Traditional Shipbuilding Communities: An Urgent and Neglected Research Topic in Maritime Anthropology

• Published in: Journal of maritime archaeology Vol. 17; no. 4; pp. 603 - 633
• Main Authors: Borrero L., Ricardo, Jaramillo Arango, Antonio, Castro, Filipe, Lira, Nicolás, de Oliveira Torres, Rodrigo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.12.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Anthropology; Archaeology; Boats; Ethnography; Fiberglass; Fishing; Fishing communities; Information sources; Review Article; Shipbuilding; Ships; Social Sciences; Survival; Traditions; Typology; Float; Ethnography; Dugout; Ship; Raft; Canoe; Shipwright; Boat; Shipyard
• ISSN: 1557-2285; 1557-2293
• DOI: 10.1007/s11457-022-09345-0

Equating maritime anthropology to the ethnography of fishing communities has driven researchers to neglect certain subjects (and objects) such as traditional shipbuilding communities. It has also limited the array of sources of information. Few anthropological studies have focused on traditional boat building, while these practices are heading toward extinction, given the wide distribution, increasing reliability, and decreasing prices of synthetic materials for ship and boat construction. While fiberglass boats are replacing wooden vessels, many artisan shipbuilding traditions around the world have managed to survive, but most of them have remained in the shadows. This paper provides a seminal state of the art and points out sources of information to solve questions on traditional shipbuilding. It attempts to propose a methodology based in a set of questions that anthropologists should ask when recording traditional shipbuilding practices. We argue that the information gathered by following the set of questions is valuable for its own sake in order to maintain vanishing maritime traditions, but the surviving ethnographical record is also priceless as it is the only way to fill gaps in the archaeological and historical record. Finally, it contains a short reflection on the difficulties of building a typology of traditionally built vessels.