Session 2: History and Current Trends of Underwater Archaeology around East Asia

Session 2 Abstract:

East Asia is extremely rich in underwater cultural heritage, such as conventional shipwrecks under the sea,
submerged settlement sites on the bottoms of inland lakes and rivers, or prehistoric shell mounds and stone
tidal weirs along coastal zones. Many shipwrecks or their cargos have been discovered by underwater
archaeologists one after another in the waters, and each nation has moved forward with its own underwater
archaeological policy and numerous underwater projects both on governmental and grassroots levels. On the
other hand, no East Asian country has ratified the UNESCO 2001 Convention yet. In this area, the
document-based historical study or terrestrial archaeology has a long tradition, which has had a noteworthy
impact upon underwater archaeology and its methodology. Recently, in addition, the technological
advancement in underwater survey has remarkably been made; using remote-sensing with satellites, robotics
for ROVs or AUVs, or 3D photogrammetry by computer softwares mitigates or cancels the limitations
regarding accessibility and working time caused by underwater environment. The tie between such modern
technologies and traditional archaeology or history has minted new applications and perspectives of
underwater cultural heritage study. The multi-disciplinary or holistic approaches are increasingly more and
more necessary among East Asian researchers.