Fieldwork Methodology in South American Maritime Archaeology: A Critical Review

Abstract

In archaeology, data obtained from the analysis of material evidence (i.e., the archaeological record) from extensive excavations have been a significant means for the ultimate development of interpretations about human life in the past. Therefore, the methodological procedures and tools employed during fieldwork are of crucial importance due to their effect on the information likely to be recovered. In the case of maritime archaeology, the development of rigorous methods and techniques allowed for reaching outcomes as solid as those from the work performed on land. These improvements constituted one of the principal supports -if not, the most important pillar- for its acceptance as a scientific field of study. Over time, the growing diversity of sites under study (e.g., shipwrecks, ports, dockyards, and prehistoric settlements) and the underwater environments encountered made it clear that there was a need for the application of specific methodological criteria, in accordance with the particularities of the sites and of each study (e.g., the research aims and the available resources). This article presents some ideas concerning the methodologies used in South American investigations that have exhibited a strong emphasis on the analysis of historical shipwrecks (the sixteenth to twentieth centuries). Based on a state-of-the-knowledge review of these research projects, in particular where excavations were conducted, the article focuses on the details of the main strategies adopted and results achieved. The ideas proposed in this article can be useful as a starting point for future activities of surveying, recording, and excavating shipwrecks.