The Indo-Pacific region holds one of the richest and most diverse maritime cultural landscapes in the world, encompassing ancient seafaring routes, submerged prehistoric sites, shipwrecks, port settlements, and coastal ritual spaces. Recent advances in underwater technologies, interdisciplinary approaches, and regional collaborations have rapidly expanded the scope of maritime and underwater archaeology across the region. This session seeks to highlight new findings, methodologies, and theoretical contributions that are reshaping our understanding of past human interactions with aquatic environments in the Indo-Pacific.

We invite papers that present recent fieldwork, underwater site assessments, maritime heritage management strategies, or innovative research on navigation, maritime trade, seascape use, and submerged cultural heritage. The session also aims to foster dialogue and will emphasise future directions for the field on the challenges and opportunities in including the integration of maritime archaeology within broader landscape and climate frameworks; the role of local and Indigenous knowledge systems; ethical and inclusive approaches to maritime heritage stewardship, and the need for regional collaboration in capacity-building, policy-making, and data sharing. By bringing together scholars, practitioners, and policymakers, this session will explore future directions for a more integrated and sustainable approach to maritime and underwater archaeology in the Indo-Pacific.