Leveraging legacy archaeological collections as proxies for climate and environmental research

Abstract

Understanding the causes and consequences of previous climate changes is essential for testing present-day climate models and projections. Archaeological sites are paleoenvironmental archives containing unique ecological baselines with data on paleoclimate transformations at a human timescale. Anthropogenic and nonanthropogenic forces have destroyed many sites, and others are under immediate threat. In the face of this loss, previously excavated collections from these sites—referred to as legacy collections—offer a source of climate and other paleoenvironmental information that may no longer exist elsewhere. Here, we 1) review obstacles to systematically using data from legacy archaeological collections, such as inconsistent or unreported field methods, inadequate records, unsatisfactory curation, and insufficient public knowledge of relevant collections; 2) suggest best practices for integrating archaeological data into climate and environmental research; and 3) summarize several studies to demonstrate the benefits and challenges of using legacy collections as archives of local and regional environmental proxies. Data from archaeological legacy collections contribute regional ecological baselines as well as serve to correct shifting baselines. They also enable regional climate reconstructions at various timescales and corroborate or refine radiocarbon dates. Such uses of legacy collections raise ethical concerns regarding ownership of and responsibility for cultural resources and highlight the importance of Indigenous involvement in planning and executing fieldwork and stewardship of cultural heritage. Finally, we discuss methodologies, practices, and policies pertaining to archaeological legacy collections and support calls for discipline-wide shifts in collections management to ensure their long-term utility in multidisciplinary research and public engagement.

Climate-driven losses to knowledge systems and cultural heritage: A literature review exploring the impacts on Indigenous and local cultures

“…sea-level rise, erosion, permafrost thaw) and other human impacts (e.g. development, extractive industries) (Amand et al, 2020;Anderson et al, 2017;Blankholm, 2009;Bourgeois et al, 2007;Hilton 2018;Hollesen et al, 2016Hollesen et al, , 2017Hollesen et al, , 2018Marsadolov et al, 2019). Archaeological sites are important for many reasons.…”

New insights into the spatial organization, stratigraphy and human occupations of the Aceramic Neolithic at Ganj Dareh, Iran

“…The analysis presented in this paper based on this archival material also underscores the importance for archaeological projects to conserve hard copies of field documentation post-excavation to permit the analysis of archaeological material by future researchers should a site not be fully published in a timely manner [109][110][111]. Given the growing recognition that archaeological legacy collections offer the potential to help address contemporary issues [112], it is essential to ensure their 'legibility' for future archaeologists by associating documentation in a format that is not strictly dependent on proprietary software.…”

The archaeology of climate change: The case for cultural diversity

“…Multiproxy approaches are thus fundamental. While increasingly powerful computers facilitate the treatment of huge, multiproxy datasets, revisiting old datasets-sometimes the only surviving records of past climate and environmental conditions (74)-is also essential as data acquired decades ago often lack temporal resolution and would benefit from updated calibration of the proxies as well as finer isotopic and geochemical analyses now enabled with new technologies.…”