Archaeology Can Help Us Plan for Climate Change

 This week we are going to wrap up our climate change series with a discussion on how archaeology can and does contribute to our understanding of climate change. Archaeologists have long studied the effects of natural and man-made disasters and they have already seen evidence of climate change and sea level rise. Climate disasters, ranging from storms to sea level rise, both reveal and threaten archaeological sites. Archaeologists have been studying climate change in one form or another for about 150 years. 

There are numerous examples of archaeologists studying evidence of past climate change events and sustainability practices from long ago. Dr. Kenneth Sassaman has studied how people on the North Florida Gulf Coast have lived and adapted over 5,000 years of climate change and sea level fluctuation. Early people in this region would move at the rate of a football field every five years to adjust to sea level changes. He also noted changes in their diet that reflect possible climatic changes. 

Archaeologists in Iceland have been studying an area that is a known breeding ground for North American and Eurasian waterfowl. It is an area known for its great diversity in waterfowl species. Archaeologists have noted the remains of waterfowl eggs at sites, but not waterfowl bones. They have identified terrestrial bird bones, so they believe the lack of waterfowl bones is indicative of early sustainability practices. Even today, that area has limits on the number of eggs that can be harvested. Historic documents note that these types of sustainability practices have been taking place since at least the 18th century, but archaeological evidence shows that they may have been occurring even earlier.

Native Americans are reintroducing cultural 
burning to California as a means to address
wildfires. (photo courtesy of NPR)

In California, archaeologists, along with ecologists, botanists, and other scientists, are all working to inform policy discussions regarding current and future improvements to fire management practices. In this case, indigenous histories can provide guidance on how to improve current fire management practices and wildfire response. In California Native American groups are starting to institute the practice of cultural burning, something that has not been done for almost a century since Western settlers arrived in the area. 

Both mitigation and adaptation regulate changes in human behavior. Archaeology can provide information on how we can adapt and mitigate issues like climate change based on how we have done so in the past. Archaeology is currently not widely thought of as a contributor to our scientific understanding of climate change and how we can address it. The only time we really see archaeology as a significant contributor is in respect to how climate change will and is impacting indigenous groups. However, it is important to remember that indigenous groups are contemporary communities, and have the same concerns as every other community. They have concerns over health, economic vitality, infrastructure, and all communities have culture and heritage. Therefore, the information that archaeologists garner from studying any community can be used to help us gain a better understanding of how to address climate change. That being said, indigenous and other minority communities are at greater risk, as we have previously mentioned, and thus it is important that they take priority.