Sustainability in Ancient Island Societies
Sustainability in Ancient Island Societies
An Archaeology of Human Resilience
Examining dynamic interactions between humans and island environments
This volume explores the impacts humans have made on island and coastal ecosystems and the ways these environments have adapted to anthropogenic changes over the course of millennia. Case studies highlight how island populations developed social and political strategies to effectively manage their ecosystems, ensuring the long-term survival of their societies and the persistence of their cultural traditions.
In case studies from islands in the Pacific, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic, contributors apply resilience theory, historical ecology, niche construction theory, and human behavioral ecology to foreground Indigenous resiliency and sustainability. Modern island and coastal societies face daunting challenges in the decades to come, including climate change, sea level rise, and the loss of habitable lands and heritage resources. Sustainability in Ancient Island Societies argues that the study of past human responses to such changes, especially practices rooted in Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge, can inform solutions to manage these threats today.
Contributors: Rebecca Boger | Emira Ibrahimpasic | Frederique Valentin | Stuart Bedford | Davide Marco Zori | William Jeffery | Denise Elena | Edith Gonzalez | Mark Horrocks | Anaëlle Jallon | Sophia Perdikaris | Iarowoi Philip | Takaronga Kuautonga | Lindsey E. Cochran | Christopher Wolff | Todd Braje | Craig Shapiro | Allison Bain | Dr. Torben C. Rick | James Flexner | Tim Denham | Jon M. Erlandson | Robert Williams | Victor D. Thompson | Scott M. Fitzpatrick | Julie Field | Kristina M. Gill | Sandrine Grouard
A volume in the series Society and Ecology in Island and Coastal Archaeology, edited by Victor D. Thompson and Scott M. Fitzpatrick
“This volume represents a shift away from narratives that focus on the negative and destructive impacts people have had on island ecosystems. Applying an historical ecological framework, this book celebrates the creative adaptive strategies employed by past groups and offers insight and inspiration for a more sustainable future.”—Jeffrey B. Glover, Georgia State University
“By highlighting success stories in environmental conservation and resource management, this volume provides an important, but often overlooked, perspective from history and archaeology. Overall, the various case studies demonstrate how the past provides important lessons for coping with modern-day issues like climate change and ecological sustainability.”—Dylan Davis, Columbia University
Scott M. Fitzpatrick, professor of archaeology and associate director for research and collections at the Museum of Natural and Cultural History at the University of Oregon, is the editor of Ancient Psychoactive Substances. Jon M. Erlandson is professor emeritus of anthropology and former executive director of the Museum of Natural and Cultural History at the University of Oregon. Kristina M. Gill is an archaeologist, archaeobotanist, and research scientist at the Museum of Natural and Cultural History at the University of Oregon. Erlandson and Gill are coeditors of An Archaeology of Abundance: Reevaluating the Marginality of California’s Islands.
