Future Marine Archaeology

[nazgul810]

Sorry to resurect a old thread but if anyone is still interested I have a list of schools that offer degrees or courses in maritime underwater and/or nautical archaeology.

http://www.munarchaeology.com/munarchaeology/programs/academic.htm#North America

MUNArchaeology is a nice resource if you interested in maritime archaeology. I helped Rob maintain it for a brief period of time a couple years ago while he was on vacation.

Enjoy.

 

[FARMHAND]

Check out these URL's:
http://home.earthlink.net/~aadiver
www.cawreckdivers.org

The first is my homepage, the second is the club I co-founded in 1971. Bookmark in case you ever get to Southern California and want to do some wreck diving.

 

[scubalil]

I know this is an old thread but I felt like picking it up. I'm applying to graduate school in the UK for Maritime Archaeology (they have programs in Bristol and Southampton). Besides, the MA is a one-year program instead of two.

 

[Stirling]

Good luck with your applications and master's program. One of the real advantages of the British system is that they don't prolong graduate study forever (my daughter earned her master's degree from UCL in one year, and one of my partners completed his entire Ph.D. program at Cambridge in four years - compared to the near-eternity of so many U.S. Ph.D. programs). And the British universities are surprisingly good deals for the money and the quality of their programs.

I was fascinated to see this thread floated. I started out my undergraduate career in Mesoamerican archaeology (and Romance Languages) and did a lot of work in the Maya Lowlands to trace the use and distribution of marine molluscs in archaeological sites and ancient shell middens. The idea was to compare the natural ranges and habitats of marine molluscs with their appearance in archaeological sites, to demonstrate who was trading shells with whom - if a Spondylus princeps or Spondylus americanus appeared in a site in central Mexico, I knew it didn't walk itself up there from its natural habitat, and if I could find enough of them in different places I could (more or less) trace the ancient trade routes that brought them there. I had to figure out the natural ranges of the species that turned up in archaeological sites, and also figure out how they were harvested - e.g., some species lived pretty deep and I knew they could not have been picked up on the beach, because the surf would have broken the spines off the shells. I got to do a ton of diving (mostly without SCUBA) and combined my interests in marine biology, archaeology, and diving into the start of a very promising academic career.

It all worked out so beautifully that I ended up in law school.

But seriously, thirty years later that is still the most fun I ever had, and from time to time I still think about returning to do a similar project a little closer to home (in the Sea of Cortez). I hope you are successful in your applications, and that you enjoy the master's program at whatever school you attend. I also hope that the dollar starts doing a little better against the pound, because it's not cheap for an American to study in England these days.

 

[GreatLakesAngel]

Talk about reviving a dead thread...

I'm currently applying to several of the nautical archaeology programs listed here (ECU, Texas A&M, not sure about U of West Florida, though).

It'd be awesome to meet some one in one of those programs to talk with you about your experience and ask questions. Thanks!

 

[ECpirates96]

ECU-East Carolina University has a great Marine Program.

ECU does have a great masters program but no undergrad program. Check out their site and newsletter on the work they have done. Very respected program and the dive travel is amazing!

 

[marinediva]

I am starting part 1 in November,
it is not a BA course, but is still interesting and a good start point.

Australian Institute for Maritime Archaeology - Home Page

 

[Gilldiver]

I’m sure that you have all thought of this, but need to say it again – no one makes a great living at UW Archaeology. I’v been doing work with the CT State Archaeologists and Historical Office for a number of years and have many friends at places from NOAA to Odyssey Marine Exploration (The dark side etc.) and have done Historical research and wreck consulting (paid and unpaid) for all of them.

Along the way I have found, or helped find, many wrecks of interest ranging from the Lightship LV-51 for the State of Connecticut and the Coast Guard Historian to the SS Republic for Odyssey – let’s just say the paid is much better then unpaid.

Think about how you will pay off any student loans and raise a family – I just know of too many people with UW Arch degrees, never mind more standard Archaeology degrees, that can’t make a living doing what they trained to do – the number of full time and permanent jobs are very few, people who have them stay in them for decades, and the competition for those jobs is very fierce. Even Governmental jobs (Federal, State, and Local) can and will be cut as the budget managers decree.

I recommend that you get onto the Sub Arch web discussion list and read up on some of the job offers etc. https://lists.asu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=SUB-ARCH and here a a job site for UW Arch: Underwater Archaeology and Maritime History jobs Pay attention to pay rates and employment periods. This list is also a great place to start making contacts in the field.

If you still want to go on, well have at it, it is a labor of love and we do need people who can do that.

I would add one last thing – take some business management courses as this will give you something to fall back on. It will also help you in the career as sooner or latter it will not be diving, digging, and lab work – it will turn into project management, audits, accounting, personnel, etc., and when you sit down with the people who control the money you need to know what they are talking about.

As for me, UW arch is an avocation, aerospace is my vocation and pays the bills.

 

[marinediva]

Hi Pete,
I am a chef by trade, and I will be doing it for fun.
Just to help on digs etc.
I enjoy history, presenting tours and educational presentations to children.
My goal is to work at the Maritime Museum.
think most people who choose this type of work do it out of a labour of love.
If my motivation was money, I would never have become a diving instructor.
I am in awe of people like yourself who live their passions.

 

[Gilldiver]

Just a bit of cold water to make people think things through. Like I said, there are vocations and avocations, only a very small lucky few can do one thing that is both.