cei·mar

español

The Cultural Value of the Sea

The analysis of the maritime history of our civilizations and their relationship with the sea, the exploration of new territories discovered by sea voyages, the exploitation of marine resources, commerce, the international culture related to the sea; all of this has left us a cultural heritage in our surroundings of immense value. This consists of both Archaeological Heritage, material evidence of man’s use of the sea and the consequences of man’s molding of it over the centuries, as well as the Cultural Heritage of our contemporary society, the expression of which will reach a high point in 2012 with the celebration of the Bicentennial of the Constitution of 1812, which was passed by Las Cortes de Cádiz and produced a change in the political and social order of the epoch. The liberal ideas of this constitution were passed across the seas to Europe and Latin America and inspired the constitutional texts of many other countries.

Both under the sea and in areas under its influence archaeological evidence can be found which justifies the broad development of maritime and sub-aquatic archaeology. These objects and shipwrecks found must be inventoried, studied, conserved and protected from the other activities carried out on coasts as well as from acts of plunder. The resources of the sea in past times are also objects of study as they are of interest to historians and archaeologists in order to understand changes in fishing techniques and the relationship between societies and the sea over time, as well as for matters related to Paleolithic nutrition and commerce.