Theme:
2. Net Zero Archaeologies – Sustainability in the Past, Present and Future
Session format:
Regular session
Title:
Within the Cost for People and Earth: Climate Change and Archaeobotanical Heritage
Content:
Climate change, with its expression in the current mounting climate crisis, is threatening life on Earth as we know it. It is already affecting millions of people, their environments, and livelihoods, with extreme weather events: drought and heat in some places; torrential rains and flooding in others. Beyond these devastating consequences for humanity and the planet, climate change as a hazard to archaeological heritage is a topic of concern among archaeologists and related professionals.
This especially impacts the delicate bioarchaeological remains at archaeological sites across different ecological zones. Droughts affect the valuable record kept by waterlogged materials, whilst the accelerating thawing of permafrost results in the loss of invaluable archaeological and archaeobiological remains. The endangered materials include organic plant debris that constitute invaluable and irreplaceable archives for past plant use, management, and roles in diverse – and often sustainable - economies.
As specialists in archaeobotanical heritage, we must prepare to fight this situation BY identifying and initiating courses of action. Firstly, we need to develop a plan to protect the information deposited IN these archaeological archives: Where do we have to intervene most urgently, how much time do we have until it is too late? Secondly, a better understanding of how past communities dealt with climate change may strengthen our own resilience and ability to cope with it. In this respect, reference to Traditional Ecological Knowledge of today’s Indigenous and descendant communities in different ecozones (e.g., nurturing of the local biodiversity) is an essential pillar. Finally, this archaeobotanical and climate change binomial also has a logistical dimension: How are we going to face the increase in conservation costs?
Archaeologists and other scholars wishing to contribute on any of these topics are welcome to submit their proposals for oral and poster communications.
Keywords:
climate change, archaeobotany, resilience, resistance
Session associated with MERC:
no
Session associated with CIfA:
no
Session associated with SAfA:
no
Session associated with CAA:
no
Session associated with DGUF:
no
Session associated with other:
Main organiser:
Marian Berihuete-Azorin (Spain) 1
Co-organisers:
María Martín Seijo (Spain) 2
Céline Kerfant (Spain) 3
Henny Piezonka (Germany) 4
Affiliations:
1. MSCA-IF Postdoctoral Researcher. PHES-CERCA. dificio W3, Campus Sescelades URV, Zona Educacional, 4, 43007 Tarragona, Spain
2. Beatriz Galindo-Junior Distinguished Researcher. Departamento de Ciencias Históricas, Universidad de Cantabria, Avda. Los Castros, s/n, 39005 Santander, Spain
3. Post-doctoral Researcher. Universitat Pompeu i Fabra
4. Juniorprofessur für Anthropologische Archäologie Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel Johanna-Mestorf-Straße 2-6 D - 24118 Kiel
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