A free online seminar hosted by the Australasian Society for Historical Archaeology (ASHA) as part of the 2024 Online Seminar Series.

ASHA's third 2024 online seminar will be on Navigation: How we as humans perceive the world around us. Maori and European perspectives, presented by Bill Edwards on Wednesday 24 July 2024. The seminar will start at 6pm AEST/ 4pm AWST / 5.30pm ACST / 8pm NZDT.

The seminar will run for 45 to 50 minutes, followed by a Q&A session. All bookings will be through Humanitix (link is below). A Zoom link will be sent to your registered email address closer to the date of the event. We look forward to seeing you – virtually!

Navigation: How we as humans perceive the world around us. Maori and European perspectives

Bill Edwards

Different cultures use various navigation tools to achieve an understanding of location in space. This seminar will explore three different types of navigation that all utilise the Te Whanau Marama (the family of stars) for direction-finding. The presentation will examine differing views of ocean navigation including Polynesian and European techniques. It will examine two early 18th-century European navigators to New Zealand, James Cook and Marc Joseph Marion du Frense, by using their charts, logs and archaeological evidence of their stay in the Bay of islands. The seminar will also interrogate their charts and logs to extract precise information on their activities during their visit.

Bill Edwards - Short Bio

Kia ora! My name is Bill Edwards and I work for Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga as an area manager in Northland, New Zealand. My background is in archaeology, and I have some experience in navigating as I have been a sailor and waka paddler on coastal journeys. I am interested in how people have historically found their way across the ocean. Through my research, I have become fascinated not only with the mechanics of navigation, but with the philosophy that underpins it.

When: 6pm AEST / 4pm AWST / 5.30pm ACST / 8pm NZDT, Wednesday 24 July 2024

Where: Online via Zoom

ASHA event webpage: https://asha.org.au/event/2024-online-seminar-series-navigation_how_we_as_humans_perceive_the_world_around_us/

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