MARITIME ARCHAEOLOGY IN MEXICO

The Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia (INAH), federal agency dedicated to the research, preservation, protection and dissemination of the archaeological, anthropological and historical heritage of Mexico was established in 1939. In 1980, within this institute, an underwater archaeological area was created in order to focus its efforts on the underwater cultural heritage that lies in Mexican marine and continental waters. After 37 years of underwater archaeological practice in Mexico, the Underwater Archaeology Vice-Directorate efforts have been aimed to consolidate this area through the search of specific shipwreck sites, the integration of inventories of submerged cultural resources and, in the past two years, the study of a particular historical shipwreck site. This text includes a brief review about the ongoing researches of this institution related to maritime archaeology, its development and achievements, and deal in detail with the interdisciplinary studies that we are carrying out at El Angel, a shipwreck located in Chinchorro Bank. This work is framed in an underwater cultural resources management project, which includes the archaeological research of this and other shipwrecks.