Submerged Prehistory in the Americas

Methods, Approaches and Results

John M. O'Shea, John M. O’Shea, John M. O'Shea

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN: 9781032442273
• eBook ISBN: 9781000871333
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Ciencias sociales
• Subtopic: Arqueología

This book presents an overview of the exciting new developments in underwater research in North America, ranging from new approaches for discovering submerged sites to an assessment of how these findings challenge the understanding of the North American past.

Archaeological sites preserved on the world's continental shelves are relevant to a wide range of major research questions and their importance increases with the heightened awareness of climate change and rising modern sea levels. Once thought lost forever, these sites survive underwater, preserved from the ravages of modern farming and development. To investigate the submerged landscapes, archaeologists use many of the same technologies developed for discovery of shipwrecks but, couple them with anthropological and environmental models to identify and study the way of life of people residing in these ancient lands.

In this book, leading figures associated with submerged site exploration share an emphasis on the conduct and results of underwater research. It will be a fascinating read for advanced students of Archaeology, History and Environmental Studies. This volume was originally published as a special issue of The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Citation Information
• Notes on Contributors
• Introduction—Submerged prehistory in the Americas: Methods, approaches and results
• 1 Submerged prehistory and anthropological archaeology: Do underwater studies contribute to theory?
• 2 “The early days”—underwater prehistoric archaeology in the USA and Canada
• 3 Crossing the waterline: Integrating terrestrial and submerged site investigations in the Aucilla River, Florida
• 4 Combining underwater and terrestrial research approaches in the Great Basin Desert, Walker Lake, Nevada
• 5 The magnificent seven: Marine submerged precontact sites found by systematic geoarchaeology in the Americas
• 6 Micro-regional approaches for submerged site archaeology
• 7 The archaeology of submerged prehistoric sites on the North Pacific Coast of North America
• 8 Coastally-adapted: A developing model for coastal Paleoindian sites on the North American eastern continental shelf
• 9 Global experience in locating submerged prehistoric sites and their relevance to research on the American continental shelves
• Index