Papers by Suzanne S. Finney
Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage, 2011
Crossing disciplinary boundaries, At Home and in the Field is an anthology of twenty-first centur... more Crossing disciplinary boundaries, At Home and in the Field is an anthology of twenty-first century ethnographic research and writing about the global worlds of home and disjuncture in Asia and the Pacific Islands. Unique in its inclusion of "homework"-ethnography that directly engages with issues and identities in which the ethnographer finds political solidarity and belonging in fields at home-the anthology contributes to growing trends that complicate the distinction between "insiders" and "outsiders." In its focus on Asia and the Pacific Islands, the collection offers ethnographic updates on topics that range from ritual money burning in China to the militarization of Hawai'i to the cultural power of robots in Japan. Thought provoking, sometimes humorous, these cultural encounters will resonate with readers and provide valuable talking points for exploring the human diversity that makes the study of ourselves and each other simultaneously rewardi...
Photo mosaics of underwater sites are useful for interpreting sites and increasing the level of d... more Photo mosaics of underwater sites are useful for interpreting sites and increasing the level of detail for areas too large for conventional photography. While this tool has been used for years at deep-water sites using camera platforms, such traditional devices are difficult to use in areas that are too shallow or too rough to maintain a consistent distance to the site. In addition, some sites, notably large shipwrecks, cannot be photographed at a well-maintained distance given the time constraints of many projects. Finding alternative methods to collect data and create photo mosaics is necessary.
Unpublished field school report, 2007
This is the final report for MAST 2004, the Maritime Archaeology Survey Techniques course offered... more This is the final report for MAST 2004, the Maritime Archaeology Survey Techniques course offered through the Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai`i at Mānoa. Six students participated in the class, listed as ANTH 381: Archaeological Field Techniques. This report is the final product prepared by the students, with final continuity editing by the instructor. The survey location was the eastern section of Shipwreck Beach on the island of Lāna`i. Shipwreck Beach is the site of a number of documented shipwrecks from the 19th century through to the present and was used as a dumping ground for outdated or worn-out military and civilian ships. During the two weeks of the on-site survey the class mapped nearly 4 miles (5.7 km) of coastline and over 170 features including large sections of wooden wreckage, disarticulated timbers and machinery. This survey continues the findings from MAST 2001 and contributes to the small but growing corpus of information concerning maritime activities in Hawaiian waters.
At Home and in the Field: Ethnographic Encounters in Asia and the Pacific Islands, 2015
Photo mosaics of underwater sites are useful tools for interpreting sites and increasing the leve... more Photo mosaics of underwater sites are useful tools for interpreting sites and increasing the level of detail for areas too large for conventional photography. While this tool has been used for years at deep-water sites using camera platforms, such traditional devices are difficult to use in areas that are too shallow or too rough to maintain a consistent distance to the site. In addition, some sites, notably large shipwrecks, cannot be photographed at a well-maintained distance given the time constraints of many projects. Finding alternative methods to collect data and create photo mosaics is necessary. [Photos did not print with correct labeling in published version]
SPC Traditional Marine …, Jan 1, 2007
SPC Traditional Marine Resource Management and Knowledge Information Bulletin #21 , 2008
Journal of Cultural Economics, 2003
Many consider salvage value and tourism expenditures as the only economic values of a historic sh... more Many consider salvage value and tourism expenditures as the only economic values of a historic shipwreck. This paper looks at one alternative, the non-market value generated by management of shipwrecks as submerged maritime cultural resources. We consider the question: How much are people willing to pay to maintain shipwrecks in their pristine state? The contingent valuation method was implemented during summer 2001 as part of a telephone survey to households in eastern North Carolina. We find that households are willing to pay about $35 in a one-time increase in state taxes. Willingness to payis internally validated by expected relationships with prices and income but fails to pass the scope test. We speculate that we inadvertently succumbed to the well-known “birds” problem. The double-bounded willingness to pay questions are not incentive compatible and are subject to starting point bias, despite efforts to minimize these effects.
Conference Presentations by Suzanne S. Finney
Society for Hawaiian Archaeology Symposium, 2022
Hatohobei State is the southern-most state in the Republic of Palau, lying around three degrees a... more Hatohobei State is the southern-most state in the Republic of Palau, lying around three degrees above the equator. Hatohobei is comprised of Tobi Island, Hotsarihi (Helen Reef), which includes a small island, and a possible third reef (likely submerged) to the east of Hotsarihi. Many years ago I heard a rumor about a whaling ship wrecked there, and subsequent research led to a photograph that looked a lot like the trypots from a whaler. This information led to my decades long interest in the area and when the opportunity arose to visit, I could not miss the chance.
In August 2022 I was able to travel to Tobi Island and Hotsarihi on a government sponsored resupply and transit trip. These trips are planned several times a year to bring people and supplies (mostly food) to and from Tobi and to resupply the rangers who live at Hotsarihi to monitor illegal activity in the protected waters of the area. During the one-week trip several people very familiar with the area mentioned they knew of five shipwrecks at Hotsarihi (Helen Reef), one at Tobi, and two at Merir in Sonsoral State. This presentation discusses my observations as well as the potential for conducting a possibly multi-disciplinary research project surveying the shipwrecks and other submerged cultural material in this under-investigated area of the Pacific.
Recent survey work by the Bureau of Arts and Culture/Palau Historic Preservation Office (BAC/HPO)... more Recent survey work by the Bureau of Arts and Culture/Palau Historic Preservation Office (BAC/HPO) in three states on Babeldaob, the largest island of Palau, indicates that there is still a lot of tangible material left behind by the occupation of Japan in the 20th century. In particular, the vast remnants of both Japanese civilian and military life in Palau between the 1920s and 1940s can be found in abandoned properties: homesteads, farmsteads, road systems and defensive features (caves, tunnels, refugee camps) that were left, often intact, at the end of World War II, and continue to be untouched and largely forgotten to the present.
To describe these sites and features within the context of an encompassing historic landscape might be considered a practical interpretation, but this interpretation is not compatible with the larger and more significant concepts within Palauan cultural and traditional heritage, a heritage spanning thousands of years and which contain both the tangible and the intangible in ways that the material remains of Japanese occupation do not. This paper discusses the results of fieldwork conducted in 2011-2012 and how the historic material has been categorized by the BAC/HPO in their inventory.
Co-author: Sylvia Kloulubak (BAC/HPO)
Presented at the Society for American Archaeology 2013 meeting
Finding experiential learning opportunities to use as teaching tools for archaeology classes can ... more Finding experiential learning opportunities to use as teaching tools for archaeology classes can be understandably challenging. This paper offers one example of experiential learning from the 38th voyage of the Charles W. Morgan which took place this past summer, and what can be transmitted to classes from the experience about topics including archaeology, whaling, and 19th century sailing.
The Charles W. Morgan is the last 19th century American whaling vessel still afloat. Built in 1841, the whaler completed 37 voyages in 80 years. In the 20th century the Charles W. Morgan was moved to Mystic, Connecticut and is now a primary attraction of Mystic Seaport. Recently restored for sailing, the 38th voyage of the Charles W. Morgan took place this past summer. The voyage was an opportunity for scholars, artists, writers and researchers to glimpse the world of whaling by sailing on the vessel during its voyage around southern New England.
From the time that whaleships first rounded Cape Horn at the end of the eighteenth century, the a... more From the time that whaleships first rounded Cape Horn at the end of the eighteenth century, the activities of European and American whalers transformed the landscape and seascape of the Pacific region. While systematic hunting had a profound effect on cetacean populations, whaling affected more than just the hunted. The pursuit of new whaling grounds, the need to replenish food, water and firewood, and the frequent occurrence of shipwrecks and desertion, all led to interactions with the indigenous inhabitants and environments of virtually every archipelago. These interactions generated enduring influences, both positive and negative, on the cultural and material heritage of the Pacific.
The archaeological evidence of whaling can be seen through the wrecks of whaling ships, the remains of whaling stations, and shipwreck survivors' camps that are found in even the most distant corners of the Pacific. The information contained in such sites has proven potential to inform researchers from a range of disciplines including archaeology, historical ecology, biology, and conservation science. Due to the remote locations of many of these sites and the limited resources available for accessing and studying them, multidisciplinary approaches to their investigation offer researchers and heritage managers cost effective options for gleaning valuable data.
The challenge of working terrestrial sites in high-risk areas for unexploded ordnance is not an u... more The challenge of working terrestrial sites in high-risk areas for unexploded ordnance is not an unknown concept for those archaeologists working in Asia and the Pacific. Less understood, perhaps, are the dangers faced with underwater or shoreline areas, especially those that have experienced heavy military activity. This paper discusses some of the experiences faced by the author encountering ordnance during several investigations, specifically ordnance associated with World War II in the Pacific. A future project that identifies potential threats associated with the U.S. Atomic testing program of the 1950s in the Pacific will also be explored. [Presented at IPPA, Hanoi, 2009]
Talks by Suzanne S. Finney
Slides did not record, audio only
Books by Suzanne S. Finney
At Home and In the Field: Ethnographic Encounters In Asia and the Pacific Islands, 2015
Crossing disciplinary boundaries, At Home and in the Field is an anthology of twenty-first centur... more Crossing disciplinary boundaries, At Home and in the Field is an anthology of twenty-first century ethnographic research and writing about the global worlds of home and disjuncture in Asia and the Pacific Islands. These stories reveal novel insights into the serendipitous nature of fieldwork. Unique in its inclusion of "homework"—ethnography that directly engages with issues and identities in which the ethnographer finds political solidarity and belonging in fields at home—the anthology contributes to growing trends that complicate the distinction between "insiders" and "outsiders." The obligations that fieldwork engenders among researchers and local communities are exemplified by contributors who are often socially engaged with the peoples and places they work. In its focus on Asia and the Pacific Islands, the collection offers ethnographic updates on topics that range from ritual money burning in China to the militarization of Hawai'i to the social role of text messages in identifying marriage partners in Vanuatu to the cultural power of robots in Japan. Thought provoking, sometimes humorous, these cultural encounters will resonate with readers and provide valuable talking points for exploring the human diversity that makes the study of ourselves and each other simultaneously rewarding and challenging.
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Papers by Suzanne S. Finney
Conference Presentations by Suzanne S. Finney
In August 2022 I was able to travel to Tobi Island and Hotsarihi on a government sponsored resupply and transit trip. These trips are planned several times a year to bring people and supplies (mostly food) to and from Tobi and to resupply the rangers who live at Hotsarihi to monitor illegal activity in the protected waters of the area. During the one-week trip several people very familiar with the area mentioned they knew of five shipwrecks at Hotsarihi (Helen Reef), one at Tobi, and two at Merir in Sonsoral State. This presentation discusses my observations as well as the potential for conducting a possibly multi-disciplinary research project surveying the shipwrecks and other submerged cultural material in this under-investigated area of the Pacific.
To describe these sites and features within the context of an encompassing historic landscape might be considered a practical interpretation, but this interpretation is not compatible with the larger and more significant concepts within Palauan cultural and traditional heritage, a heritage spanning thousands of years and which contain both the tangible and the intangible in ways that the material remains of Japanese occupation do not. This paper discusses the results of fieldwork conducted in 2011-2012 and how the historic material has been categorized by the BAC/HPO in their inventory.
Co-author: Sylvia Kloulubak (BAC/HPO)
Presented at the Society for American Archaeology 2013 meeting
The Charles W. Morgan is the last 19th century American whaling vessel still afloat. Built in 1841, the whaler completed 37 voyages in 80 years. In the 20th century the Charles W. Morgan was moved to Mystic, Connecticut and is now a primary attraction of Mystic Seaport. Recently restored for sailing, the 38th voyage of the Charles W. Morgan took place this past summer. The voyage was an opportunity for scholars, artists, writers and researchers to glimpse the world of whaling by sailing on the vessel during its voyage around southern New England.
The archaeological evidence of whaling can be seen through the wrecks of whaling ships, the remains of whaling stations, and shipwreck survivors' camps that are found in even the most distant corners of the Pacific. The information contained in such sites has proven potential to inform researchers from a range of disciplines including archaeology, historical ecology, biology, and conservation science. Due to the remote locations of many of these sites and the limited resources available for accessing and studying them, multidisciplinary approaches to their investigation offer researchers and heritage managers cost effective options for gleaning valuable data.
Talks by Suzanne S. Finney
Books by Suzanne S. Finney
In August 2022 I was able to travel to Tobi Island and Hotsarihi on a government sponsored resupply and transit trip. These trips are planned several times a year to bring people and supplies (mostly food) to and from Tobi and to resupply the rangers who live at Hotsarihi to monitor illegal activity in the protected waters of the area. During the one-week trip several people very familiar with the area mentioned they knew of five shipwrecks at Hotsarihi (Helen Reef), one at Tobi, and two at Merir in Sonsoral State. This presentation discusses my observations as well as the potential for conducting a possibly multi-disciplinary research project surveying the shipwrecks and other submerged cultural material in this under-investigated area of the Pacific.
To describe these sites and features within the context of an encompassing historic landscape might be considered a practical interpretation, but this interpretation is not compatible with the larger and more significant concepts within Palauan cultural and traditional heritage, a heritage spanning thousands of years and which contain both the tangible and the intangible in ways that the material remains of Japanese occupation do not. This paper discusses the results of fieldwork conducted in 2011-2012 and how the historic material has been categorized by the BAC/HPO in their inventory.
Co-author: Sylvia Kloulubak (BAC/HPO)
Presented at the Society for American Archaeology 2013 meeting
The Charles W. Morgan is the last 19th century American whaling vessel still afloat. Built in 1841, the whaler completed 37 voyages in 80 years. In the 20th century the Charles W. Morgan was moved to Mystic, Connecticut and is now a primary attraction of Mystic Seaport. Recently restored for sailing, the 38th voyage of the Charles W. Morgan took place this past summer. The voyage was an opportunity for scholars, artists, writers and researchers to glimpse the world of whaling by sailing on the vessel during its voyage around southern New England.
The archaeological evidence of whaling can be seen through the wrecks of whaling ships, the remains of whaling stations, and shipwreck survivors' camps that are found in even the most distant corners of the Pacific. The information contained in such sites has proven potential to inform researchers from a range of disciplines including archaeology, historical ecology, biology, and conservation science. Due to the remote locations of many of these sites and the limited resources available for accessing and studying them, multidisciplinary approaches to their investigation offer researchers and heritage managers cost effective options for gleaning valuable data.