Shipwreck Cargoes: Approaches to Material Culture in Australian Maritime Archaeology

Abstract

What has been learned from the detailed study of cargo material found on merchant shipwreck sites in Australia? Some extensive collections of shipwreck cargo material have resulted from archaeological excavations by maritime archaeologists over the past 30 years or so. Other collections have been created by SC UBA divers, primarily before the introduction of the Commonwealth (Federal) Historic Shipwrecks Act in 1976. Many of these have now been documented as a result of the 1993 amnesty. The relationship between cargo artifacts from archaeologically excavated shipwrecks and similar artifacts found on terrestrial historical archaeological sites is explored through a consideration of the meanings attached to these objects, suggesting ways that artifact studies focused on shipwreck cargo material can contribute to understandings of colonial societies, the nature of capitalism, and the rise of consumerism. It is argued that successful colonial settlement was only possible where there was a regular supply of suitable consumer goods for the newly arrived colonists.