Environmental Archaeology

Abstract

Environmental archaeology is a sub-discipline within archaeology concerned with the ways in which past human communities interacted with, modified, and were impacted by their environments and changes thereof. The foundation of environmental archaeology is a methodological fellowship with neighboring disciplines such as zoology and geology; environmental archaeological interpretations are commonly based on the analysis of biological or geological samples from archaeological sites or landscapes. Recent methodological developments allowing the ever more extensive capture of ancient biomolecules but also increasing geochemical resolution are expanding the analytical horizons of environmental archaeology. At the same time, the notion of the Anthropocene and its associated discourse are moving environmental archaeology into a more theoretically nuanced and politically aware position.