The Archaeological Potentials of Ships

Abstract

‫العربي‬ ‫الوطن‬ ‫آثار‬ ‫في‬ ‫دراسات‬ 9-35-and the quality of knowledge they produce on life and activities of people who made and sailed them. The ships as an artefact There are two possible approaches to the study of boats and ships as material culture. They could be studied as objects in their own right, looking into their distinctive technical and functional attributes and materialistic features. Also, they could be viewed as cultural carriers, reflecting the environment, knowledge, material, traditions, organisation and beliefs of their parent societies 3. On the other hand, ships and boats have many characteristics, which distinguish them from most other types of artefacts and archaeological source material. Besides being complex, multifunctional, moving artefacts, what distinguishes them the most is the fact that they are an ideal representative of cooperation and teamwork in many of their characteristics. Building and using boats might have started in its earlier stages as an individual operation, performed by a single person, but soon after, as ships became bigger and more complex, more people were involved in all phases of the ship 's working life, from construction to operation (figs.1, 2). Therefore, shipbuilding and sailing are considered social practices, which require cooperation and coordination between a number of men with different skills and capabilities. Accordingly, a ship is an ideal representation of cooperative social action, which utilising the most advanced and developed skills and knowledge of any society. 3 Hasslöf, O. 1972. Main principles in the Technology of ShipBuilding. In O. Hasslöf et al (eds.) Ships and Shipyards-Sailors and Fishermen, Copenhagen. pp. 27-72. Murphy, L. op. cit. Watson, P. 1983. Method and Theory in Shipwreck Archaeology. In R. Gould (ed.