Modeling Maritime Culture: Galveston, Texas, in the Historic Period

Abstract

“Maritime cultural landscape” (MCL) can be applied as both a research framework and a theoretical inquiry into cultural interactions with the sea. The utility of MCL approaches in historic period archaeological modeling is examined using Galveston Island, Texas, as a case study. Modeling can be used to facilitate site identification (predictive modeling), but can also enable archaeologists to connect seemingly discrete features, such as shipwrecks, with broader cultural processes.