Overview
- Extensive geographic scope, covering maritime sites in the United States, Europe, and Australia
- Comprehensively explores this theoretical and methodological framework applied to concrete case studies
- Landscape approach provides cohesive theory of terrestrial and underwater site interaction
- Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras
Part of the book series: When the Land Meets the Sea (ACUA, volume 2)
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Table of contents (19 chapters)
Keywords
About this book
Maritime cultural landscapes are collections of submerged archaeological sites, or combinations of terrestrial and submerged sites that reflect the relationship between humans and the water. These landscapes can range in size from a single beach to an entire coastline and can include areas of terrestrial sites now inundated as well as underwater sites that are now desiccated.Â
However, what binds all of these sites together is the premise that each aspect of the landscape –cultural, political, environmental, technological, and physical – is interrelated and can not be understood without reference to the others. In this maritime cultural landscape approach, individual sites are treated as features within the larger landscape and the interpretation of single sites add to a larger analysis of a region or culture. This approach provides physical and theoretical links between terrestrial and underwater archaeology as well as prehistoric and historic archaeology; consequently, providing a framework for integrating such diverse topics as trade, resource procurement, habitation, industrial production, and warfare into a holistic study of the past.
Landscape studies foster broader perspectives and approaches, extending the study of maritime cultures beyond the shoreline. Despite this potential, the archaeological study of maritime landscapes is a relatively untried approach with many questions regarding the methods and perspectives needed to effectively analyze these landscapes.Â
The chapters in this volume, which include contributions from the United States, the United Kingdom, Norway, and Australia, address many of the theoretical and methodological questions surrounding maritime cultural landscapes. The authors comprise established scholars as well as archaeologists at the beginning of their careers, providing a healthy balance of experience and innovation. The chapters also demonstrate parity between method and theory, where thevarying interpretations of culture and space are given equal weight with the challenges of investigating both wet and dry sites across large areas.
Editors and Affiliations
About the editor
Dr. Ben Ford is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. His research interests include historical and maritime archaeology, and historic preservation, as well as the uses and perceptions of space and environment during the past.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: The Archaeology of Maritime Landscapes
Editors: Ben Ford
Series Title: When the Land Meets the Sea
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8210-0
Publisher: Springer New York, NY
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and Law, Social Sciences (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4419-8209-4Published: 27 May 2011
Softcover ISBN: 978-1-4614-2888-6Published: 13 December 2012
eBook ISBN: 978-1-4419-8210-0Published: 21 May 2011
Series ISSN: 1869-6783
Series E-ISSN: 1869-6791
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XV, 352
Number of Illustrations: 80 b/w illustrations
Topics: Archaeology, Cultural Heritage