How does the Library of Congress Subject Headings provide access for maritime materials in anthropology and sociology?
There are a number of headings available to describe maritime materials.
To begin with there is the subject heading “Maritime anthropology” which is the term LCSH uses for Marine anthropology, Marine ethnology and Maritime ethnology. There is also the narrower term “Fishing villages.” Finally, there is the term “Island people.” All of these headings can be subdivided by geographic places.
For works dealing with maritime captures the correct LCSH term is “Capture at sea” and for maritime discoveries the broader term “Discoveries in geography” is used. There is no narrower term for discoveries in various landscapes, nor can this subject heading be subdivided by place. For the discoveries in a place the heading for the place is used subdivided by “Discovery and exploration” (eg. China—Discovery and exploration).
In terms of archaeology, other terms are used in LCSH. The most common one is “Underwater archaeology” which is used for submarine archaeology, marine archaeology, and nautical archaeology. There is also the related term “Marine archaeologists” as well as the broader term “Underwater exploration.” All of these subject headings can be subdivided by place.
For land sites that are waterlogged or wetland archaeology, LCSH uses “Water-saturated sites (Archaeology).” Another available subject heading is “Coastal archaeology” which is used for coastal sites or the antiquities of coastal regions. Both of these subject headings can be subdivided by place.
There are also a few headings for prehistoric or proto-historic peoples or sites. For palafittes or pile-dwellings, the term “Lake dwellers and lake dwellings” is used. This heading can be subdivided by place. Instead of the term “crannogs” the above term is subdivided by Ireland or Scotland (eg. Lake dwellers and lake dwellings—Ireland). The related term “Terremare” is also established and can be subdivided by place.
Finally, there are, of course, all of the various place names for coastal or maritime areas. These can be combined with a variety of subdivisions (eg. Atlantic Coast (Angola)—Social conditions) or be used as subdivisions (Applied sociology—North Sea Region). Some examples are:
- Fens, The (England)
- Mediterranean Region
- North Sea
- North Sea Coast (England and Scotland)
- Pacific Coast (Australia)
- Warriewood Wetland (N.S.W.)
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