Surgery at Sea: An Analysis of Shipboard Medical Practitioners and Their Instrumentation

Abstract

Shipboard life has long been of interest to maritime history and archaeology researchers. Historical research into maritime medical practices, however, rarely uses archaeological data to support its claims. The primary objective of this thesis is to incorporate data sets from the medical assemblages of two shipwreck sites and one museum along with historical data into a comparative analysis. Using the methods of material culture theory and pattern recognition, this thesis will explore changes in western maritime medical practices as compared to land-based practices over time.