Maritime Cultural Research Articles

Tourism and coastal & maritime cultural heritage: a dual relation

ABSTRACT Coastal and Maritime Cultural Heritage (CMCH) is an important asset in coastal areas. However, this heritage has been exposed to several environmental and human-created threats. This paper presents three European coastal regions with relevant CMCH and important tourism destinations: Ria de Aveiro (Portugal), the Small Isles (Scotland, UK) and Marsaxlokk (Malta). The paper draws attention to the challenges to CMCH they face, the dynamics between tourism and CMCH and provides recommendations for sustainable tourism exploitation of CMCH. A comparative case-study approach was undertaken, based on 41 semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders. Findings unveil that, despite the different demographics, socioeconomics and importance of tourism in each location, CMCH is seen as an important element to consider as tourism destination. Stakeholders identified economic, sociocultural and environmental dynamics between tourism and CMCH with positive and negative impacts on the regions. This study provides guidelines and recommendations that can be used as a reference to define a joint policy response for sustainable exploitation of CMCH in a tourism context.

Maritime Cultural Heritage and Urbanisation in the Middle East and North Africa

ABSTRACT Urbanisation, comprising development, land reclamation and population growth along coastal margins, continues to place significant pressure on the maritime cultural heritage (MCH), particularly in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Thus, there is a growing need for ascertaining the extent of the affected MCH resource and its condition. One such assessment is being undertaken by the Maritime Endangered Archaeology (MarEA) project, which is generating a unique informed database of the maritime resource in the MENA region. Through a regional overview combined with focused assessment on two case studies – Marsa Matruh (Egypt) and Bahrain – this paper demonstrates the threat urbanisation poses and the damage it has inflicted on MCH. The analyses and documentation that MarEA produces via remote sensing, desk-based and field-based assessments, constitutes a valuable resource that, at the very least, exists in digital perpetuity. It establishes a record that can be drawn upon to formulate targeted strategies and initiatives inclusive of the maritime cultural heritage resource.

Life at the Salty Edge of Empire: The Maritime Cultural Landscape at the Orange Saltpan on Bonaire, 1821–1960

The early modern history of the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire has to a large extent been influenced by its most valuable resource: solar salt. Through a multidisciplinary approach combining a landscape study, underwater and terrestrial archaeological surveys, and documentary research, the maritime cultural landscape of Bonaire’s southernmost saltpan is analyzed holistically, revealing new aspects of the lives of the people who lived and toiled there.

Internalization of Maritime Cultural Values Through Education to Grow Early Childhood Awareness: a Review

Self-awareness is an aspect of personal self that is closely related to self-description, self-evaluation, self-esteem, self-regulation, self-efficacy, self-emotion, and self-recognition. Self-awareness is considered important for someone to have because it is more likely to be able to act normatively. The way that is considered effective to increase students' self-awareness is through the learning process at school. Through the learning process can make it easier for students to understand the content conveyed by the teacher. In addition, the provision of material in accordance with the theme being taught can show the quality of interaction, learning and especially the achievement of the expected individual development. In this case, what is interesting for teachers at schools to do is to be able to increase children's self-awareness from an early age about the potential they have both inside and outside themselves or their environment as capital to develop their potential. So far, early childhood education schools (PAUD) do not yet have a curriculum and operational guidelines that are prepared and implemented in accordance with regional conditions and student needs. As for minimizing these problems, it is necessary to develop a curriculum in the form of modules that are suitable for student needs and can be used by teachers as a reference in providing teaching materials. Especially in this case the module developed is intended for students who are on the Indonesian coast by internalizing Indonesian maritime culture.

Sailing and insight reproduction of Geo-Socio-Cultural unity of Nusantara/Indonesia Maritime: A study focus of Maritime Anthropology

This paper aims to explain how Indonesia was conceptualized as the Indonesian Maritime Continent. From a geo-social perspective, maritime culture can be viewed in, three major dimensions. First, Indonesia is one of the largest archipelagic countries in the world with all the geographical potential, invaluable marine, and maritime resources; second, the potential for socio-cultural, socio-demographic, socio-economic, and long maritime cultural history within the framework of the unity of the Republic of Indonesia; and third, the existence of academic core and the maritime vision of Unhas, the idea of the Indonesian Maritime Continental Development which was launched by the government in 1995/1996, and the vision of maritime national development by President Joko Widodo marked the role of academics and governments in the dynamic process of development to the phase of maritime civilization in the future. In the context of developing maritime ethnographic studies and anthropological contributions to the development of maritime civilization in the future, ideas and academic commitment are needed to make the Indonesian Archipelagic State a large and unique area of maritime socio-cultural research development in the world and Southeast Asia in particular. Thus, interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, comparative, and multidisciplinary research is needed to carry out broadly and intensively. For this reason, through my inauguration speech for Professor of Anthropology in Hasanuddin University, I introduced a focus of maritime anthropology studies on sailing experiences and the reproduction of Nusantara/Indonesian maritime geo-socio-cultural insights. Through the application of the concept of experience and reproduction of maritime geo-socio-cultural insights which were developed from the concept of maritime ethos disposition theory of reproduction from A.H.J. Prins as a mode of description and analysis, I found the categories of maritime cultural insights and attitudes of Indonesian sailors. They understand most of the territorial waters of the Nusantara (archipelago) and the resources within as common property, a space for interaction between groups of sailors who are diverse in their maritime ethnicity and culture, which in turn strengthens awareness and recognition of the unity of the homeland, culture, and nation that is Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (unity in diversity).

Analysing the Contributions and Longevity of Community Archaeology in the Context of Maritime Cultural Heritage Projects

Scholars readily agree community archaeology offers a way to engage non-professional archaeologists in the archaeological process. However, few analyse whether community archaeology projects achieve their goals and contribute positively to involved stakeholders. This article proposes a framework for analysing the contributions and longevity of community archaeology in maritime environments. The framework consists of three sections: the influencing factors, intended and actual contributions, and longevity. The influencing factors highlight the most common elements that impact the contributions of a project. The intended and actual contributions compare the project’s goals with their results. The longevity section proposes a number of prompting questions to assess the longevity of the outcomes. Three case studies provide a closer look at each project’s influencing factors, contributions and longevity. Synthesizing the case study’s results reveals several overall conclusions and areas for improvement within community archaeology.

On the Legal Status of Maritime Cultural Heritage and Its Management in the Russian Sectors of the Baltic Sea

This study deals with the legal status of maritime cultural heritage (MCH) and maritime spatial planning (MSP) in Russia. One of the main problems is that, in Russia, the MCH, especially when non-archaeological objects of underwater cultural heritage (UCH), do not stand out at the legislative level. UCH is not mentioned in any legal act so far. Currently, several legislative initiatives proposed by the coastal constituent entities of the Baltic Sea are supported by the Marine Board and under consideration by the State Duma of the Russian Federation. It is expected that two proposed laws will be fully adopted by the end of 2020. MCH is not fully integrated into the pilot MSP in Russia. In the frame of the BalticRIM project, all existent MCH data in the Baltic Sea Region (Russian Sectors of the South-Eastern Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland) has been collected and compiled as a database. This database is the first step in integrating MCH into the MSP process; even the latter has no legal status. The Russian case could be an example of including the MCH into the MSP process from the very beginning to have the opportunity to provide key priority areas for MCH, as has been advised by MSP planners. The next step for the Russian case is to develop the new pilot MSP for the Russian Sectors of the Baltic Sea, considering the priority areas for MCH. The analysis of the MSP and MCH legislation in Russia allowed for the development of the proposals and further steps to develop mechanisms for the UCH management of both that which remains on the seabed and items subject to transfer/remove for subsequent storage onshore. These steps should be taken at the regional and national levels.

Modelling the Maritime Cultural Landscape of the Costiera Amalfitana: The First Three Seasons of Research (2016–2018)

Human activity along the Amalfi coastline in Italy has been tied to the sea for millennia – for sustenance, migration, trade, warfare, and leisure. As a result, this region has an equally rich and extensive maritime cultural landscape composed of tangible and intangible elements. In 2016, a multi-disciplinary project began efforts to model and to understand changes within this landscape, and this essay presents the preliminary results of our first three seasons of work. Some efforts, such as the documentation of maritime cultural heritage in local museums, archival work, and geomorphological research proceeded smoothly. Unexpectedly, however, little material from the pre-modern era was found under water, adding questions to this study that future work in the Marine Protected Area west of Positano may answer.

Examining the Relevance of Indonesia’s Maritime Culture in the Discourse of Social Bonding in Maritime Diplomacy: Case Study in South Sulawesi

Abstract: The current discourse of maritime diplomacy has been strictly limited to the utilization of hard power as an essential tool to produce diplomatic goals through the sea, side-lining the potential of the dissemination of culture as a soft power tool to construct mutual awareness and understanding. This problem is evident in both academic studies and for practical policymakers, with the example of Indonesia’s maritime diplomacy conception in 2014. This article argues the opposite, by highlighting how maritime cultural programs can result in diplomatic goals in the realm of understanding and awareness, expanding the study of Le Miere’s maritime diplomacy. This article employs Holmes and Wheeler’s article “Social Bonding in Diplomacy,” in attempt to analyze how programs that fall under the categories of; 1) Cultural Global Mobility Programs, 2) Cultural Exhibitions, and 3) Cultural Expeditions, can represent the domain of maritime culture in the discourse of maritime diplomacy, which has the capacity to provide outcomes of mutual understanding and mutual awareness. The outcome thus is the reconceptualization of cooperative maritime diplomacy, with the inclusion of cultural diplomatic aspects. Through social bonding in diplomacy, this article has shown that the cultural aspects are able to positively establish social bonds, which establishes a basis for successful diplomacy.

Panglima Laot: Maritime Cultural Heritage and Sustainability of the Coastal Environment in Aceh

This paper examines the damage to the marine and coastal environment in Aceh. This happens because human behavior does not care about environmental safety in exploring marine resources. However, on the coast of Aceh there is one wisdom value that can limit human behavior, namely Panglima Laot. Panglima Laot is a maritime cultural heritage from the Kingdom of Aceh to the republic. Panglima Laot is the result of the adaptation of the structure of the Kingdom of Aceh into the structure of coastal culture in Aceh. This coastal wisdom is a major asset as a social infrastructure in limiting human behavior to ensure environmental sustainability. The research method used in observing this maritime social phenomenon is a qualitative method with sociological and anthropological approaches. The results showed that Panglima Laot has a social system that promotes environmental sustainability. This system is able to limit human behavior in exploring the natural resources of the coast and the sea. In general, the social system owned by Panglima Laot is divided into three, namely hukom adat laot, adat laot and hukom meupayang. This is a significant value in limiting human behavior for the sake of the sustainability of the coastal environment.

REMEMBER: an Adriatic network of Virtual Museums to highlight ports culture, traditions and history

The paper presents an on-going Interreg Italy-Croatia project, funded in the period 2019-2021 under the specific objective “Make natural and cultural heritage a leverage for sustainable and more balanced territorial development (3.1)”. The project REMEMBER (REstoring the MEmory of Adriatic ports sites. Maritime culture to foster Balanced tERritorial growth) has the overall objective to promote the shift toward sustainable tourism and blue growth in the Programme area through the valorization of the important maritime cultural tangible and intangible heritage of 8 Adriatic Italian and Croatian ports sites. The joint valorization will be carried out by the 10 project partners, with cross-cutting competences and multidisciplinary experience. Mainly REMEMBER project aims at increasing the attractiveness of local economies through the use of ICT for the digitalization of cultural contents and to differentiate the touristic offer reducing the tourism seasonality. At the current stage, the project has set up the methodological and theoretical framework in order to instantiate the Virtual Museums for the 8 ports. This common concept envisaged the development of a cloud based tool as first gate of the Virtual Museum project and provided all Project Partners with a baseline for setting up cultural and technological virtual museums, for the enhancement and promotion of ports cultural elements during the project implementation. The technical work packages, presented in the paper, establish also a common set of information as basis to reach the same digital outputs, compliant with the project goals: these outputs are called Digital Experiences and are connected to state of art technologies, enabling the dissemination of the tangible and intangible heritage related to eight port cities.

The Sea as a Hyperobject: Moving beyond Maritime Cultural Landscapes

Abstract An understanding of human mobility and cultural connectivity requires an accurate conception of that which facilitates maritime movement: the sea. The theory of “maritime cultural landscapes” has sought to address these questions from a landscape approach, and it is perhaps the most influential theory in maritime archaeology over the last thirty years. However, recent developments in philosophy challenge the cognitive-landscape theory underpinning the paradigm. This article examines these philosophies, the “flat ontologies” of Speculative Realism and Object-Oriented Ontology (OOO) and argues that they can be used to understand the sea as a new type of entity—a hyperobject. In this approach, the sea is not a landscape or facilitator of human activity but an entity of vast geographical and temporal scale that possesses agency. It argues for moving beyond idealist philosophies, such as cultural landscapes, toward the realist philosophy of OOO, including understanding the sea as a hyperobject.

A Lacustrine Cultural Landscape in the Prehispanic Basin of Mexico

This article provides a new application of Westerdahl's concepts of maritime cultural landscape and maritime cultures within the context of Mesoamerica, and more specifically during the Postclassic...

Culture and Diplomacy: Maritime Cultural Heritage of the Western Indian Ocean

The article argues that UNESCO’s 1972 World Heritage Convention provides a global platform for projecting not only India’s maritime cultural heritage but also building bridges and collaborative networks with other Indian Ocean littoral countries for the promotion of shared cultural practices and traditional knowledge systems of the Indian Ocean. Unfortunately, this collaborative research aspect of the World Heritage Convention has yet to be tapped for nominating and inscribing transnational heritage or cultural routes across the Ocean. This is despite the fact that India was the founder member of the intergovernmental organisation, Indian Ocean Rim Association, one of whose thrust areas relates to promoting cultural heritage on the UNESCO platform. Given India’s rich maritime past, there is an urgent need to implement measures to establish academic networks with littoral countries for not only creating awareness of the maritime cultural heritage of the Indian Ocean but also harnessing linkages between maritime communities for building a culturally diverse but harmonious future.

Study on the Impact of 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road Initiative and Cultural Distance on China's Forest Products Trade

Xu, C.; Li, X.F.; Shen, A., and Zhou, K., 2020. Study on the impact of 21st-century Maritime Silk Road initiative and cultural distance on China's forest products trade. In: Qiu, Y.; Zhu, H., and Fang, X. (eds.), Current Advancements in Marine and Coastal Research for Technological and Sociological Applications. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 107, pp. 403-407. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.Strengthening maritime coopeation conforms to the development trend of the world. It is not only an inevitable choice for promoting more in-depth economic cooperation between countries, but also an important way for countries to promote regional peace and stability. Based on the panel data of forest products trade between China and 78 countries from 1995 to 2017, this study investigates the impact of the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road (CMSR) initiative and cultural distance on China's forest product trade. The findings suggest that the CMSR initiative significantly increased China's total forest product trade and exports. The cultural distance has a U-shaped relationship with China's total forest product trade and exports. This implies that, as the cultural distance increases, China's forest product trade and exports both show a trend of decreasing first and then increasing.

Islam Dibawa Masuk oleh Orang Nusantara: Dari Data Terserak Buzurgh Al-Ramahurmuzi, ‘Ajaibul Hind: Kisah-Kisah Ajaib di Daratan dan Lautan Hindi

Studies of the archipelago (nusantara) on the notes of foreign travelers written in the 9th and 10th of centuries are still quite rare. Indeed, there have been several studies on the notes of travelers such as Ma Huan (China), Tome Pires (Portuguese), Ibn Bathuthah (Arabic), and some others. But, these studies revolve around the notes of travelers after the 10th of century. Meanwhile, notes of travelers who came to the archipelago (nusantara) in the century before 10 AD have not got serious attention yet. This book is a travel note's report which captures various activities in India, China and Southeast Asia. This book also contains a history about how Islam met in the Sarandib area. There are many interpretations of sarandib accurate location today. The findings of Keram Kevonian in his research on the names of regions in the Indian Ocean region using Armenian language sources stated that Sarandib means Swarnadipa which was no other than Sumatra.
 Keywords: nusantara, records of travelers, islamization, sarandib
 Reference:
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 Ramahurmuz, Buzurg Ibn syahriyar. Kitab Ajaib al-Hind: Barruhu wa Bahruhu, wa Jaziruhu. Paris: Leiden-E.J. Brill, 1883.
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Shipwrecks and the Maritime Cultural Landscape of the Gulf of the Farallones

The waters of the Gulf of the Farallones are a diverse and expansive maritime cultural landscape that includes at least 400 historically documented shipwrecks. This article summarizes a multiyear scientific mission to assess shipwreck sites in the Gulf of the Farallones and nearby waters. A series of sites were identified not only through archaeological dive surveys, but also through newly available nineteenth-century archival records that speak to the value of using these sources in maritime archaeological research. In all, twelve sites were documented. The project characterized these sites within the parameters of a regional maritime cultural landscape.

Maritime Cultural Landscape: History and Theory of the Concept

Maritime Cultural Landscape: History and Theory of the Concept

No Country for Men: Searching for Late Medieval Submerged Settlements in the North-Eastern Zuiderzee Area in the Netherlands

This article focuses on the maritime cultural landscape of the former Zuiderzee (ad1170–1932) in the central part of the Netherlands. Since the large-scale reclamations from the sea (1932–1968), many remains have been discovered, revealing a submerged and eroded late medieval maritime culture, represented by lost islands, drowned settlements, cultivated lands, shipwrecks, and consequently socio-economic networks. Especially the north-eastern part of the region, known today as the Noordoostpolder, is testimony to the dynamic battles of the Dutch against the water. By examining physical and immaterial datasets from the region, it is possible to give a modern-day idea of this late medieval maritime cultural landscape. Spatial distribution and densities of late medieval archaeological remains are analysed and compared to historical data and remote sensing results. This interdisciplinary approach has led to the discovery of the remains of the drowned settlement of Fenehuysen.

Book Review: The Shore is a Bridge: The Maritime Cultural Landscape of Lake Ontario

Book Review: The Shore is a Bridge: The Maritime Cultural Landscape of Lake Ontario