Theme:
5. (Extreme) Environments – Islands, Coasts, Margins, Centres
Session format:
Regular session
Title:
Reconstructing Human-Environment Relationships in Extreme Environments: The Roles of Geoarchaeology, Zooarchaeology, and Archaeobotany in Water-Dominated and in Water-Deprived Landscapes
Content:
Interdisciplinary approaches to the reconstruction of past human-environment relationships have become standard practice in archaeological research. The integration of results from geoarchaeological, zooarchaeological, and archaeobotanical research plays an especially important role when human settlement developed in ‘extreme’ environments, such as water-dominated (e.g. river deltas, lagoons, archipelagos) and water-deprived landscapes (e.g. desertic and semi-desertic regions). Here, these disciplines face peculiar challenges and opportunities, with methods and research questions having to be constantly adapted based on site accessibility, preservation conditions, and the nature of past and present human occupation. Research projects in past human interactions with water-dominated and water-deprived landscapes also provide a historical background to current climate change-related draughts and floodings, whether as isolated events or longer-term changes in environmental conditions, which are increasingly impacting on modern communities throughout the world and imposing constant re-assessments of water management policies. This session invites presentations integrating evidence from geoarchaeological, zooarchaeological, and/or archaeobotanical research focusing on specific sites and regions where water or its absence impacted on the nature of human settlement. The session aims to provide a common platform for researchers tackling human-environment relationships in such peculiar environments, from northern Europe to the Mediterranean, and from prehistoric times to the Modern Era.
Keywords:
human-environment relationships, ‘extreme’ environments, geoarchaeology, zooarchaeology, archaeobotany
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:
Mauro Rizzetto (Italy) 1
Co-organisers:
Alexandra Bivolaru (Italy) 1
Enrique Aragón-Nuñez (Spain) 2
Silvia Garavello (Italy) 1
Alessandra Forti (Italy) 1
Affiliations:
1. Ca' Foscari University of Venice
2. University of Almeria
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