Michael Arbuthnot

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Michael Alexander Arbuthnot (born 9 June 1970) is an archaeologist, instructor and archaeological filmmaker.

Contents

Education and awards

Michael A. Arbuthnot [1] received his bachelor's degree in Philosophy and minor in Anthropology from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1996. He holds a master's degree in Anthropology from Florida State University. He specialized in underwater archaeology and graduated magna cum laude.

Arbuthnot is an active member in many professional organizations, including: the Registry of Professional Archaeologists (RPA); the Florida Archaeological Council (FAC); the Southeastern Archaeological Conference (SEAC); the Florida Anthropological Society (FAS); the American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS); and the St. Augustine Archaeological Association (SAAA).

In addition to being the author of many published articles and papers, Arbuthnot is considered an authority on submerged prehistoric sites. He focused his thesis on paleo-environmental change and the impact it has on archaeological sites in the Gulf of Mexico.

Arbuthnot's research has been presented at many conferences, including the Society for American Archaeology, the Northeast Florida Symposium on Underwater Archaeology, the annual meeting of the Florida Anthropological Society, and the Southeastern Archaeological Conference. The results of his research in the Caribbean are now exhibited at the George Town Museum on Grand Cayman Island.

Titanic

Michael Arbuthnot is currently a faculty member at Flagler College, located in historic downtown St. Augustine, Florida. There, he teaches his students about the fascinating world of archaeology, which included a field expedition to the RMS Titanic. He hopes to set aside the boring impression people have of archaeology, saying, “People have this idea of archaeologists sitting there with a brush and a toothpick, but it can be exciting.” [2]

Arbuthnot's trip to the Titanic took him 12,600 feet below the ocean's surface. James Cameron, the producer, writer, and director of the movie “Titanic” recruited Arbuthnot in 2005 to work on the first systematic archeological survey of Titanic's internal bow structure. Findings from this survey were shown in the Discovery Channel special “Last Mysteries of the Titanic” and will exhibited as part of the Titanic Legacy Database Project presently in development with the non-profit digital historic preservation organization, CyArk.

Team Atlantis

Arbuthnot founded Team Atlantis Productions in 1996. The name, of course, is a play on the mythical underwater city of Atlantis. Arbuthnot defines Team Atlantis, saying, “TA is a multi-disciplinary outfit whose mission is to explore archeological mysteries with an emphasis on those enigmas associated with underwater contexts.” [3] Because underwater archeological sites usually have some connection with sites on land, Team Atlantis is not restricted to only underwater locations.

Team Atlantis has explored and surveyed many sites around the world, [4] including:

More about La Jolla

Team Atlantis Productions plan to open the eyes of the public to archaeological mysteries off the coast of San Diego through their show, “La Jolla’s Sunken City.” Michael Arbuthnot, the Writer/Producer of the show, paired with Director/Editor David Faires, to take underwater cinematography to new depths.

“Not only is Mike Arbuthnot the Writer/Producer, but he is rapidly becoming one of the most recognizable archaeologists in the United States. As a young professional archaeologist and former college professor, Arbuthnot has been featured on ABC, Discovery Channel and the Learning Channel. Most recently Arbuthnot conducted the first archaeological survey of the famous shipwreck R.M.S. Titanic with film maker and explorer James Cameron on Discovery Channel’s televised event, Last Mysteries of the Titanic. He continues to excite audiences and historians alike by blending ancient history and archaeology with filmmaking.” [5]

As stated previously, artifacts were first found in the early 1900s. Children would return to the shore from playing in the shallow water with small stone bowls. Scuba diving became increasingly popular in the 1950s, leading to more exploring around La Jolla. Due to this exploration, more than 2000 artifacts have been recovered. Some date to more than 5000 years ago. At least 34 submerged sites have been discovered in places as deep as 30 meters. Some scientists believe that La Jolla is an entire sunken village. In “La Jolla’s Sunken City,” Arbuthnot and Faires explore several hypotheses concerning how these objects were originally deposited, and they reveal never before seen artifacts.

Arbuthnot had trouble at the beginning of the expedition, but was eventually successful in finding artifacts at La Jolla. According to the CineForm article on La Jolla: Their success was aided by the help of a small octopus. A diver was tracking it, when the octopus stopped behind a round stone. This ‘stone’ turned out to be a beautiful stone bowl, which eventually led the team to discovering a total of six artifacts in 20 feet of water. Arbuthnot speculates that these ancient finds date to between 4,000 and 7,000 years ago! [5]

Currently

Arbuthnot has worked on underwater archaeology projects in Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, and the Caribbean since 1997. He has surveyed, mapped, excavated, interpreted and analyzed artifacts, and published reports on a variety of diverse archaeological sites. He continues his work, based mainly in Florida. He also functions as Newsletter Editor for the Florida Archaeological Council.

Arbuthnot presently serves as a Senior Project Manager for SEARCH, a leading cultural resource company based in Florida. [6]

Arbuthnot is working with the Discovery Channel to create the television show "America's Lost Vikings", about the location of the mythical Viking Vinland, and where they may have settled along Canada and the United States. [7]

Secret Worlds with Michael Arbuthnot

Arbuthnot's documentary Secret Worlds with Mike Arbuthnot began airing on the travel channel in 2010. [8]

Family

Born in Oakland, California, son of Robert Murray Arbuthnot, Michael is married to Serena Lynn Conrad who had two sons by her first marriage. They live in St Augustine, Florida. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maritime archaeology</span> Archaeological study of human interaction with the sea

Maritime archaeology is a discipline within archaeology as a whole that specifically studies human interaction with the sea, lakes and rivers through the study of associated physical remains, be they vessels, shore-side facilities, port-related structures, cargoes, human remains and submerged landscapes. A specialty within maritime archaeology is nautical archaeology, which studies ship construction and use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Underwater archaeology</span> Archaeological techniques practiced at underwater sites

Underwater archaeology is archaeology practiced underwater. As with all other branches of archaeology, it evolved from its roots in pre-history and in the classical era to include sites from the historical and industrial eras. Its acceptance has been a relatively late development due to the difficulties of accessing and working underwater sites, and because the application of archaeology to underwater sites initially emerged from the skills and tools developed by shipwreck salvagers. As a result, underwater archaeology initially struggled to establish itself as actual archaeological research. This changed when universities began teaching the subject and a theoretical and practical base for the sub-discipline was firmly established in the late 1980’s. Underwater archaeology now has a number of branches including, maritime archaeology: the scientifically based study of past human life, behaviours and cultures and their activities in, on, around and (lately) under the sea, estuaries and rivers. This is most often effected using the physical remains found in, around or under salt or fresh water or buried beneath water-logged sediment. In recent years, the study of submerged WWII sites and of submerged aircraft in the form of underwater aviation archaeology have also emerged as bona fide activity.

The year 2000 in archaeology included many events, some of which are listed below.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abu Qir Bay</span> A bay on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt

The Abū Qīr Bay is a spacious bay on the Mediterranean Sea near Alexandria in Egypt, lying between the Rosetta mouth of the Nile and the town of Abu Qir. The ancient cities of Canopus, Heracleion and Menouthis lie submerged beneath the waters of the bay. In 1798 it was the site of the Battle of the Nile, a naval battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the navy of the French First Republic. The bay contains a natural gas field, discovered in the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yonaguni Monument</span> Submerged rock formation off the coast of Japan

The Yonaguni Monument, also known as "Yonaguni (Island) Submarine Ruins", is a submerged rock formation off the coast of Yonaguni, the southernmost of the Ryukyu Islands, in Japan. It lies approximately a hundred kilometres east of Taiwan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archaeology of shipwrecks</span> Study of human activity through the analysis of shipwreck artifacts

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Franck Goddio is a French underwater archaeologist who, in 2000, discovered the city of Thonis-Heracleion 7 km off the Egyptian shore in Aboukir Bay. He led the excavation of the submerged site of Eastern Canopus and of Antirhodos in the ancient harbour of Alexandria. He has also excavated ships in the waters of the Philippines, significantly the Spanish galleon San Diego.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">George R. Fischer</span> American underwater archaeologist

George Robert Fischer was an American underwater archaeologist, considered the founding father of the field in the National Park Service. A native Californian, he did undergraduate and graduate work at Stanford University, and began his career with the National Park Service in 1959, which included assignments in six parks, the Washington, D.C. Office, and the Southeast Archaeological Center from which he retired in 1988. He began teaching courses in underwater archaeology at Florida State University in 1974 and co-instructed inter-disciplinary courses in scientific diving techniques. After retirement from the NPS his FSU activities were expanded and his assistance helped shape the university's program in underwater archaeology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heracleion</span> Ancient Egyptian city

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J&J Hunt Site (8JE740) is an inundated prehistoric archaeological site located 6 km off the coast of northwestern Florida. The site which was discovered in 1989 is located in 3.7 to 4.6 m of salt water in the Gulf of Mexico along the PaleoAucilla River. In prehistory the site had at least two different occupations: a Late Paleoindian-Early Archaic and Middle Archaic. The J&J Hunt site was a major focus of the PaleoAucilla Prehistory Project conducted by Michael K. Faught.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles T. Meide</span> American underwater archaeologist

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David Moore is an American archaeologist and historian. He is best known for his work on the Blackbeard's Queen Anne's Revenge Shipwreck Project. The Queen Anne's Revenge was the flagship of the infamous pirate Blackbeard. He used her for less than a year, but she was an effective tool in his prize-taking.

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María del Pilar Luna Erreguerena was a Mexican underwater archaeologist, pioneer in the field of archaeology, who founded the Division of Underwater Archaeology of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH). She was awarded her undergraduate degree by the National School of Anthropology and History and the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), from which she then obtained her master's degree in Anthropological Sciences.

This page lists major events of 2019 in archaeology.

References

  1. "teamatlantis". Archived from the original on 2008-05-14.
  2. Michael Arbuthnot: Archaeologist and Adjunct Instructor. Archived 2008-04-11 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Arbuthnot, Michael. Ed. Preston Peet. Underground! The Disinformation Guide to Ancient Civilizations, Astonishing Archaeology and Hidden History. The Disinformation Company, 2005. (302).
  4. Underwater Adventures. Archived 2008-05-14 at the Wayback Machine
  5. 1 2 Mysterious Adventures of La Jolla’s Sunken City. Archived 2007-10-04 at archive.today
  6. SEARCH Staff.
  7. "500 YEARS BEFORE COLUMBUS, THE VIKINGS LANDED IN NORTH AMERICA – BUT HOW FAR DID THEY EXPLORE? AMERIca's LOST VIKINGS NEW SCIENCE CHANNEL SERIES PREMIERES FEBRUARY 10 – Discovery, Inc".
  8. "Secret Worlds". 2 July 2010.
  9. "family tree". Archived from the original on April 28, 2006.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)