“Social Significance of Ocean Voyages”
The conference is dedicated to how (pre)historical or experimental voyages influenced the society they were a part of or the society with which they came in contact.

In 2008 the first Early Man and the Ocean Conference was organized with the topic “Current Knowledge of Ancient Navigation and Sailing Techniques”. This conference was entirely devoted to maritime experimental archaeology and in particular to what this approach has gained in terms of knowledge of ancient sailing techniques and ancient navigation. The conference was a success,and a monograph with the papers from that conference is underway.

In 2010 we will expand the topic to include the social significance of Ocean Voyages in general. The most famous in terms of geographical exploration are the three voyages of discovery which Captain Cook undertook during the end of the 18th century. These were highly important voyages for the European economy and politics, but it also affected the self-image of the western world. More importantly they had a deep impact on the societies that were “discovered” and recorded. Equally famous are the expeditions to and exploration of the Polar Regions. The early attempts at finding a secure route through the north-west passage were the first modern contact between Europeans and Inuit communities and had a huge impact on the latter. Maritime experimental voyages can also have huge impact on the scientific and popular cultures, as did the Kon-Tiki Expedition, or on politics as did the Ra Expeditions in terms of putting focus on the pollution of the world’s oceans. More modern experimental voyages, like the replica Viking ship Sea Stallion from Glendalough, created new standards for accuracy in maritime experiments.

There will be three sessions during the 2010 conference. The first is going to be devoted to maritime experimental archaeology, while the others will also open up for more general archaeological, anthropological or historical perspectives.

1. Significance of the maritime experiment – social and technological.
To what extent can maritime experimental voyages have social significance? How does this play out? Could experimental voyages have influences of technological choices for the future? To what extent is a technological driven approach to maritime experimental archaeology significant for the development of the discipline?

2. Significance of Ocean Voyages 1 – Oceans Connect
We know that historical voyages have in certain cases had a huge impact on both the societies that undertook them and the communities that became the target for these voyages. This range from accidental encounters when ships were blown out of course to planned convoys for the enslavement of coastal and island peoples. In certain cases like the Norse Viking colony on Greenland and some of the smaller islands in the Pacific, the lack of maritime communication with other societies has been advanced as one important reason why these societies disappeared.

Likewise it is known that replica voyages, like the Kon-Tiki, Ra Expeditions and the Hokule’a in Hawai’i have had huge impact on popular culture, politics or on cultural revival and pride.

3. Significance of Ocean Voyages 2 – The Sea as a Social Space
Ocean space has been conceived differently through time, and these conceptions have shaped the way societies operate in several aspects. The third session will look at the construction of sea space in cross-cultural perspectives.

Please send suggestions for papers before January 15. 2010. We intend to publish the papers in a joint publication by all the museums.

Time: 23rd to 26th of September 2010

Place: the Kon-Tiki Museum, the Norwegian Maritime Museum, and the Fram Museum, Bygdøynes, Oslo, Norway
For questions or information please contact one of the following organizers:

The Kon-Tiki Museum
Bygdøynesveien 36, 0286 Oslo, Norway
Ph. (+47) 23 08 67 67, Fax: (+47) 23 08 67 60
Maja Bauge, Director, Ph. (+47) 23 08 67 61, m.bauge@kon-tiki.no
Reidar Solsvik, Associated Researcher, Ph. (+47) 23 08 67 77 or (+47) 91 80 80 23, reidar.solsvik@kon-tiki.no
Halfdan Tangen jr, Marketing manager/PR, responsible for the film festival,
Ph. (+47) 23 08 67 63 or (+47) 47 37 52 60; h.tangen@kon-tiki.no

Norwegian Maritime Museum
Per G. Norseng, Head of Research, Ph. (+47) 24 11 41 58 or (+47) 91 79 29 37, per.norseng@norsk-sjofartsmuseum.no
Frode Kvalø, Head of Archaeology, Ph. (+47) 40 03 48 56, Frode.Kvalo@norsk-sjofartsmuseum.no
Eivind Bagle, Head of Information Department, Ph. (+47) 24 11 41 65,Eivind.Bagle@norsk-sjofartsmuseum.no

Museum of Cultural History // The Viking Ship Museum
Jan Bill, Professor of Archaeology, Ph. (+47) 22 13 52 80 jan.bill@khm.uio.no

The Fram Museum
Geir Kløver, Director, Ph. (+47) 23 28 29 50, Geir@fram.museum.no

Lunch: A simple do-it-yourself-lunch will be provided for free both days.
Accommodation and dinners: we kindly ask the participants to arrange this themselves.