Searching for early Americans

The Pittsburgh-Tribune Review published an article this week, Search for first Americans to plunge underwater, by Allison M. Heinrichs about James Adovasio's participation in an upcoming expedition in the Gulf of Mexico. Unlike many underwater expeditions the attract media attention, Adovasio, the director of the Mercyhurst Archaeological Institute, won't be searching for wrecked ships--he'll be searching for evidence of early occupation in North America, such as tools or the remnants of the plants and animals that were eaten. And he'll be searching 120 to 360 feet underwater.

He won't be alone; the project is supported by many institutions, including NOAA and the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory at the University of Texas at Austin, which will be sending C. Andrew Hemmings, research associate. An article about Hemming's participation in the project is not just interesting to read, but has links to more information about the Clovis culture that Hemmings and Adovasio are investigating. If you follow the link to the virtual museum exhibit, Clovis Reconsidered, you'll be taken far away from saltwater--far from maritime pursuits--but pursuing the trail of people through remote history is a reminder that the border between the land and the sea is not a solid, defined line. The saltwater moves and changes; the coast today will not be the coast tomorrow. Many lands of our ancestors are submerged today, and the ocean beds when the dinosaurs roamed? The Badlands in the center of a continent.

Position: President - New Bedford Whaling Museum

The President/CEO is responsible for the leadership of the organization and for defining and articulating its vision and mission. The individual will work to insure the continued position of the organization as the preeminent whaling museum in the country and the leading cultural facility in the region. Reporting directly to the Board, the President will have responsibility for the creation and implementation of the organization’s strategic goals, the development and administration of its program activities, the direction of the day-to-day administrative functions, the responsibility for senior management and staff, and the financial well-being of the organization. Much of the President’s energy will be spent enhancing and building connections with a wide variety of constituents to strengthen the museum’s presence and exposure in the community. Strategic alliances with community-based organizations, industry, political leaders, and individuals will be essential to maintain and enhance the profile and effectiveness of the organization through shared information and resources. The continuation of the organization as one that is open and inclusive and representative of the multiple cultures that have shaped the region and are representative of the whaling industry is essential.

Full description

The Grog Ration

The July/August issue of The Grog Ration is out. A bimonthly periodical, it's of interest to anyone wanting to learn more about the history of medicine at sea. And it's free.

Issues contain original articles and historic photos on a breadth of topics, and the current issue is no exception: "In the eye of the storm : the story of a Navy dentist and the racial unrest in the fleet during the Vietname War Era" by John Sherwood, "A Navy physician-poet in context," profiling Captain Frederick Foote, excerpts from "Thulia : a tale of the antarctic" from 1843, as well as shorter articles, the Navy medical history quiz, and the Navy Medical History Crossword Puzzle no.1--if you turn in your answers by Aug. 5, 2008, you're eligible to receive a special prize! How many maritime periodicals offer that?

Issues are distributed as Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) files via email; to subscribe, or inquire about submission guidelines, email Andre.Sobocinski (at) med.navy.mil

Positions

On this side of the pond, the USS Constitution Museum in Boston seeks a Director of Museum Learning, closing on July 18, 2008.

And across the pond, the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich seeks a Trusts and Statutory Grants Manager, closing date July 30, 2008.

New titles at Project Gutenberg

Several books of maritime interest have been added to Project Gutenberg:

As We Swept Through The Deep by Gordon Stables, 1894.
The sailor's word-book by W.H. Smyth, 1867.
With Cochrane the Dauntless by G.A. Henty, 1897.

And not a maritime title, but of interest those involved with historic photography, is American Handbook of the Daguerrotype by Samuel D. Humphrey, 1858.

Into the Blue

Thanks to Michael D. Barton, I've discovered the Royal Society Library podcasts. Many are offered as mp3 audio as well as m4v video, as is one of particular interest to maritime folks, Into the blue: voyages of discovery 1700-1850 by Rupert Baker, about the voyaging fellows of the Society.

I listened to the audio, and didn't feel that I was missing much, since he includes descriptions of the contents of the visual presentation. The lecture was a fascinating half-hour that began with the nautical connections of the Society in the 17th century, and continued with specific stories about particular people and expeditions. Baker seems to assume no prior maritime knowledge, but specialists may wish to tune in to learn about the Royal Society connections and related resources.

Positions

There are new listings on the National Maritime Museum Job Opportunities page: Storage Project Co-ordinator (5 year fixed term contract), Assistant Registrar - Loans In (2 year fixed term contract), and Security Officer.

And don't forget to check the Underwater Archaeology & Maritime History Jobs blog if you're interested in a maritime museum position (now appearing in our list of Related Blogs & Resources).

Infrastructure and Public Works

Interested in harbors? Bridges? Take a look at the new Science Tracer Bullet from the Library of Congress, Infrastructure and Public Works. The list of subject headings is linked directly to the LC catalog; for example, the subject heading harbors retrieves screens and screens of resources--not just books. (These subject headings can also be used in other catalogs that use the Library of Congress subject heading system, such as Worldcat.)

There are also bibliographies of basic, additional, and specialized texts, so if you'd like to begin learning about maritime facilities as a component of a larger infrastructure, these items will get you started while giving you new directions for further reading. Specialized texts, technical documents, and dissertations are also listed, as are professional societies and selected internet resources.

There are many other Science Tracer Bullets that touch on maritime subjects; find them through the very small link at the upper left of the page, "Home >> Tracer Bullets."

The Dispersal of Darwin

Michael D. Barton has taken the time to add a list of wonderful links to Darwin and Wallace resources in the comments section of the LII and Darwin post. In it he mentions his blog, The Dispersal of Darwin which is not to be missed. In addition to covering current events related to Darwin, he takes the time to list additions to The Complete Works of Charles Darwin site with complete citations and links to texts. He also mentions plays, posters, Beagle resources, zoology databases--everything from the occasional newspaper article to comprehensive resources. And it's not just current awareness, and not just Darwin--interested in science? Scroll down the page to find science journals, magazines, radio shows and even cartoons.

His tags are not alphabetized for easy browsing, and the page is long (yet very rich in content), so the "find" feature of your browser may be handy for finding tags such as "Beagle" and "Exploration."

Thanks to Michael for the great resource!

Positions

The Underwater Archaeology and Maritime History Jobs blog has several announcements in maritime museums:

• Shipwright, Australian National Maritime Museum, closes July 4 (Sydney, Australia)
  
• Manager, Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, closes July 8 (Halifax, NS, Canada)
  
• Director of Museum Learning, USS Constitution Museum, closes July 18 (Boston, Mass.)
  

This wonderful resources doesn't just list jobs--don't miss the National Maritime Museum fellowships and internships listed in the June 28th entry.

LII and Darwin

When I'm looking for something on the internet, I often start with the Librarians' Internet Index. Their slogan is "Websites you can trust," and in my experience that's proven true. One reason they're so trustworthy is that the project is publicly funded, with minimal ad support (you may not even notice the ads), and under the general management of the Califa Library Group here in California.

Not everything is in the LII--that's the point. Every site that's been selected has been evaluated and reviewed by a librarian, and they're very open about the selection criteria for including sites in the project. So you may not find anything related to your topic there, but if you do, you can read the librarian's signed review about the site(s), and know that you will find reliable information--part of a librarian's training is in evaluating the quality and reliability of sources, and when you access LII, you're taking advantage of their expertise--for free. And when I don't find something in LII, it reminds me to be on the alert--to remember to view information on the internet with a critical eye towards the reliability of the sources.

Besides being able to search LII or browse by topic, you can also subscribe to their weekly newsletter of new sites by email or rss. That's how I heard about The Linnean Society's site celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin and related events, such as the 150th anniversary on the 1st of July of the reading of the paper from Charles Darwin and Alfred Russell Wallace outlining, for the first time, the theory of evolution by natural selection. It links to information on the anniversary events, such as the fantastic Darwin 200 site, as well as to related scholarship by Alfred Russel Wallace.