EWA-2: Early Watercraft: Technologies and Use in Maritime Landscapes
Contribute to the 2nd Early Watercraft Association Congress
Closed for submissions.
The Early Watercraft Association invites contributions to EWA-2 in Derry (Londonderry), Northern Ireland, 6-8 November, 2026. Within the congress’s overarching theme, Early Watercraft: Technologies and Use in Maritime Landscapes, papers and other presentations in the following sub-themes are suggested.
| Sub-themes | Example topics |
| Archaeology of Early Watercraft | Maritime landscapes and early watercraft |
| Mobility along waterways in early human groups | |
| Archaeological methods, documentation, and digital approaches | |
| Early Watercraft use and significance | Watercraft, navigation, and seafaring skills |
| Watercraft and trade | |
| Watercraft and fishing/sustenance/gathering | |
| Symbolism and Early Watercraft | The symbolic realm of early watercraft |
| Early watercraft in rock art | |
| Ethnography of Early Watercraft | Building traditional watercraft – ethnographic knowledge, craft, and community |
| Recording and presenting archaeological and ethnographic watercraft | |
| Oral history: early watercraft in stories | |
| Regional Perspectives | Europe |
| The Americas (North, Central, South, Caribbean) | |
| Middle East and Indian Ocean region | |
| Pacific and Oceania | |
| Africa | |
| Public Engagement | Watercraft and museums (curation, exhibition, interpretation) |
| Engaging the public (outreach, education, replica projects) | |
| Experiment and Replication | Experimental archaeology of watercraft |
| Building replica watercraft | |
| Early Watercraft Technology | Design and construction |
| Modeling watercraft performance | |
| Production, repair, maintenance, reuse |
We hope to see all forms of early watercraft represented and considered: dugout boats/logboats, bark boats, skin-on-frame or hide boats, basket boats, rafts, and early plank-built boats.
EWA-2 is not just for the academic/scientific community. We value unique perspectives and contributions of craftspeople, artists, mariners, and other non-academic practitioners, and encourage new ideas and creative approaches. If none of the listed sub-themes fit your idea for a presentation, feel free to recommend your own (but no commercial messaging, please).
Submissions
Please submit the following:
- Author(s): Name, title, affiliation, and country as you wish them to appear in proceedings
- Contact data for corresponding author: email, phone, postal address
- Paper title
- Abstract: 200-300 words
- Suggested sub-theme/category: from the above list or “other” (specify)
- Format: Indicate in-person live presentation, remote live presentation*, in-person panel discussion, or poster paper.
Proposals not accepted for live presentation will be automatically considered for poster papers unless you indicate otherwise.
*Remote live proposals please note: If your proposal is accepted for a livestream presentation, we will also need to receive your presentation prerecorded with media ahead of time as insurance against connectivity issues.
Contact for Submissions
Submissions are closed, but you may contact us at [email protected].