Page 371 - Green - Maritime Archaeology: A Technical Handbook. 2nd ed

350 Maritime Archaeology: A Technical Handbook, Second Edition
treated with caution and read critically. For example, a particular reference may not reflect the latest thinking on the subject, or there may be more up- to-date material available. It is quite possible that the author has made an error, or, even worse, has repeated another author’s mistake.
The fact that wreck sites belong to a particular point in time imbues the artifacts from these sites with a special significance, particularly in relation to dating. They offer a precise chronology which usually cannot be drawn from other types of collections, and it is important to study the artifacts in as great a depth as possible. It is not uncommon to find that artifact chronologies have been established from evidence that cannot be sup- ported by scientific dating and, as a result, the chronologies are uncertain. For example, some chronologies have been based on art historical consid- erations; parallel material from wreck sites has recently lead to a number of re-assessments of these dates.
It should also be recognized that objects from shipwrecks often do not have a parallel in land archaeology. For example, it is unlikely that the rigging and parts of a sailing vessel would be found anywhere on land. By far the most common place to find such items is on a wreck site, and it is improbable that comparative archaeological material would be found on a land site, except at a port or shipyard (see, for example, Marsden, 1979). Therefore, written records or illustrations may provide the only source of comparative information. On the other hand, some types of material found on wreck sites are also commonly found on land sites. The domestic wares such as everyday items used by the people onboard the ship and trade goods may all be found in domestic and production contexts on land. So there may be interesting comparisons to be drawn between the findings from land sites and water sites, and conclusions can be drawn about the social status of the context in which the material was found.
Although the research into the identification of the artifacts is impor- tant, it should not be forgotten that part of the archaeological objective is to place these artifacts into an historical and social context. It is therefore necessary to attempt to determine the function or purpose of the object after it has been identified. First, some broad functional categories have to be determined. It may be instructive to refer to the subdivisions that have been used in Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC) research (see Section IV). Various subdivisions have been defined that relate to the various functional groups to which the objects belonged. These groups include the ship, its hull, mast, rigging and sails; the equipment used to sail and operate the ship, navigation equipment, defensive equipment, equip- ment for maintenance and repair, etc.; supplies to feed and clothe the crew; the trade goods; personal possessions; etc. Naturally, there are many differ- ent ways of subdividing the various items that were onboard the ship, but