Final Posts to the Asia-Pacific Conference Proceedings

Today marks the Museum of Underwater Archaeology’s fourth and final release of papers and posters from the Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage. This brings this collection to a total of 84 papers, 18 videos, and 6 posters.  Today’s releases include:

Session 13: Maritime and Underwater Archaeology of the Indian Ocean Region (organizer: Sila Tripati)

Session 14: Pre-Hispanic Navigation (organizer: Carlos Ausejo)

Session 15: Legal Framework for the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage (organizer: Craig Forrest)

Poster Session: 6 presenters.

The MUA is proud to facilitate bringing this collection to a wide viewership, and hopes to continue to serve this and other similar conferences in the future for the free exchange of academic information.

You can view the collections here:

http://www.themua.org/collections/collections/show/13

New Asia-Pacific Conference Papers Posted

Today the Museum of Underwater Archaeology releases the third of four sets of papers from the proceedings of the Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage. 20 papers and 4 videos or written interviews by session organizers describe the various sessions and concerns faced in the field. Today’s sessions include:

Session 9: History and Current Trends of Underwater Archaeology around East Asia (organizer: Akifumi Iwabuchi)

Session 10: Indigenous Cultural Landscapes and Biocultural Resources in Hawaii and the Pacific (organizer: Kehau Watson; additional interviews with William Alia Jr. and Kepa Maly)

Session 11:  World War II and Underwater Cultural Heritage in the Pacific (organizer: Bill Jeffery)

Session 12: Underwater Cultural Heritage of Southeast Asia (organizer: Nia Hasana)

You can view the collections here:

http://www.themua.org/collections/collections/show/13

Sessions 5 -8 from the 2014 Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage Now Online

Today the Museum of Underwater Archaeology releases an additional twenty eight papers and four videos from the proceedings of the 2014 Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage. Introductory videos by session organizers describe the reasons for convening their panels and their hopes for future research paths.

The sessions featured this week include:

Session 5: Early Modern Colonialism in the Asia-Pacific Region (Organizer:
Dr. María Cruz Berrocal)

Session 6: Iberian Global Interactions: the Manila Galleon and the Roteiro
(Organizers: Veronica Walker, Brian Fahy, and Bobby C. Orillaneda;
interview with Veronica Walker)

Session 7: Preservation and Conservation of Wet Archaeological Materials
and Site Management (Organizers: Vicki Richards and Jon Carpenter)

Session 8: Ceramics from Shipwrecks, Harbours, Ports and Related
Archaeological Sites (Organizer: Atthasit Sukkham)

You can view the collections here:

http://www.themua.org/collections/collections/show/13

 

The Search for Underwater Sites from the French and Indian War

Underwater archaeologists examine the Land Tortoise sunk in Lake George in 1758.

The MUA is pleased to announce the launch of its seventh full exhibit: The
Search for Underwater Sites from the French and Indian War. This exhibit
reviews the underwater archaeology studies of Lake George's "Sunken Fleet
of 1758" conducted by Bateaux Below from 1987 to 2011, as well as earlier
fieldwork undertaken by other research groups.

You can view the exhibit here:  http://www.themua.org/exhibit_1758/

This is the second digital recreation of a physical museum exhibit.  If
your museum is interested in having the MUA host a permanent digital
version of its exhibits please contact the MUA’s director: kurt@themua.org
 for more information.

Best regards,
T. Kurt Knoerl Ph.D.

Good News for the Chinese Junk Free China – By Dione Chen

Faced with imminent destruction, the junk will be saved. More than four years after I launched efforts to save the Free China, and nearly 57 years after his historic trans-Pacific crossing from Taiwan to San Francisco, the junk will make its return trip to Taiwan later this spring, where it will be preserved as an museum exhibit there, thanks to the Taiwan government. The junk– which is the oldest Chinese wooden sailing vessel and last of its kind in existence– will generate awareness of Chinese maritime achievement and culture and the Chinese diaspora. There are several unique aspects of this preservation project.

First, the movement of the junk to Taiwan will be an extremely complicated and delicate task. The junk will be fit with a temporary cradle and transported to Antioch aboard a truck (requiring possible road closures and police escorts) for its journey to Antioch, where a stronger cradle will be built to ensure the safe transportation of the now-frail vessel. From Antioch, the junk will then be loaded onto a barge and then lifted by crane onto a freighter ship for the ocean crossing. The Taiwan government is in the process of making plans for a farewell reception to see the junk off.

The Free China about to pass under the Golden Gate Bridge (Photo courtesy of The Oakland Tribune).

Second, while the maritime world is dominated by men and the Free China’s crew was all male, women are playing key roles in ensuring the success of this preservation project. Diane Shipway, of Parker Diving Service, is a marine salvage operations expert, and will be in charge of managing the complex logistics involved in transporting the junk. Yiching Lin, Consular Officer with the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office, is representing the government of Taiwan in its mission to ensure the safe return of the junk. Diana Waldie, manager of the Marine Emporium boatyard where the junk has remained since it was abandoned there several years ago, has continued to keep an eye on the old vessel. And finally, this project is the fulfillment of my dream of saving this forgotten piece of history. After my father’s death in the fall of 2007, I tracked down the junk and found it on the verge of destruction, and decided to launch a non-profit organization, Chinese Junk Preservation (www.chinesejunkpreservation.com) to save the junk in honor of my father, and with the hope of inspiring others to appreciate and preserve their family history.

Third, the junk has succeeded in surviving to this day because of the goodwill and love of a hugely interesting cast of local personalities and organizations on both sides of the Pacific, including the surviving members of the crew and their families, the Taiwan government, the National Park Service, Chinese Historical Society of America, National Trust for Historic Preservation, and interest by the media, whose coverage enabled us to broadcast our search for a new owner and “safe harbor” for the Free China. Historic preservation is an enormously challenging task, and the story of the Free China is a happy one of cooperation. I am grateful for the help of many.

Building a Birchbark Canoe

Anyone interested in the North American fur trade during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries is certainly familiar with the important role played by the birchbark canoe. Its light weight and cargo capacity allowed fur traders to take advantage of a network of lakes, rivers, and streams that nearly crossed the continent.  Yet these vessels, so important to the colonial economies of New France and British America, were constructed from natural materials like spruce roots, cedar, pine resins, and of course tree bark so it is little wonder that they rarely survive in the archaeological record.

Fortunately the building tradition was not lost over time.  Books such as The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America by Edwin Tappan Adney and Howard Chappelle, documented the materials and building techniques used for several canoe varieties.  The following video shows Mr. Francois Rothan building a birchbark canoe in Quebec in 2007.  While a few modern tools are used the basic steps shown are very similar to those used centuries ago.

The MUA would like to thank Mr. Rothan for sharing this video with us.

You can learn more about Mr. Rothan and see other examples of his work at http://birchbarkcanoes.blogspot.com/

Maritime Historians Online: Engaging a Wider Audience – By Dr. Timothy G. Lynch

I came to the field of maritime history like many of my colleagues did– serendipitously.  My original area of expertise was in immigration and ethnicity, but when I was asked to teach a course in US Maritime History, I jumped at the chance: faced with a growing family and shrinking assets, it seemed like a good opportunity.  Plus, how hard could it be: after all, most immigrants came to this nation via ship!

Forced to learn the intricacies of the field by circumstance rather than by training, I found myself at a distinct disadvantage: the subfield of maritime history is incredibly specialized, and there was a steep learning curve. The sheer number of volumes on maritime history was daunting, with weighty tomes written by avocationists to nuanced monographs penned by academics. How could I ever master the material and pass it on to my students?  Few institutions house more than one specialist in maritime history, so if I wanted to bounce ideas off a colleague, get feedback on a research proposal, or just try out new ideas, I would have to do more than knock on a coworker’s door.  I’d need to seek out those specialists, network with them, brush up on their own areas of expertise and approach them for assistance.  To a classically trained historian, this was a bold proposition, but one that was instantly and continuously rewording.  I began to question my

United By Water: Exploring American History through the Shipwrecks and Maritime Landscapes of the Great Lakes

Funded NEH Opportunity at Thunder Bay for July 2011.

APPLICATION DEADLINE MARCH 1!

Many people in the marine archaeology/maritime heritage community teach—often this is a part-time element in our frequently complicated and unconventional careers.  For those who have teaching and academic service connections to community colleges, the National Endowment for the Humanities has funded a unique opportunity to integrate underwater archaeology, maritime heritage, and associated fields into the college classroom.

Developed in partnership with the Alpena Community College, the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and the Sea Education Association, United By Water: Exploring American History through the Shipwrecks and Maritime Landscapes of the Great Lakes consists of a focused week-long workshop that covers a wide range of hands on and scholarly activities all geared toward integrating maritime historical perspectives into community college courses.  Two sessions are offered during the last two weeks of July 2011.   Successful applicants will receive a $1200 stipend to help defray expenses.  Local housing is available at quite reasonable rates.

For those interested in the intersections between education, heritage, and archaeology, this workshop offers an opportunity to engage with shipwrecks and cutting-edge interpretive resources and programs at the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

The attached flyer describes the program and application process in more detail.   The March 1 deadline is approaching quickly! (download the PDF )

For additional information please visit our the project website at www.alpenacc.edu/shipwrecks or contact either of the Co-directors:  Cathy Green, email cathy.green@noaa.gov or Dr. John Jensen, email jjensen@sea.edu

Google Art Project and the MUA Maritime Art Gallery

Google recently announced a new online initiative called “Art Project” in
which they partnered with 17 art museums around the world and placed high
resolution images online for the public to explore. Each piece includes
viewing notes (click the <<i symbol), information about the artist, and
links to more images by the artist across museums. In addition the
website allows viewers to create their own collection of images selected
from any of the museums.

The MUA has taken advantage of that feature and created a collection
within the Google Art Project of the 41 maritime related images we found
across all 17 museums. We will update the MUA gallery whenever new
museums are added to the project . We invite you to explore this virtual
maritime art museum by clicking on the link on our home page at:

http://www.themua.org

Enjoy!

The Historic Environment: Shared Heritage and Joint Responsibilities? – By Ian Oxley

Throughout a thirty-year career in maritime archaeology, a particular hobby-horse of mine has been an element of good practice management that involves jointly sharing heritage responsibilities, as well as benefits and outcomes.

At a basic level, I think that much maritime and underwater heritage is inherently multi-national, a fundamental property opens up great opportunities for co-operative investigation and use, overriding present day boundaries.  It is derived from mobile carriers (ships and boats) travelling between many locations, involving and impacting on many lives, gathering stories so that a rich heritage resource can be re-told now and in the future.

The contributory elements that make up sites that result from this activity can be investigated and presented for education, research and amenity. Making all this happen effectively would seem to be best delivered by a managed contribution from all interested parties, requiring sharing various elements at a range of levels – experience, expertise, knowledge, data, and international, national, and local. It also needs to be effective because archaeological resources are unique, no two sites are the same, and any investigation should be carefully planned so that the maximum of beneficial return is gained with the minimum of impact. This is the joint responsibility bit because the archaeological heritage is a legacy from the past for the future. I hope to show a few examples of what I mean here.