Course Description
This class will explore theories and concepts of maritime material culture and the various approaches used by archaeologists to connect material culture with the human experience aboard boats, ships and ashore in maritime communities. We will survey archaeological literature relating to a variety of material culture case studies. Students will have ample hands-on opportunities to catalog, identify, analyze and research collections of maritime artifacts. These collections range from typical maritime artifacts such as cannon, anchors, and shipwreck cargo collections to larger maritime artifacts like watercraft or structures like lighthouses. There will also be a focus on management issues and challenges such as storage, curation and exhibit options both digitally and within museum settings. The class will be a seminar format with discussions related readings and lab. and fieldwork, in addition to student and instructor presentations on a variety of topics related to the course content.