Coastal environments and their role in prehistoric migrations

Abstract

In recent years, increased attention has been turned towards the role of coastal environments in facilitating the global dispersal of humans. Previous approaches have focused on locating, dating and linking coastal archaeological sites, in order to create an overall impression of population movement across continents. When considerations of the actual process of colonization have been presented, they have been predicated on a series of assumptions regarding the nature of the coastal environment. The most important of these is that the coastal zone is homogenous and stable, on space and time scales relevant to human migration. This paper aims to test this and other assumptions by considering the true nature of the palaeo-coastal zone on global to continental scales and on timescales commensurate with migrating populations. Evidence is presented from Pleistocene and Holocene palaeo-environmental and archaeological records, so covering the major migrations of the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic. The principal conclusion of this study is that the coastal zone is in fact characterized by a significant degree of environmental heterogeneity and instability on a multitude of spatio-temporal scales. This in turn has significant implications for how we interpret the actual process of colonization.

Coastal wetlands and the Neanderthal settlement of Portuguese Estremadura

“…These landscape settings define a coastal ecotone of approximately 10 km bounded by a limestone massif. Because ecotone settings are well documented as preferred locations for ethnographically known foragers, we should expect to find evidence for intensive settlement in these settings (Lee & Daly, 1999;Westley & Dix, 2006). Thacker (2001) linked Paleolithic settlement in the Rio Maior valley with ecotones, and we found a similar pattern in the Nazaré area during the 2005-2008 survey.…”

Sub-marine Continuation of Peat Deposits From a Coastal Peatland in the Southern Baltic Sea and its Holocene Development

“…In exchange, the shape of the longshore bar controls the amount of energy that reaches the beachface and thus controls sediment erosion or accumulation. Preserved mid-Holocene peat deposits (6,725 ± 87 cal yr BP) at the base of the longshore bar (C3.1) archive information about associated paleo-landscapes, pre-existing floodplains, habitat migration, sediment stability and its seasonal equilibrium morphology (Gerdes et al, 2003;Westley and Dix, 2006;Plets et al, 2007). The sub-marine extension and formation time of the peat deposits is discussed in the following section.…”

Dynamic landscapes and human dispersal patterns: tectonics, coastlines, and the reconstruction of human habitats

“…These than present for most of the Pleistocene period, this is a highly significant variable that needs to be factored into landscape reconstructions and models of dispersal. Many of the features observed on modern coastlines are the result of morphological changes in response to postglacial sea level rise (Westley & Dix, 2006). Coastlines that today look unattractive or impassable because of cliff lines and limited water supplies or extensive and impenetrable river deltas would have looked quite different at different sea level conditions.…”