Archaeology and coastal conservation

Abstract

People occupied and exploited the world’s coastlines deepin the past, including early modern humans in South Africasome 150,000 to 100,000 years ago (see Bailey and Milner2002; Erlandson 2001; Marean et al. 2007). Through time,coastlines and oceans became increasingly important partsof the human experience, with the ocean acting as agateway for colonization of distant islands and coastlinesand coastal resources forming a fundamental component ofsubsistence economies (Erlandson and Fitzpatrick 2006).Ancient peoples from hunter-gatherers to agriculturalistsalso had an important impact and influence on marineecosystems, ranging from overexploitation of resources(e.g., fish, shellfish, and sea mammals) to environmentalenhancement (see Campbell and Butler 2010; Erlandsonand Rick 2010; Rick and Erlandson 2008, 2009). Duringthe last decade, archaeological research on human alterationof marine, island, and other ecosystems has helped improveour understanding of modern coastal ecosystems andprovided benchmarks and baselines for contemporarymanagement and restoration (Braje 2010; Erlandson andRick 2010; Jackson et al. 2001; Pinnegar and Engelhard2008; Rick and Erlandson 2009). With recognition thatmany marine ecosystems were altered by human activitiesfor decades, centuries, or more prior to modern ecologicalstudies, archaeological data can provide the context forunderstanding prehistoric ecosystem structure and function(see Erlandson and Rick 2010).Coastal regions, which are extremely dynamic, arehighly susceptible to the destructive forces of a widevariety of natural and human-induced processes (e.g.,tectonic and geological instability, tsunamis, volcanism,attrition, wave and tidal action, sea level rise, storm events,near shore development, offshore dredging, and coral orsand mining) that threaten the global coastal archaeologicalrecord. Individually, or in concert, these processes cancause extensive damage to both terrestrial and submergedarchaeological sites; in many cases, catastrophic events maycompletely destroy evidence for past human occupation.Sea level rise, exacerbated by climate change, is aparticularly prominent threat that will erode or destroy amassive number of coastal archaeological sites in thecoming decades. Further complicating the issue is the factthat archaeological sites are non-renewable resources andthe vast majority of coastal sites around the world arethreatened and endangered pieces of coastal history(Erlandson 2008; Fitzpatrick et al. 2006).Because many countries lack sufficient laws to protectarchaeological sites, particularly in coastal areas wheredevelopment is extremely desirable, archaeologists areworking quickly to survey and record the wide array ofprehistoric settlements in these regions before they aredisturbed or destroyed. Given the volume of coastalarchaeological sites around the world, the complexities ofsite preservation, and the dearth of funding, this is often adaunting task that goes unrecognized by the non-