Prehistoric Archaeology on the Continental Shelf

The next frontiers in research on submerged prehistoric sites and landscapes on the continental shelf

“…However, there is a rapidly improving palaeoenvironmental and paleontological picture which can be used to inform our offshore (Aires and Lopes, 2012). Thus, in a similar fashion to the incidence of Pleistocene megafauna identified by trawling in the North Sea (Bynoe et al, 2016) and the eastern seaboard of the United States of America (Stanford et al, 2014), the factual habitability of the continental shelf of South America has been verified through industrial activity.…”

“…Besides isolated artefact finds, the only submerged prehistoric site reported for the southern Atlantic coast is La Olla (Bayón and Politis, 2014). Located in the southern Pampa region, the site is placed at the limit of the low tide line, in an inter-tidal environment, almost permanently covered by sand sediments and water.…”

“…This is important due to the fact that an appreciation in the variability (timing, intensity and evidence for connectivity/shared attributes) of the archaeological record is often fundamental for evaluating the veracity of current explanations (Anderson-Whymark et al, 2015;Broodbank, 2013Broodbank, , 2006Broodbank, , 2000. As such, the second key issue that emerges is the significance of local (Bailey and Parkington, 1988;Evans et al, 2014;Faught and Gusick, 2011;Johnson and Stright, 1992;Masters and Flemming, 1983) and are shown in figure ten. However, over the last decade there has been a renewed interest in late Pleistocene sites with regard to the light they may shed on the colonization of the new world (Goldberg et al, 2016;Pedersen et al, 2016).…”

“…Whilst lithic artefacts and Pleistocene faunal material have been recovered for decades by local fishermen and clammers along the coast of the Middle Atlantic (Blanton, 1996;Stanford et al, 2014) evidence of submerged prehistoric sites remains scarce (Johnson and Stright, 1992;Stright, 1990). However, as Standford et al (2014, p. 90) argue, the significance of these stray finds should not be underestimated.…”

Underwater archaeology and submerged landscapes in western Australia

“…Since 65 000-50 000 years ago-the currently accepted earliest date range for human entry into Australia and New Guinea (Veth 2017)-one third of the continental land mass has been drowned by post-glacial sea-level rise (Figure 1). Based on work being conducted in other parts of the world, there is good reason to suppose that this drowned territory offered attractive resources for human occupation, and that some palaeoenvironmental and archaeological features of this landscape have survived inundation and can be retrieved by underwater exploration (Benjamin et al 2011;Evans et al 2014;Bailey et al 2017). Relatively little underwater exploration has so far taken place in Australia.…”