SEMINAR: Archaeology Seminar Series

What is meant by 'maritime' archaeology and history? What materials might someone conducting this line of research consider? 'Maritime' in this sense points to research and analysis conducted on material culture with a view from sea to land. The Philippines is an archipelago of over 7000 islands and is geographically located at the nexus of two great seas - the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Multiple cultural groups lived on the land and waters of the archipelago for millennia. This work is focused on the Historical Period (10th to 19th centuries). Jennifer Craig has developed two research projects on how to analyse maritime material culture available on the cultural groups, the ideas are complimentary but separate. One will investigate past sailors' cognitive awareness of space and initial findings of common elements between different cultural groups' navigation tools. The second project involves the typological analysis of beads archaeologically recovered from shipwrecks of the Philippine waters dated intermittently across the Historic Period. This presentation will also share information on the resources available at the University of Oxford, the meaning of keywords, and an overview of the Ms Craig’s current research.