Careers in the Morine Clnd Dr. Hans Van Tilburg is a maritime archaeologist in Hawaii, who works for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration {NOAA) Maritime Heritage Program. A maritime archaeologist is someone who is trained to investigate shipwreck sites and other material remains underwater and then learns about the ships and seafarers who once sailed the world's oceans. To become a maritime archaeologist, Hans went to college and studied both history and archaeology, specializing in ships and seafaring. He also had
In addition to SCUBA gear, archaeologists take tools underwater to document shipwrecks. In this photo (left), Hans is mapping the wreck ofthe Dunnottar Castle (pictured above), a 258-footlong iron sailing ship that wrecked in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands in 1886. You can see the yellow tape measure secured to his SCUBA gear and the baseline measuring tape strung out below him across the e_ntire wreck site. Hans can write and draw underwater on sheets ofmylar taped to a slate (like a clipboard). His hi-tech writing implement? A No. 2 pencil. (below) Back in the lab, Hans and his fellow archaeologists carefully transfer the data they collected underwater to a map ofthe site.
o be an expert SCUBA diver because, after all, most shipwrecks are underwater. Many maritime archaeologists finish going to school once they earn a masters degree, but others, like Hans, go further with their studies and get a doctoral degree, or PhD. In his job, he spends time in his office, in research libraries, and, of course, out on boats and under the water doing fleld work. He continues to study about ships and seafaring, but he also has written books and many articles about what hes learned so that others can learn from him. Here, Hans explains about what we can learn from a shipwreck. "Every ship was originally made from thousands of individual pieces. Even though these might be scattered on the sea bed, each one can tell you something about the past. Once a site is discovered, all kinds of different clues can help you know more about the ship and its crew. First, flnd out if it is a wooden ship or if it was made out of iron or steel-older ships are sailing vessels, all made of wood . Are there parts of an engine on the wreck site? Steam engines
were used in the mid-19th century, and gasoline engines much later. Are there cannon? Was it a navy ship or a merchant ship? The kind of cargo may be evidence that can tell you where the ship was going. What about the crew? Often divers see the pieces of everyday life on shipwreck sites-the silverware and plates and tools and bottles, which made the ship a home for the sailors. Bricks and
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iro.n cooking ware, bett bucki~¡~ ,~ :c1nc:J" buttons-all of these are clues about seafaring life, pieces of the puzzle. When studied all together, these bits of information capture a piece of maritime history. Every shipwreck site is an investigation, and the closer you look, the more you will see. The more you see, the more you learn."