MARITIME

CULTURAL
LANDSCAPES
 CULTURAL HERITAGE
 Cultural heritage is defined as the legacy of material and intangible
attributes of a group or society that is inherited from past
generations, including buildings, monuments, traditions, language
and natural heritage and landscapes
 This is one of the main objectives of archaeology: to connect the past
with the present
 What are some aspects of your heritage that identify you personally?

 What are some aspects of your heritage that you might identify with
on a larger scale?

August 31, 2023 MSCU 201

MARITIME
 From Latin maritimus, meaning of
or for the sea
 Connected with the sea; living or
found in or near the sea; bordering
on the sea; influenced by the sea;
etc.
 Also, any body of water: river, lake,
wetland, canal, etc.

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 MARITIME
LANDSCAPE
S
 A maritime landscape is the coming
together of two features: land and
water (sea, ocean or any other body of
water)
 Maritime landscapes are bound by
land and marine processes
 The effect of these processes are more
pronounced/visible at the interface
between land and water, i.e the coastal
zone

MSCU 201 August 31, 2023

CULTURE/CULTURAL
 Culture
 “The non-biological characteristics
unique to [a] society which distinguish it
from other societies” –Colin Renfrew
and Paul Bahn
 “Knowledge, belief, art, morals, law,
custom and any other capabilities and
habits acquired by man as a member of
society” –Edward Tylor
 The characteristics and knowledge of a
particular group of people encompassing
language, religion, cuisine, social habits,
music and arts

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MARITIME CULTURE
 “The concept maritime culture seems to
be most profitably applied as a
comprehensive name for all those modes
of thinking, customs, artifacts, and
patterns of acting directly connected with
a life at the sea and dependent on the sea
and its resources in a wide meaning”
(Westerdahl 2003: 19)
 “…the whole register [of occupation] is
used, fishing, maritime hunting, of sea
fowl or seals, the collection of eggs and
down, all kinds of sea transport etc”
(Westerdahl 2003: 19)

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TYPES OF
MULTI-
INTERACTION
DISCIPLINARITY
S
 Physically  Oceanography
 Ports, harbors, anchorages, etc.
 Maritime Archaeology
 Ships, rafts, canoes, ferries, etc.
 Geology
 Conceptually
 Technology  Biology
 Trade  Chemistry
 Architecture
 Sociology
 Urbanization
 Transportation
 Economics

MSCU 201 August 31, 2023

 MARITIME
CULTURAL
LANDSCAPES
 While the term “maritime landscape” connotes a
geographical space, a “maritime cultural landscape
signifies human utilization (economy) of maritime
space by boat, settlement, fishing, hunting, shipping,
and its attendant subcultures, such as pilotage,
lighthouse and seamark maintenance” (Westerdahl
1992: 5-6), “including cognitive, cultural, and social
activities” (Westerdahl 1994: 266)
 These actions and relationships come to actually
form the maritime cultural landscape itself

MSCU 201 August 31, 2023

MARITIME
CULTURAL
LANDSCAPES
 Maritime cultural landscapes are fluid in
terms of scale, perspective, and time, as
humans’ interaction with the sea involves a
number of interconnected steps and can take
place over long periods of time, such as at
the village of Port in Fiumicino, which was
the former port of ancient Rome (Portus)
 These interactions are also not static, and are
dynamic, sometimes involving significant
movement

MSCU 201 August 31, 2023

 MARITIME
CULTURAL
LANDSCAPES
 Sometimes, evidence is left of these
interactions in a variety of formats that
attest to their occurrence
 This evidence is much more readily visible
in the modern day, such as at a functioning
port
 The presence and existence of an active port
provides evidence of a variety of types of
interactions between humans and the sea

August 31,MSCU
2023 201
WHY GROUP
UNDER THE
CATEGORY
“MARITIME”?
 Natural and anthropogenic factors in maritime
contexts are interrelated by their marine nature
 In the same way that categories such as
“economic”, “political”, or “geological” can
help us group and understand data, the term
“maritime” can be a useful way to group data
that are intertwined
 This requires the relation of data and databases
from fields that can be often regarded as
distinct to reveal important connections
 In this course, we will learn to find the
connections and understand why they are
important
MSCU 201 August 31, 2023
 https://sites.tufts.edu/lawofthesea/chapter-two/
MSCU 201 August 31, 2023
COASTAL
ENVIRONMEN
TS
 Human presence can be based on the
location of river mouths, sheltered bay,
access to water, coastal resources, etc.
This is true throughout history and not
just today
 Some factors have an impact on site
preservation – coastal erosion, climate
change, human actions, etc.
 Some factors effect coastal change
including sea-level change, tectonic
movement, geomorphological changes
 Change means that archaeological sites
are not located necessarily where they
were in the past After Bracke et al. 2007
MSCU 201 August 31, 2023
HISTORY AND
ARCHAEOLOG
Y
 Because anthropogenic effects are more pronounced in coastal
regions, historical remains are concentrated in the contiguous
zone
 In Lebanon, this is especially true because there is such a
narrow coastal shelf

MSCU 201 August 31, 2023

MARINE
ENVIRONMEN
TS
 Marine environments are also part of
maritime cultural landscapes, since
human interaction would have taken
place through maritime transportation
 However, this activity is much more
difficult to see in the historical and
archaeological record, and is much
more intermittent than anthropogenic
activity in the coastal zone

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ASPECTS OF
A MCL:
ECONOMIC
Fishing weights
found in Atlit-Yam
(after Galili et al.
2004: Fig. 6)

MSCU 201 After www.worldbank.org August 31, 2023

ASPECTS
OF A MCL:
TOURISTIC

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ASPECTS
OF A MCL:
HARBOUR

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CROSSOVER AND
INTERRELATIONS
 A MCL must be examined holistically, as each of these aspects have significant crossover
 For example, if a bay has a naturally well-protected harbour with a low-lying sandy coast that
can be used to moor vessels easily, then this could be perceived as an aspect of the harbour
landscape
 However, this is also a crucial aspect of the economic aspect of a MCL, because a strong
harbour means transportation is easier, and that could make it easier to conduct maritime trade
 The way these correlative and causative relationships come about are extremely complex
 For example, a maritime landscape could have a poorly protected harbour, but anthropogenic
activity transforms the region into a well-protected harbour

MSCU 201 August 31, 2023

WHAT QUALIFIES AS
MARITIME?
 “One way of defining maritime culture is by comparing it with inland (agrarian) culture. Maritime culture requires a relationship
between humans and the sea or a body of water, in which water can be considered both as a resource and as a barrier or a threat. Using
the water as a resource can require aquatic adaptations, often depending on local traditions and related to the usage of boats. However,
agriculture was also part of the landscape: it is unlikely that past maritime cultures were fully dependent on marine resources and
instead also took advantage of agricultural resources. The counterpart is also unlikely, that is agrarian coastal communities that
completely depended on agricultural resources” (Popta et al. 2019: 177-78)

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 WHAT QUALIFIES AS
MARITIME?

Left: Urban area of Beirut; Right: Tal Dnoub vineyard in the Bekaa
MSCU 201 August 31, 2023
 WHAT QUALIFIES AS
MARITIME?

Left: Olive grove coverage around Mediterranean; Right: Vineyard coverage around Mediterranean

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 QUESTIONS?

MSCU 201 August 31, 2023