Prioritising Heritage Resources in a Time of Loss: Sea Level Rise and Archaeological Resources of the Middle Atlantic Region, US

ABSTRACT

The US Middle Atlantic region, known for its rich archaeological record and diverse topographic settings, is experiencing a range of climate change impacts, most notably: sea level rise and coastal erosion in its tidal zones. Documented palaeostratigraphic and palynological studies throughout the region provide a record of late Pleistocene/Holocene environmental response to changing climate, confirming observations from other disciplines that the magnitude of modern impacts exceeds past temporal and spatial patterns. The corresponding impact on archaeological resources is great, requiring a renewed effort to document threatened sites while also working with local and state governments to develop mitigation strategies. The Middle Atlantic Archaeological Conference (MAAC) created the Sea Level Rise and Storm Surge Committee to promote regional partnerships in site impact assessment and mitigation strategies. The network highlights the predicament of archaeology in this time of climate change: accelerated research and discovery in the face of catastrophic loss.

KEYWORDS:

• Middle Atlantic
• sea level rise
• archaeological sites

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge our many colleagues who are working tirelessly to document and salvage the archaeological resources of the tidal Middle Atlantic in the face of unpredictable seasons and storms. We also acknowledge the Middle Atlantic shore communities who struggle, day in, day out, with the losses described in this paper. The Middle Atlantic Archaeological Conference, in creating the Sea Level Rise and Storm Surge Committee, has provided a venue for sharing information on work in the region. The SAA Committee on Climate Change and Sea Level Rise is instrumental in creating and maintaining a network of practitioners whose research and support have brought awareness to the challenges of sea level rise impacts to heritage resources. We are grateful to Ruth Maher for organising and editing this volume.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Carole L. Nash

Carole L. Nash is an associate professor in the School of Integrated Sciences and Oliver Endowed Senior Scholar in the College of Integrated Science and Engineering at James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA, USA. Her research interests include multi-scalar environmental archaeology, hunter-gatherer social systems, historical ecology, and citizen science. As cooperating archaeologist for Shenandoah National Park, she and her students study long-term human adaptations to mountain settings.

Heather A. Wholey

Heather A. Wholey is a professor of anthropology at the West Chester University of Pennsylvania, West Chester, PA, USA. Her research specialisations are in the prehistoric archaeology of the US Eastern Woodlands; landscape archaeology; human palaeoecology, and, the integration of earth sciences into archaeological investigation. Her research examines human–environmental relationships by taking a multi-scalar perspective moving between individual sites and entire archaeological landscapes.