Archaeology as a method and tool for resilience

ABSTRACT

Climate change is having an immediate and devastating effect on archaeological sites in Florida. The Florida Public Archaeology Network's Heritage Monitoring Scouts (HMS Florida) program empowers local communities to document the impacts of climate change at sites throughout the state. Our ability to document sites shows humanity's resilience to climate fluctuations in the past while also making it clear that adaptation and mitigation of coastal areas in the face of modern anthropogenic climate change must be paramount. This article describes two case studies from coastal Florida that have served as visceral points of focus for local communities to see the impacts of climate change. At Shell Bluff Landing in the northeast part of the state a site stewardship program was developed to closely document changes in time starting in 2016 with alarming results. In the opposite corner of the state at Calusa Island, a private land trust was created to protect local natural environments from the impacts of development. The coastal island has subsequently seen massive loss due to erosion. The article concludes with actions archaeologists can take today to make the communities they work with more resilient, using a prioritization system developed with Palm Beach County as an example.

KEYWORDS:

• Heritage at risk
• climate change
• stewardship
• citizen science
• urban planning
• community-based research

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank HMS Florida volunteers, the GTM Research Reserve staff, volunteers, and partners, the Calusa Land Trust, the Calusa Island parcel owners, Randell Research Center volunteers (including Ed Chapin), Chris Davenport, Jake Leech, and Palm Beach County. Special thanks to Patrisha Meyers and Kassie Kemp, dedicated staff for HMS Florida.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Data from HMS Florida are available upon request from the Florida Public Archaeology Network.