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

Avocationals Supporting the Profession – By Dave Howe

Editor’s note:

2010 was a great year for the Guest Blogger series which we capped off by publishing the Guest Blogger Anthology (available for free download off the MUA homepage).  We are very happy to kick off the 2011 Guest Blogger series by reaching out to a valuable partner in the field of underwater archaeology.  We’ve  invited Dave Howe to write about avocational involvement in underwater surveys and how trained volunteers can support professional archaeological endeavors.

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Avocationals can provide free, useful and valuable labor on field projects or on other work in direct support of projects.  Although not trained to professional standards in archaeology, avocationals can bring a number of related or supplemental skills, including diving, boat handling, data management, equipment maintenance, forensics, and more.  They also can assist in publication and outreach.  The MUA hosts a number of posts from avocational groups.

For instance trained volunteer groups can conduct independent reconnaissance and assessment for State Historic Preservation Offices.  For example, during 2010 the Institute of Maritime History (IMH) mapped and reported ten sites to the Maryland Historical Trust (MHT), continued searching for two Revolutionary War warships for MHT, and began the first known underwater survey at Mount Vernon, finding two definite wrecks, two probable wrecks, and other cultural features not yet mapped.  In February and March 2011 we will map those sites and continue searching for others.  This project is for the benefit of Mount Vernon, MHT, and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (VDHR).

Emanuel Point II Update

The underwater archaeology field school in Florida continues with two new
posts. The entries cover new discoveries on the 16th century wreck,
Emanuel Point II while other teams search for a third wreck from the same
period. You can view the new posts here:

http://www.uri.edu/artsci/his/mua/project_journals/wf09/wf09_week7.shtml

Also,

The next few weeks will be busy ones at the MUA with several new posts by
other researchers from around the world so check back soon.

A New Site and New Finds on a 16th Century Wreck

University of West Florida field school students have posted two new
entries on their project journal. In the first new post they describe
finding a schooner in 7 feet of water near the shore in Pensacola Bay.
They have already posted a site plan of the wreck. In the second new
entry another group of students continued their work on the 16th-century
wreck, Emanuel Point II. They have posted a slide show of some recent
discoveries including bones, seeds, and what may be cross bow bolts.

You can see their two new entries here:
http://www.uri.edu/artsci/his/mua/project_journals/wf09/wf09_week5.shtml

In other news…

As part of a fund raising effort The MUA recently posted 7 books on
maritime and colonial history for sale on ebay. If you are interested in
obtaining these great books and supporting our mission please consider
visiting our page to see the titles and to place your bid.

http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/kurt_mua

Remember the MUA is a 501c3 non profit organization. All contributions to
the MUA are tax deductible. Thank for your support!

Best regard,

T. Kurt Knoerl
Director
The MUA

What does one find on a 16th century shipwreck in Florida waters?

The latest post by the University of West Florida’s underwater archaeology students helps answer that question. Get a recap of last week’s events and take a closer look at some of the artifacts discovered on the Emanuel Point II wreck.

You can view the post by clicking here:
http://www.uri.edu/artsci/his/mua/project_journals/wf09/wf09_week4.shtml

New Videos Online for the Underwater Archaeology Teaching Kit

Students using the MUA Teaching Kit.

Learning Underwater Archaeology in Thailand

University Student Warang Petch has given the MUA its first post from Thailand. Ms Petch describes how students in Thailand gain underwater archaeological training in a country that has no formal university programs in underwater archaeology. You can read about her experiences at the Hin Bush wreck site in Thailand by visiting the “In The Field” section of the MUA here: http://www.uri.edu/mua

In other news…

Flinders University in Australia has completed their 2008 field school. Underwater Archaeologist Mark Staniforth has posted a wrap up entry for their project Journal. Select the entry dated February 24th from the left menu here: http://www.uri.edu/artsci/his/mua/project_journals/flinders08/flinders08_intro.shtml

This spring is shaping up to be a busy one for the MUA with projects coming in from around the world. Don’t forget to check back for future posts.

Flinders University Offers Practicum in St. Augustine, Florida

Flinders University in Australia will be offering an underwater archaeology practicum in St. Augustine, FL from June 30th to July 18th. This course will be hosted in partnership with the Lighthouse Archaeology and Maritime Program. Don’t miss this opportunity to work with a great bunch of instructors in a fantastic setting. See their announcement for enrollment options here.

Excavating the Website: There are Lessons Buried Here

Last week we announced that the Museum of Underwater Archaeology’s “Holding History in Your Hand” (HHYH) classroom learning kits were ready for shipping world wide. The response has been incredible with inquiries coming in literally from around the world. If you’re not familiar with the kit you can view the brochure here. The MUA staff has been conducting the HHYH exercise for several years now. But since we can’t be everywhere at once we worked with members of the East Carolina University’s Maritime Studies Association to create a lesson plan and artifact analysis guide so that school teachers and other organizations could conduct the exercise themselves.

But one of the most exciting things for us was the decision to augment the lesson plan with additional exercises that let teachers use the MUA website as a teaching tool. We’ve built up a great collection of projects written by underwater archaeologists from around the world but after you’ve read say a field journal written in 2006 what more can be done with it? Is it then time to send it off to the archive to wither away? We don’t think so.

The MUA in Boston …. and a Classroom Near You

The Museum of Underwater Archaeology is pleased to announce its latest endeavor: “Holding History in Your Hand,” a program for classroom teachers. This program, entitled “Artifact Analysis” uses a hands-on exercise to teach students how underwater archaeologists learn about people by studying the things they left behind. Through a class discussion of their observations students learn the importance of provenience, context, and conservation. They will learn to make that important step from discussing things to discussing people.

“Holding History in Your Hand” supplies the teacher with a written curriculum presenting the archaeological process, replicas of artifacts for hands on examination, bookmarks, a CD with additional videos of underwater archaeologists at work, other activities for further exploration, and back up copies of all documents teachers can download for future reference.  The classroom activities are supplemented by the MUA’s online exhibit “A Children’s Introduction to Underwater Archaeology.”  The only cost to teachers is for shipping and handling for sending and returning the materials to the MUA.  Please see the Teaching Resource link in the left side navigation menu to download a PDF description for your school at:

http://www.uri.edu/mua

We’re also excited to announce that the MUA will take part in The Archaeological Institute of America’s Archaeology Fair held at the Boston Museum of Science on October 4 – 5, 2007.  We will hold special sessions for the visiting school classes and man a table with information about the new “Holding History in Your Hand,” program and the MUA’s other projects.   A sample kit will be on display. We will be happy to answer any questions you might have. Please stop by if you’re in the area and say hello. We look forward to meeting you!  For more information visit the Boston Museum of Science website at:

http://www.mos.org/events_activities/special_programs&d=2014