Maritime Industry

The archaeological study of maritime industries can potentially encompass a bewildering array of artefacts, sites, structures, landscapes, vessels, mechanisms, processes, and communities on land, in intertidal zones, on and in the water, and on submerged land surfaces. This chapter presents whaling as a case study, focusing on the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. During this period whaling emerged as a global industry operating at different scales from pelagic fleets roaming the oceans of the world, to small seasonal shore stations. In particular this section reviews recent work by Australian archaeologists towards a systematic approach to studying whaling at a national level.