Hard Times for Small Craft: A Study of the Wright's Creek Abandoned Vessel Complex

Understanding the role of maritime activities in a rural environment provides answers to questions concerning economic, social and technological changes in small communities. The archaeological study of vessel abandonment attempts to understand these changes and provide a model for the explanation of the evolution of vernacular shipbuilding and local maritime history. Despite our ability to learn much from maritime abandonment sites, they have only recently become a subject of intense study. Many studies concentrate on ships or large, oceangoing vessels as opposed to boats, smaller vessels typically built for specialized use on a river or other inland body of water. Consequently, there is a lack of knowledge concerning vernacular shipbuilding techniques, the evolution of local maritime history, and vessel abandonment behaviors in this environment.

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