Waterscapes Archaeology

Waterscapes Archaeology: Multi-scalar Human-Environment Interactions in Coastal Lagoons presents papers from a session of the 7th International Landscape Archaeology Conference (Iași-Suceava, Romania, and online 2022). It brings together a series of interdisciplinary studies that investigate the historical, ecological, and socio-economic significance of coastal lagoons across various regions and time periods. The chapters delve into long-term human-environment interactions within these dynamic ecosystems, focusing on themes such as resource exploitation, settlement patterns, and paleo-environmental reconstructions. The volume highlights diverse case studies, including the historical and cultural roles of lagoons in the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions, the socio-economic interdependencies revealed by prehistoric coastal settlements in the Persian Gulf, and diachronic changes in Italy’s Apulian wetlands. Innovative non-invasive techniques, such as magnetometry and ground-penetrating radar, are also examined for their contributions to marshland archaeology, offering new insights into previously hidden archaeological landscapes. Additionally, the volume explores the evolution of landscapes in the Venetian lagoon through archaeobotanical analyses and the complexities of lagoon management in the Roman world, addressing the challenges of resource control and ownership in shifting environments. Each chapter contributes to a comprehensive understanding of how ancient societies adapted to environmental changes and managed waterscapes, while also emphasizing the contemporary relevance of these findings for sustainable management and conservation of these vulnerable anthropo-ecological systems.

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