to record and document the data, and how to act ethically and responsibly with the artifacts. Treating underwater archaeology as a discipline, the book demonstrates how archaeologists, "looters," academics, and governments interact and how the market for archaeological artifacts creates obstacles and opportunities for these groups. Well illustrated and comprehensive in its approach to the subject, this book provides an essential foundation for everybody interested in underwater environments, submerged land structures, and conditions created by sea level changes.

This vital book is a collection on the various ways archaeologists and resource managers have devised to make available and interpret submerged cultural resources for the public, such as underwater archaeological preserves, shipwreck trails, and land-based interpretive media and literature. This volume is an invaluable resource to underwater archaeologists, cultural and heritage resource managers, museum and heritage educators and those studying these professions.

This title is a comprehensive survey of maritime archaeology as seen through the eyes of nearly fifty scholars at a time when maritime archaeology has established itself as a mature branch of archaeology.