Read the passage below:
Recent excavation efforts at the ancient maritime settlement of Pavlopetri have forced archaeologists to reexamine established timelines regarding early Mediterranean trade networks. For decades, prevailing theories asserted that seafaring commerce during the Bronze Age was restricted to seasonal, coastal routes due to primitive navigational technology. However, the discovery of deep-water cargo debris containing manufactured obsidian tools suggests that mariners routinely ventured across open waters. Scholars initially worried that exposure to turbulent offshore currents would compromise the structural integrity of small wooden vessels, thereby rendering trans-Mediterranean voyages impossibly hazardous. Yet acoustic mapping of submerged hull fragments reveals advanced joinery techniques designed specifically to absorb hydrodynamic stress. Consequently, researchers now argue that ancient shipbuilders possessed a far more sophisticated understanding of nautical engineering than previously acknowledged, necessitating a significant revision of pre-classical economic history.
In the context of the passage, what is the contextual meaning of the word compromise as used in the fourth sentence?
Answer: jeopardize / endanger / undermine / impair / weaken / damage