Maritime history (archeology)

Use this lesson to introduce students to how & why we explore the world’s oceans. Dr. Robert Ballard’s TED Talk establishes a connection encouraging all viewers to cultivate a collective desire to explore the ocean and to stress the importance of continued exploration. 

In 2013, the Corps of Exploration discovered two new shipwrecks while surveying the Monterrey A shipwreck in the Gulf of Mexico. Suddenly one mystery tripled in scale.

Monterrey B sank carrying a cargo of hides and large, white blocks of something archaeologists can’t identify. They could be tallow (fat from cattle) used for making candles, a tree sap called copal used in varnish, or even natural rubber. What else could they be? Pottery on the ship hints that the ship may have come from Mexico.

The Monterrey A shipwreck was surveyed by the Corps of Exploration in 2013. The wreck is a wooden-hulled and copper-sheathed sailing ship that sank in over 4,000 feet of water some 200 years ago. The vessel carries at least 5 cannon and crates of muskets. Its mission remains a mystery. Was this a pirate, a privateer, a military ship, or a heavily defended merchant?

Explore these photomosaics, videos, and models made by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to learn more!

Introduce students to the applications of photomosaics relating to maritime history and archaeology. Students will work in small groups to complete photomosaic puzzles of real seafloor scenes by recognizing and comparing unique features among image squares. At the end of the activity, students will respond to conclusion questions demonstrating their understanding of the concepts involved with this lesson and be able to relate these concepts to real-world ocean exploration.

In 2013, in the Gulf of Mexico, E/V Nautilus conducted a preliminary excavation of the 'Monterrey shipwreck' and soon realized the area had not one shipwreck - but three! Introduce students to archeological research by connecting observations and critical thinking skills to develop a comic or storyboard telling the story of this shipwreck scene.