Advisory Council on Underwater Archaeology

The Advisory Council on Underwater Archaeology (ACUA) is an independent, non-profit organization closely affiliated with the Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA). The ACUA actively works with the SHA to help organize the annual Conference on Historical and Underwater Archaeology by working with the SHA Conference Committee to select an underwater program chair for the annual conference and to organize events at the meetings focused on underwater issues. The organization also collaborates with the SHA Board and various SHA committees on underwater issues. The ACUA publishes the annual Underwater Archaeology Proceedings, consisting of papers presented at the Society for Historical Archaeology's annual Conference on Historical and Underwater Archaeology. The ACUA also produces an annual calendar composed of award-winning photographs from the annual ACUA Photo Competition held each year at the SHA conference. In these roles, the ACUA serves and represents the maritime and underwater archaeology constituency of the SHA. At the same time, the ACUA seeks to broaden the SHA’s membership by encouraging not only historical archaeologists working underwater to attend the annual conferences, but also prehistoric, classical, and other researchers working in the underwater realm.