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WHAT
IS UNDERWATER ARCHAEOLOGY?
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Are you interested in ships and
seafaring, history, early settlement, and archaeology?
Explore the world of underwater archaeology as a career,
an avocation—or purely
for enjoyment!
Covering nearly three-quarters of Earth's surface, water
is the source of all life on our planet. Water-borne transportation
has allowed exploration of much of the globe and facilitated
the rise and fall of great empires. Beneath the surface
of our oceans, lakes, rivers, and wetlands lies a physical
record of humankind preserved in prehistoric and historic
shorelines, shipwrecks, inundated cities, harbor works,
and other traces of our past.
Archaeology is the scientific study of the human past
through the investigation of artifacts (the physical remains
of material culture), structures, the use of animals and
plants, and human remains. Its goal is greater knowledge
about past human cultures and behavior. Underwater archaeology
carries these studies into a specialized environment,
one containing numerous challenges and rewards for archaeological
investigators.
The majority of underwater archaeologists specialize
in maritime archaeology: the study of the construction
and operation of all types of prehistoric and historic
watercraft. For these specialists, shipwrecks are the
focus of research.
Other types of sites in the underwater archaeologists’
domain include: ancient land sites inundated after the
last ice age; sinkholes or bogs where people placed offerings
or buried their dead; cities and harbors now submerged
by sea level change or earthquake; and dwelling, agricultural,
and industrial sites along rivers, bays, and lakes. Underwater
archaeologists extensively use historical records such
as ships’ plans, logs, and manifests; explorers'
accounts; old maps; and legal, business, and tax records.
They also study long-term geologic changes to locate submerged
sites.
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UNDERWATER ARCHAEOLOGY AROUND THE WORLD
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The practice of underwater archaeology
is truly interdisciplinary, combining the methods of
various allied fields of study including anthropology,
chemistry, ethnography, geology, history, naval architecture,
oceanography, and paleography—to
name only a few.
Although much underwater archaeology is conducted with
standard scuba equipment, using simple measuring, mapping,
and drawing techniques, archaeologists have borrowed special
methods for working in the underwater environment from
marine science as well as commercial and military diving.
Technologically sophisticated projects utilize both acoustic
and magnetic remote-sensing technology for detecting underwater
archaeological sites and a variety of acoustic, optical,
infrared, robotic, and diving technologies for site excavation
and recording.
Underwater projects range from the exploration of 19th-century
shipwrecks below the ice of Canada's Arctic Ocean to surveys
of artificial islands in Polynesian Ponape, and from inundated
springs in Florida containing some of the oldest physical
remains of humans in the New World to Bronze Age lake
dwellings in the Swiss Alps. Because most of the earth's
surface is covered in water, and the underwater world
until recently has been largely inaccessible, the underwater
archaeological repository is vast.
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ARCHAEOLOGICAL
CONSERVATION
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Underwater archaeology does not always involve excavation,
but when material is removed for detailed study, laboratory
facilities to preserve the artifacts are essential. The
miraculously well-preserved condition of objects recovered
from underwater sites is more apparent than real. During
lengthy immersion, artifacts react chemically with the
water and sediments surrounding them. Sudden removal from
their watery environment and exposure to air can set off
a chain of chemical and physical reactions in the objects
which could lead to their destruction.
Conservators are specialists who work with archaeologists
to preserve artifacts for study and display. The conservation
of objects takes much longer than their actual excavation,
and the long-term care of a collection of excavated objects
is expensive and time-consuming. Unless proper facilities
and resources are available, it is often best to leave
objects in their underwater environment. Conservators
also work with archaeologists and site managers to monitor
the condition of sites and artifacts left in place to
preserve them for future generations.
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PRESERVING
A THREATENED RESOURCE
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Underwater archaeologists are typically employed by government
agencies, museums, universities, and private consulting
firms. As an exciting career for talented, motivated individuals
with a great love for studying and preserving the past,
outdoor activity, and travel, underwater archaeology requires
individuals with technical abilities such as scientific
writing, drafting, conservation, photography, electronics,
remote-sensing, diving, vessel operations, and chemistry.
Opportunities for full-time career employment may be limited,
but participation in professional and avocational organizations
offers additional occasions for selective involvement.
Conferences and meetings, such as the annual SHA Conference
on Historical and Underwater Archaeology, provide professionals,
archaeologists, scholars and students with a forum for
presenting research results, communicating with colleagues,
meeting new people, and learning about new findings and
technology.
Additional opportunities may be found in the many organizations
that train and lead volunteers and archaeologists. Working
under the supervision of archaeological professionals,
volunteers participate in nearly every facet of archaeology:
archival research, field survey and excavation, boat handling,
diving, laboratory work, project planning, logistics,
and fundraising.
Through archaeological investigation, a window to the
unknown past is opened, allowing a view of life as our
ancestors lived it. Preservation of our archaeological
resources is vital to keeping this window open. Inevitably,
a few archaeological sites are lost each year as the result
of accidents and natural processes, but the pilfering
of sites for the recreation or commercial profit of a
few individuals is far more destructive. Whether it be
relics from the war of Independence or artifacts from
a shipwreck, the clandestine “mining” of sites
results in an irreplaceable loss to the collective heritage
of present and future generations.
Simply put, archaeological investigations are the best,
most efficient use of a nonrenewable resource — a
nation's cultural heritage. A site can be destroyed
and its contents dispersed in a moment from salvage,
or it may be preserved and studied by scientists and
enjoyed by the public in perpetuity. All people, not
just a select few, benefit from preservation. The study
and enjoyment of archaeological resources for science,
tourism, recreation, and education not only preserves
sites but benefits the economy over a long period of
time.
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WHAT
CAN I DO?
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Individuals from all walks of life can help preserve our
archaeological heritage through several vitally important
actions.
-Support organizations that study and protect heritage
resources including museums, universities, parks, and
government agencies.
- Support legislation and funding for the preservation
and management of archaeological sites and the enforcement
of antiquities laws.
- Do not engage in the sale or purchase of artifacts.
- Make sure that an organization to which you are donating
is conducting real archaeological work, not for-profit
treasure salvage.
- Do not disturb or remove artifacts from sites. Even
the taking of small “inconsequential” souvenirs
such as potsherds, ballast stones, and nails will eventually
leave a site barren of both scientific information and
recreational interest. A seed, a stamp on an amphora sherd,
even a shell, or a find that has trapped some pollen,
can provide an archaeologist with a means of dating a
site or locating home port of a vessel. An un-identifiable
artifact with proper conservation may prove to be a historical
treasure – or, without it, may disintegrate in
a matter of moments.
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ABOUT
THE ADVISORY COUNCIL OF UNDERWATER ARCHAEOLOGY
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The Advisory Council on Underwater Archaeology (ACUA)
is affiliated with the Society for Historical Archaeology.
It works to educate and advise scholars, governments,
sport divers, and the general public on issues relating
to underwater archaeology, conservation, and submerged
cultural resource management. The ACUA assists the SHA
Conference Committee in organizing the annual SHA Conference
on Historical and Underwater Archaeology and aids the
editor in producing thematic issues devoted to underwater
archaeology of the SHA journal, Historical Archaeology.
Visit www.ACUAonline.org and www.SHA.org
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