Steady as she goes...a test of the Gibbs' model using the Queen Anne's Revenge shipwreck site

The Gibbs' model focuses on cultural site formation processes and provides a process-oriented framework of common human responses to catastrophic situations that includes the tragic loss of ships. It's application to historical and archaeological data gathered from the Queen Anne's Revenge site at Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina, demonstrates that the Gibbs' model facilitates site-specific investigation and comparative studies, and is useful as a resource management tool. The model also provides a vehicle to bring shipwreck studies within mainstream archaeology while highlighting the human stories of struggle and survival that inspire popular interest and participation. Further use and testing is called for and a series of recommendations are provided to refine the Gibbs' model and heighten its effectiveness, particularly in terms of low impact shipwrecks such as Queen Anne's Revenge.