Definition: Environmental archaeology is the name given to the theoretical underpinning in archaeology that in some way considers the environmental aspects of a particular culture. Whether the environment is considered the driving force in cultural change, or merely a factor in development, environmental archaeology includes those elements.
Key issues of environmental archaeology are
seasonality,
paleoenvironmental reconstruction, raw material
sourcing, and dietary or
subsistence studies, and the long term effects of climate change, such as that created by the
El Nino Southern Oscillation.
Practitioners of the movement include Karl Butzer, Brian Fagan and Charles Redman, to name three who have devoted complete books to the topic; but nearly every archaeologist working today is an environmentalist by definition.
This glossary entry is part of the
Dictionary of Archaeology. Any mistakes are the responsibility of
Kris Hirst.
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