THE SCRIPPS CENTER FOR MARINE ARCHAEOLOGY

Marine Environments and Human Society
Searching the Seas for Clues to Humanity's Past, Present and Future

The Scripps Center for Marine Archaeology (SCMA) conducts research to study and understand the relationship between the marine environment and human societies. Initially founded in 2015 as a collaboration between the faculty of UC San Diego’s Department of Anthropology and Scripps Institution of Oceanography, our students, faculty, and researchers engage in interdisciplinary classes, workshops, discussions, and projects to study the human-marine interactions as well as climate and environments worldwide. 

NEWS

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May 16, 2026

SCMA Grad Student Research Highlights: Prehistoric Fisheries Studies in Taiwan

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April 11, 2026

SCMA and UCSD Environmental Archaeology attend Barrio Logan Art and Science Festival

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March 13, 2026

Marine Archaeology Students Present Posters and Family-Friendly Activities at Birch Aquarium

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The Scripps Center for Marine Archaeology is proud to be a member of the

UNITWIN Network for Underwater Archaeology

OUR PARTNERS

UNIVERSITY PARTNERS

Universidad de Puerto Rico (Rio Piedras, Mayaguez, Humacao, Arecibo)
Universidad Externado de Colombia
Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan
University College London
Lieden University
University of Haifa (Marine Geosciences)
Polytechnic University of Turin
University of Winnipeg
McMaster University
University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Northwestern University
Georgia State University
East Tennessee State University
University of Miami

GOVERNMENTAL AND NGO PARTNERS

Submerged Resources Center, US National Park Service
Subdireccion de Arqueologia Subacuatica del INAH
Centro Investigador del Sistema Acuifero de Q. Roo (CINDAQ)
Mar Sustentable
Climate Science Alliance
Bermuda Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources
Nautical Archaeology Society
Institute of Nautical Archaeology

Featured Video:

Getting Our Climate Act Together: Climate  and Community

Climate Change is here and our communities are personally impacted each and every day. The SCMA is working to 1) study how the processes of climate change is threatening the physical remains of our cultural heritage and 2) collaborate with communities to understand how these same sites contribute to local identities and 3) determine what can be done to prevent disasters.
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