Sentient seas : archaeologies of seascapes and maritime rituals / Ian J. McNiven ; foreword by Victor D. Thompson and Scott M. Fitzpatrick.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

McNiven, Ian J., Author.

Contributor:

Thompson, Victor D., editor, writer of foreword.

Fitzpatrick, Scott M., editor, writer of foreword.

Series:

Society and ecology in island and coastal archaeology

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Maritime anthropology.

Ocean and civilization.

Coastal archaeology.

Island archaeology.

Island people--History.

Island people.

Physical Description:

xiv, 486 pages : illustrations (black and white) ; 24cm.

Other Title:

Archaeologies of seascapes and maritime rituals

Place of Publication:

Gainesville, FL : University Press of Florida, 2026.

Summary:

"This book offers a global perspective on maritime cultures, examining how societies across time and space have understood and interacted with the sea through cosmology, spirituality, and ritual"-- Provided by publisher.

"A novel cross-cultural exploration of how maritime peoples have engaged with the sea through cosmology, spirituality, and ritualSentient Seas offers a global perspective on maritime cultures, examining how societies across time and space have understood and interacted with the sea. Synthesizing archaeological evidence, historical documents, and ethnographic accounts, Ian McNiven explores maritime traditions from ancient civilizations in the Middle East and Mediterranean to medieval Europe and Scandinavia to contemporary Indigenous communities in the South Pacific.McNiven investigates diverse cultural practices including shipbuilding, the treatment of shipwrecks and shipwreck victims, and maritime resource use, interpreting the evidence through the perspectives of mariners who understood the seas to be sentient and capable of acting with intentionality. He introduces the concepts of "terrestrial seascapes" and "ontological switching" to illustrate how land-based shrines and votive offerings extend maritime cosmologies and maintain a liminal transition from land to sea. By bridging anthropological and archaeological research with transdisciplinary blue humanities scholarship, Sentient Seas approaches seas as spiritscapes, recontextualizing folkloric beliefs about maritime superstitions"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction: Seascape Awakenings

Cosmological Edges of the Sea

Cosmological Beings of the Sea

Emplaced Seascapes: Marking the Sea

Terrestrial Seascapes: Inland Referencing of the Sea

Rituals of Ship Construction and Destruction: Embodiment to Predatorization

Rituals of Voyaging and Mishap: Seafaring on Land and at Sea

Sentient Elements: Agentive Tides, Waves, and Winds

Sentient Prey: Hunting with Agentive Skulls and Technology

Sentient Stock: Fishing with Agentive Bones and Technology

Why So Many Maritime Rituals?

Summary and Conclusions

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 389-469) and index.

Other Format:

Online version McNiven, Ian J. Sentient seas

ISBN:

9780813079615

0813079616

9780813081540

0813081548

OCLC:

1547272032