Public Archaeology in Penghu: Understanding Community Perceptions of Underwater Cultural Heritage

This activity was a special lecture titled “Underwater Cultural Heritage and Public Archaeology” on April 28, featuring Zheng Ying, who shared her research on Penghu’s underwater cultural heritage and the methodological approaches of public archaeology. Drawing from her master’s thesis, she introduced her firsthand field experience in conducting underwater site surveys in Penghu, and highlighted how the perspectives, concerns, and lived experiences of local residents are frequently overlooked in heritage investigation and preservation. She emphasized the necessity of incorporating community viewpoints to better understand local expectations and apprehensions regarding underwater sites.

Methodologically, the speaker reflected on her use of questionnaire surveys, noting that in the absence of quantitative data on public awareness, questionnaires can provide a crucial point of entry before conducting interviews and participant observation. She stressed that effective research design must begin with clear objectives, target groups, and guiding questions to ensure that collected data truly represents local experiences.

The latter half of the lecture addressed the significance of “archaeological ethnography,” including the neglect of local subjective interpretations, conflicts arising from knowledge gaps, and the value of incorporating the experiential knowledge of fishermen, divers, and amateur collectors into heritage protection. Using the Manxing Maru shipwreck in Penghu as a case study, Zheng illustrated how accompanying local communities offshore allowed her to document their interactions with the site, turning the shipwreck into an “event” shaped by human–place relations and offering insights for improving management strategies.

Class discussion further expanded to institutional mechanisms, community participation models, communication with diving industries, and the balance between access and protection, deepening students’ understanding of underwater cultural heritage governance and public engagement.