Abstract
Marine environments are rich in natural resources, and therefore, have been targeted for human occupation from at least the Pleistocene. In the modern day, the preservation and documentation of the physical archaeological evidence of human occupation and use of coasts, islands, and the ocean must now include mitigating the impacts of global climate change. Here, I review recent efforts to document archaeological sites across the islands of Polynesia using geospatial technology, specifically remote sensing, high-resolution documentation, and the creation of archaeological site geodatabases. I discuss these geospatial technologies in terms of planning for likely future impacts from sea level rise; a problem that will be felt across the region, and based on current evidence, will affect more than 12% of all known sites in New Zealand (Aotearoa).
Highlights
Marine environments are rich in natural resources, and have been targeted for human occupation in the Pacific from at least the Pleistocene
The preservation and documentation of the physical archaeological evidence of human occupation and use of coasts, islands, and the ocean must include mitigating the impacts of global climate change, especially projected rising sea levels
Known trends in sea level rise [4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11] and coastal erosion [12,13,14] makes sites located in marine environments especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change
Summary
Marine environments are rich in natural resources, and have been targeted for human occupation in the Pacific from at least the Pleistocene (see [2] for a recent review). I review recent efforts to document archaeological sites in different coastal and marine environments across the islands of Polynesia using geospatial technology, remote sensing, high-resolution documentation, and archaeological site geodatabases. Other technologies that might be applied, for example declassified satellite imagery, have not been used in the region Still other technologies, such as the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, are not yet well represented in peer-reviewed literature when it comes to studies relevant to the effects of climate change on coasts. There are other consequences of climate change that will impact archaeology, for example drought and increased occurrences of wild fires, but my focus here is on coasts and near shore marine environments. I primarily discuss the scientific losses due to climate change with the recognition that all of these locations have cultural value to the communities that live there today [28]
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