Submerged Prehistory

Jonathan Benjamin, Clive Bonsall, Catriona Pickard, Anders Fischer, Clive Bonsall, Catriona Pickard

• Publisher: Oxbow Books
• Year: 2011
• Topic: Social Sciences
• eBook ISBN:
  9781842175798
• Subtopic: Archaeology
• Index: Social Sciences

Major events of human prehistory such as the post-glacial recolonisation of Northern Europe and the spread of agriculture through the Mediterranean took place on landscapes that are now, at least partially, underwater. Large parts of this submerged terrain are accessible to divers and can be investigated archaeologically. Prehistoric underwater research has emerged in recent decades as a distinct sub-discipline, developing approaches and methodologies that can be applied in coastal regions worldwide. As a result there is growing awareness of the potential for underwater archaeology to transform our ideas about the course of prehistory. This volume examines existing practice and new developments in the field of submerged prehistoric landscape research. The 25 peer-reviewed contributions from leading authors cover the results of recent research on three continents and the application of methodologies and techniques for site discovery, investigation and interpretation.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• The Editors
• List of Contributors
• Preface
• 1: Ertebølle Canoes and Paddles from the Submerged Habitation Site of Tybrind Vig, Denmark
• 2: The Excavation of a Mesolithic Double Burial from Tybrind Vig, Denmark
• 3: Mesolithic Hunter-Fishers in a Changing World: a case study of submerged sites on the Jäckelberg, Wismar Bay, northeastern Germany
• 4: The Unappreciated Cultural Landscape: indications of submerged Mesolithic settlement along the Norwegian southern coast
• 5: How Wet Can It Get? – approaches to submerged prehistoric sites and landscapes on the Dutch continental shelf
• 6: Seabed Prehistory: investigating palaeolandsurfaces with Palaeolithic remains from the southern North Sea
• 7: Experiencing Change on the Prehistoric Shores of Northsealand: an anthropological perspective on Early Holocene sea-level rise
• 8: Submerged Landscape Excavations in the Solent, Southern Britain: climate change and cultural development
• 9: Submarine Neolithic Stone Rows near Carnac (Morbihan), France: preliminary results from acoustic and underwater survey
• 10: The Middle Palaeolithic Underwater Site of La Mondrée, Normandy, France
• 11: Investigating Submerged Archaeological Landscapes: a research strategy illustrated with case studies from Ireland and Newfoundland, Canada
• 12: Submerged Prehistory in the Americas
• 13: Underwater Investigations in Northwest Russia: lacustrine archaeology of Neolithic pile dwellings
• 14: A Late Neolithic Fishing Fence in Lake Arendsee, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany
• 15: A Palaeolithic Wooden Point from Ljubljansko Barje, Slovenia
• 16: Investigating the Submerged Prehistory of the Eastern Adriatic: progress and prospects
• 17: The Pavlopetri Underwater Archaeology Project: investigating an ancient submerged town
• 18: Submerged Sites and Drowned Topographies along the Anatolian Coasts: an overview
• 19: Palaeoecology of Submerged Prehistoric Settlements in Sozopol Harbour, Bulgaria
• 20: Was the Black Sea Catastrophically Flooded during the Holocene? – geological evidence and archaeological impacts
• 21: Underwater Investigations at the Early Sites of Aspros and Nissi Beach on Cyprus
• 22: Submerged Neolithic Settlements off the Carmel Coast, Israel: cultural and environmental insights
• 23: Research Infrastructure for Systematic Study of the Prehistoric Archaeology of the European Submerged Continental Shelf
• 24: Stone Age on the Continental Shelf: an eroding resource
• 25: Continental Shelf Archaeology: where next?
• 26: Epilogue