Eco-Archaeology Meets Disaster Archaeology – The New Frontier!

Move over Indiana Jones! Once upon a time archaeology was the favorite sport of empire builders like Napolean and over-achieving strongmen and treasure hunters like Belzoni and Heinrich Schliemann – but beginning in the 1960’s – the systematic study of ancient peoples and their culture took an interesting societal turn – from digging up ancient gravesites, tools, and pottery – to examining ancient floral and fauna samples and how civilizations like the Maya of Central America and the Rapa Nui of Easter Island related to their environments.

Today, a new branch of archaeology has emerged – the study of archaeodisasters – the risk assessment of past catastrophic events upon human ecosystems – the attempt to reconstruct vanished landscapes and societies from sudden and extremely violent events – – from man-made disruptions such as pollutant contamination to natural hazards such as earthquakes, typhoons, and volcanic eruptions. The cultural implications are many. But what of our new breed of disaster archaeologists? Where will they come from? What will they look like? For in order to better protect our own civilization, they will need to address the current political and technological impact on our natural environment as well.