The Archaeology of Mediterranean Landscapes
This volume presents a comprehensive review of palaeoenvironmental evidence and its incorporation with landscape archaeology from across the Mediterranean. A fundamental aim of this book is to bridge the intellectual and methodological gaps between those with a background in archaeology and ancient history, and those who work in the palaeoenvironmental sciences. The volume also aims to provide archaeologists and landscape historians with a comprehensive overview of recent palaeoenvironmental research across the Mediterranean, and also to consider ways in which this type of research can be integrated with what might be considered 'mainstream' or 'cultural' archaeology. This volume takes a thematic approach, assessing the ways in which environmental evidence is employed in different landscape types. It presents analyses of how people have interacted with soils and vegetation, and revisits the key questions of human culpability in the creation of so-called degraded landscapes in the Mediterranean. It covers chronological periods from the Early Neolithic to the end of the Roman period.
- Bridges the gap between environmental science and Mediterranean archaeology
- A comprehensive review of the use of environmental evidence in archaeology from across the Mediterranean
- The author has not only carried out research in the region, but has also lived there for much of the time since 1994
Reviews & endorsements
'This is a beautifully illustrated and argued synthesis that caters to graduate students and all researchers interested in studying Mediterranean paleo-environments, including archaeologists, geomorphologists, and geo-archaeologists.' Géomorphologie
'This book deserves - and will find - a wide audience. … An added bonus, alongside the crisply-reproduced diagrams and charts, are the beautiful and informative watercolours by Jean-Marie Gassend.' Antiquity
Product details
January 2014Hardback
9780521853019
384 pages
260 × 183 × 20 mm
0.95kg
67 b/w illus. 14 maps 1 table
Temporarily unavailable - available from TBC
Table of Contents
- 1. Introduction
- 2. From geology to biology: defining the Mediterranean
- 3. Sea level change and coastal settlement: human engagements with littoral environments
- 4. Rivers and wetlands
- 5. Environmental change: degradation and resilience
- 6. Working and managing Mediterranean environments
- 7. Islands: biogeography, settlement, and interaction
- 8. Mountain economies and environmental change
- 9. Conclusions: the Mediterranean mosaic: persistent and incongruent environmental knowledge.