Archaeological research on islands has made significant contributions to our understanding of human cultural development, with aquatic resources and maritime adaptations being increasingly recognized as having had profound effects on human evolution, worldwide dispersals, and the development of social complexity. Once thought to be marginal habitats for humans--lacking in many of the necessary dietary and raw material requirements for societies to thrive--recent research in island and coastal regions around the world has shown this to be false. In fact, the opposite appears to be true in many cases, where aquatic resources were plentiful, highly nutritious, and relatively easy to harvest.
The Oxford Handbook of Island & Coastal Archaeology is the first volume to synthesize major topics in the subfield of island and coastal archaeology on a truly global scale, including methodological and theoretical advances that have positioned the subfield as central to archaeology, history, and historical ecology. It includes up-to-date syntheses by leading scholars of the development of human societies in island and coastal environments around the world, including Oceania, the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa. This volume also highlights emerging contemporary issues such as Indigenous perspectives and rights, submerged landscapes, heritage conservation and management, and tourism.
This volume explores an array of research topics, including: the origins and development of aquatic adaptations and the exploitation of marine resources; the colonization and settlement histories of island and coastal regions around the worlds; the movement and transfer of exotic goods, plants, and animals; the development of trade and exchange systems between different cultural groups; interaction spheres that evolved through time; reports or comparisons of seafaring technologies worldwide; how insular environments affected or influenced sociocultural complexity; how peoples compensated for restricted resources on some islands; historical ecologies, human impacts, and long-term human resilience in island settings; the transformation of Indigenous societies after European contact; and current multidisciplinary methods and research of archaeologists and other scientists.
The Oxford Handbook of Island and Coastal Archaeology
by Fitzpatrick, Scott M.; Erlandson, Jon McVeyFormat: Hardcover
Pub. Date: 2026-09-21
Publisher(s): Oxford University Press
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Summary
Author Biography
Scott M. Fitzpatrick is a Professor in the Department of Anthropology and Curator of Indo-Pacific Collections at the Museum of Natural and Cultural History, University of Oregon. He is an archaeologist who specializes in the historical ecology of island and coastal regions, particularly the Pacific and Caribbean. Much of his research has focused on colonization events, seafaring strategies, adaptations to smaller islands, exchange systems, and human impacts on ancient environments. Dr. Fitzpatrick is the founding co-editor of the Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology and has published several books and more than 150 journal articles and book chapters.
Jon McVey Erlandson is an Archaeologist and retired Professor/Museum Director with the University of Oregon. His field research has focused on the Pacific Coast of North America and Viking Age Iceland. His broader research interests and expertise are in the deep history (archaeology and historical ecology) of human interaction with island and coastal ecosystems worldwide, including human evolution, dispersals, adaptations, ecological impacts, sustainability, and resilience. He is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Sigma Xi.
Jon McVey Erlandson is an Archaeologist and retired Professor/Museum Director with the University of Oregon. His field research has focused on the Pacific Coast of North America and Viking Age Iceland. His broader research interests and expertise are in the deep history (archaeology and historical ecology) of human interaction with island and coastal ecosystems worldwide, including human evolution, dispersals, adaptations, ecological impacts, sustainability, and resilience. He is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Sigma Xi.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Island and Coastal Archaeology in the 21st Century, Jon M. Erlandson and Scott M. Fitzpatrick
Chapter 2: The Importance of Aquatic Foods and Environments for the Early Hominin Brain, Kathlyn M. Stewart and Stephen C. Cunnane
Chapter 3: The Origins of Prehistoric Sailing Technologies in the Pacific Ocean, Atholl Anderson
Chapter 4: The Sailing Performance of Ancient Pacific Canoes: Technological Innovations and Maritime Migrations, Geoffrey Irwin, Richard G. J. Flay, Loughlin Dudley, and Dilys Johns
Chapter 5: From Colonization to Increasing Social Complexity: The Importance of Prehistoric Interaction, Marshall I. Weisler and Glenn R. Summerhayes
Chapter 6: The Archaeology of Islands and Coasts in the Study of Colonialism and the Rise of the Early Modern World, Kent G. Lightfoot, Benjamin D. Siegel, and James M. Allan
Chapter 7: Archaeology and the Anthropocene in Island and Coastal Settings, Todd J. Braje
Chapter 8: The Origins and Significance of Coastal Resource Use in Human Evolution, Curtis W. Marean
Chapter 9: Underwater Archaeology and Submerged Landscapes, Amy Gusick
Chapter 10: Seafaring in Prehistory: Simulations and Experiments, Alvaro Montenegro
Chapter 11: Exchange Systems and Interaction in Ancient Island and Coastal Settings, Helen Dawson and Julian Jansen van Rensburg
Chapter 12: Animals in Insular Archaeological Settings: Key Themes for Contextualizing Island Zooarchaeological Research the 21st Century, Christina Giovas, Michelle LeFebvre, Tiina Manne, Kellie Pollard, Damià Ramis, and Melinda S. Allen
Chapter 13: The Importance of Geophytes and Other Plant Foods in Ancient Island and Coastal Societies, Kristina Gill and Jon M. Erlandson
Chapter 14: The Use of Seaweeds and Marine Plants by Island and Coastal Peoples in the Past, Amira F. Ainis, Jon M. Erlandson
Chapter 15: Contributions of Human Genetics to Island and Coastal Archaeology, Jessica H. Stone and Laura S. Weyrich
Chapter 16: Isotope Research in Island and Coastal Archaeology, Rebecca Kinaston, Jane Evans, Jason Laffoon, Domingo C. Salazar Garcia, and Eric J. Bartelink
Chapter 17: Commensal Models in Island Archeology: Animal and Plant Translocations, Catherine Collins, Anna L. Gosling, and Elizabeth Matisoo-Smith
Chapter 18: Historical Ecology and the Archaeology of Islands and Coastlines, Torben C. Rick, Courtney A. Hofman, and Alexis M. Mychajliw
Chapter 19: Pleistocene and Holocene Archaeology of Southern African Coastlines, Antonieta Jerardino
Chapter 20: Coastal Foraging and the Archaeofauna of Northern Africa, Teresa E. Steele, Esteban Álvarez-Fernández, and Emily Y. Hallett
Chapter 21: East African Islands: A Deep Archaeological History, Alison Crowther, Nicole Boivin, and Sinyati R. Mark
Chapter 22: The Archaeology of Madagascar: Current and Future Directions, Tanambelo Rasolondrainy and Kristina Douglass
Chapter 23: Coastal Archaeology of the Arabian Peninsula, Niklas Hausmann, Matthew Meredith-Williams, Robyn Inglis, and Abdullah Al-Sharekh
Chapter 24: Connectivity and Demography in the Insular and Coastal Mediterranean: Perspectives from Paleogenomics and Radiocarbon Probability Distributions, Thomas P. Leppard and John F. Cherry
Chapter 25: The Archaeology of the Iberian Atlantic façade, Nuno Bicho
Chapter 26: Submerged Landscapes in Northern Europe, Peter Moe Astrup and Björn Nilsson
Chapter 27: Across the Gray Waters: Diaspora, Biogeography, and Early Globalization in the North Atlantic, Megan Hicks, Rowan Jackson, George Hambrecht, and Andy Dugmore
Chapter 28: Pleistocene and Early Holocene Occupation on the Eastern Wallacean Islands, Ceri Shipton, Shimona Kealy, and Sue O'Connor
Chapter 29: A Moving Feast: Australia's Coastal and Island Archaeological Record, Ariana B. J. Lambrides, Kane Ditchfield, Sean Ulm, and Peter Veth
Chapter 30: Torres Strait: Seascape Archaeologies Reveal 9000 Years of Dynamic Maritime Cultural History, Ian J. McNiven
Chapter 31: New Guinea and Near Oceania, Mark Golitko
Chapter 32: The Archaeology and Historical Ecology of the Ryukyu Archipelago, Hiroto Takamiya and Mark Hudson
Chapter 33: Archaeology and Human Ecodynamics in the Kuril and Aleutian Island Chains, Katsunori Takase and Ben Fitzhugh
Chapter 34: Recent Advances in the Archaeology of the Arctic Coasts of Alaska, Canada, and Greenland, Christyann M. Darwent and John Darwent
Chapter 35: Placemaking on the Northwest Coast of North America, Dana Lepofsky, Bryn Letham, Morgan Ritchie, and Chelsey Geralda Armstrong
Chapter 36: California's Channel Islands: Ecology, Colonization, and Exchange, Jennifer E. Perry, Christopher S. Jazwa, and Hugh D. Radde
Chapter 37: Native American Archaeology of the Coastal American Southeast, Victor D. Thompson and Isabelle Holland-Lulewicz
Chapter 38: The Coastal Archaeology of South America: Northwest Pacific and Caribbean Rim to Tierra del Fuego, Tom D. Dillehay, Augusto Oyuela-Caycedo, Maria Dulce Gaspar, Mariano Bonomo, Luis Orquera, and Carlos Ocampo
Chapter 39: Highlights in the Pre-Contact Archaeology of the Island Caribbean, Scott M. Fitzpatrick, William J. Pestle, Maaike DeWaal, and Christina Giovas
Chapter 40: Lapita in the Southwest Pacific: Origins, Distribution, Chronology, Economy, and Transformation, Stuart Bedford, Matthew Spriggs, Geoffrey Clark
Chapter 41: Life after Lapita: The diversification of regional cultural identities in the western Pacific Islands, Ben Shaw and Sean P. Connaughton
Chapter 42: The Archaeology of East Polynesia, Patrick V. Kirch and Guillaume Molle
Chapter 43: The Influence and Efflorescence of Ancient Micronesia, Scott M. Fitzpatrick and Matthew F. Napolitano
Chapter 44: Conservation and Management of Coastal Sites, Leslie Reeder-Myers and Nathan Fulmer
Chapter 45: Indigenous Perspectives on Collaborative Archaeology: Two Case Studies from the Pacific Coast of North America, Gabriel M. Sanchez, Mike Grone, Anna Antoniou, and Earl Davis
Chapter 46: Island Tourism and Archaeology, Godfrey Baldacchino and Nicholas C. Vella
Chapter 47: Island and Coastal Archaeology: A Coming of Age, Scott M. Fitzpatrick and Jon M. Erlandson
Chapter 2: The Importance of Aquatic Foods and Environments for the Early Hominin Brain, Kathlyn M. Stewart and Stephen C. Cunnane
Chapter 3: The Origins of Prehistoric Sailing Technologies in the Pacific Ocean, Atholl Anderson
Chapter 4: The Sailing Performance of Ancient Pacific Canoes: Technological Innovations and Maritime Migrations, Geoffrey Irwin, Richard G. J. Flay, Loughlin Dudley, and Dilys Johns
Chapter 5: From Colonization to Increasing Social Complexity: The Importance of Prehistoric Interaction, Marshall I. Weisler and Glenn R. Summerhayes
Chapter 6: The Archaeology of Islands and Coasts in the Study of Colonialism and the Rise of the Early Modern World, Kent G. Lightfoot, Benjamin D. Siegel, and James M. Allan
Chapter 7: Archaeology and the Anthropocene in Island and Coastal Settings, Todd J. Braje
Chapter 8: The Origins and Significance of Coastal Resource Use in Human Evolution, Curtis W. Marean
Chapter 9: Underwater Archaeology and Submerged Landscapes, Amy Gusick
Chapter 10: Seafaring in Prehistory: Simulations and Experiments, Alvaro Montenegro
Chapter 11: Exchange Systems and Interaction in Ancient Island and Coastal Settings, Helen Dawson and Julian Jansen van Rensburg
Chapter 12: Animals in Insular Archaeological Settings: Key Themes for Contextualizing Island Zooarchaeological Research the 21st Century, Christina Giovas, Michelle LeFebvre, Tiina Manne, Kellie Pollard, Damià Ramis, and Melinda S. Allen
Chapter 13: The Importance of Geophytes and Other Plant Foods in Ancient Island and Coastal Societies, Kristina Gill and Jon M. Erlandson
Chapter 14: The Use of Seaweeds and Marine Plants by Island and Coastal Peoples in the Past, Amira F. Ainis, Jon M. Erlandson
Chapter 15: Contributions of Human Genetics to Island and Coastal Archaeology, Jessica H. Stone and Laura S. Weyrich
Chapter 16: Isotope Research in Island and Coastal Archaeology, Rebecca Kinaston, Jane Evans, Jason Laffoon, Domingo C. Salazar Garcia, and Eric J. Bartelink
Chapter 17: Commensal Models in Island Archeology: Animal and Plant Translocations, Catherine Collins, Anna L. Gosling, and Elizabeth Matisoo-Smith
Chapter 18: Historical Ecology and the Archaeology of Islands and Coastlines, Torben C. Rick, Courtney A. Hofman, and Alexis M. Mychajliw
Chapter 19: Pleistocene and Holocene Archaeology of Southern African Coastlines, Antonieta Jerardino
Chapter 20: Coastal Foraging and the Archaeofauna of Northern Africa, Teresa E. Steele, Esteban Álvarez-Fernández, and Emily Y. Hallett
Chapter 21: East African Islands: A Deep Archaeological History, Alison Crowther, Nicole Boivin, and Sinyati R. Mark
Chapter 22: The Archaeology of Madagascar: Current and Future Directions, Tanambelo Rasolondrainy and Kristina Douglass
Chapter 23: Coastal Archaeology of the Arabian Peninsula, Niklas Hausmann, Matthew Meredith-Williams, Robyn Inglis, and Abdullah Al-Sharekh
Chapter 24: Connectivity and Demography in the Insular and Coastal Mediterranean: Perspectives from Paleogenomics and Radiocarbon Probability Distributions, Thomas P. Leppard and John F. Cherry
Chapter 25: The Archaeology of the Iberian Atlantic façade, Nuno Bicho
Chapter 26: Submerged Landscapes in Northern Europe, Peter Moe Astrup and Björn Nilsson
Chapter 27: Across the Gray Waters: Diaspora, Biogeography, and Early Globalization in the North Atlantic, Megan Hicks, Rowan Jackson, George Hambrecht, and Andy Dugmore
Chapter 28: Pleistocene and Early Holocene Occupation on the Eastern Wallacean Islands, Ceri Shipton, Shimona Kealy, and Sue O'Connor
Chapter 29: A Moving Feast: Australia's Coastal and Island Archaeological Record, Ariana B. J. Lambrides, Kane Ditchfield, Sean Ulm, and Peter Veth
Chapter 30: Torres Strait: Seascape Archaeologies Reveal 9000 Years of Dynamic Maritime Cultural History, Ian J. McNiven
Chapter 31: New Guinea and Near Oceania, Mark Golitko
Chapter 32: The Archaeology and Historical Ecology of the Ryukyu Archipelago, Hiroto Takamiya and Mark Hudson
Chapter 33: Archaeology and Human Ecodynamics in the Kuril and Aleutian Island Chains, Katsunori Takase and Ben Fitzhugh
Chapter 34: Recent Advances in the Archaeology of the Arctic Coasts of Alaska, Canada, and Greenland, Christyann M. Darwent and John Darwent
Chapter 35: Placemaking on the Northwest Coast of North America, Dana Lepofsky, Bryn Letham, Morgan Ritchie, and Chelsey Geralda Armstrong
Chapter 36: California's Channel Islands: Ecology, Colonization, and Exchange, Jennifer E. Perry, Christopher S. Jazwa, and Hugh D. Radde
Chapter 37: Native American Archaeology of the Coastal American Southeast, Victor D. Thompson and Isabelle Holland-Lulewicz
Chapter 38: The Coastal Archaeology of South America: Northwest Pacific and Caribbean Rim to Tierra del Fuego, Tom D. Dillehay, Augusto Oyuela-Caycedo, Maria Dulce Gaspar, Mariano Bonomo, Luis Orquera, and Carlos Ocampo
Chapter 39: Highlights in the Pre-Contact Archaeology of the Island Caribbean, Scott M. Fitzpatrick, William J. Pestle, Maaike DeWaal, and Christina Giovas
Chapter 40: Lapita in the Southwest Pacific: Origins, Distribution, Chronology, Economy, and Transformation, Stuart Bedford, Matthew Spriggs, Geoffrey Clark
Chapter 41: Life after Lapita: The diversification of regional cultural identities in the western Pacific Islands, Ben Shaw and Sean P. Connaughton
Chapter 42: The Archaeology of East Polynesia, Patrick V. Kirch and Guillaume Molle
Chapter 43: The Influence and Efflorescence of Ancient Micronesia, Scott M. Fitzpatrick and Matthew F. Napolitano
Chapter 44: Conservation and Management of Coastal Sites, Leslie Reeder-Myers and Nathan Fulmer
Chapter 45: Indigenous Perspectives on Collaborative Archaeology: Two Case Studies from the Pacific Coast of North America, Gabriel M. Sanchez, Mike Grone, Anna Antoniou, and Earl Davis
Chapter 46: Island Tourism and Archaeology, Godfrey Baldacchino and Nicholas C. Vella
Chapter 47: Island and Coastal Archaeology: A Coming of Age, Scott M. Fitzpatrick and Jon M. Erlandson
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