Difference between revisions of "Category:Climate Change"

From Archaeopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
m
(New Zealand)
Line 38: Line 38:
 
==Useful References==
 
==Useful References==
 
===New Zealand===
 
===New Zealand===
 +
 
* Bickler, S. and R. Clough. in press. The Impact of Climate Change on the Archaeology of New Zealand’s Coastline.
 
* Bickler, S. and R. Clough. in press. The Impact of Climate Change on the Archaeology of New Zealand’s Coastline.
 +
* Envrionmental Defence Society, n.d. Resource Management Act for the Community, Coastal Management. [http://www.eds.org.nz/rma/keyissues/coastal.cfm Link]
 
* McFadgen, B. 2001. Report on some implications of climate change to Department of Conservation activities. Science and Research Unit, Department of Conservation.
 
* McFadgen, B. 2001. Report on some implications of climate change to Department of Conservation activities. Science and Research Unit, Department of Conservation.
 
* McFadgen, B. 2007. Hostile Shores: Catastrophic Events in Prehistoric New Zealand and Their Impact on Maori Coastal Communities. Auckland University Press: Auckland.
 
* McFadgen, B. 2007. Hostile Shores: Catastrophic Events in Prehistoric New Zealand and Their Impact on Maori Coastal Communities. Auckland University Press: Auckland.

Revision as of 09:17, 13 December 2007

Introduction

From Ron Scarlett (1986:222): Sarah's Gully and Elsewhere. NZAA Newsletter v29(4)
One year there was a big earthquake in South America, followed by a tsunami which covered our beach and splashed up on part of the excavations. In intervals between digs I had been watching, from a little distance, a pair of banded dotterels which had a nest on the beach near cross creek midden. I knew their eggs were close to hatching before the tidal wave came, and was afraid the eggs would be ruined, and the parents, perhaps, drowned. It was a great relief when, shortly afterwards, I saw the birds, and two new chicks, running about the beach. The hatching was just in time. The same tsunami left a nice warm pool where our creek entered the sea in front of the site of Sarah's old whare. One afternoon, when the girls were all in camp, I stripped off and had a dip in the pool. Someone saw me, and called the girls who flocked to the top of the rise below our tents, but they were too far off to see much. It gave rise to more verse.

The strangest deep sea creature
washed upon our beach. 
Twas only Ron with nothing on,
and beyond the power of speech.

The last line is grossly inaccurate. The girls were a fine lot, but they were not above surrounding the men's tent, pulling up the pegs, simultaneously, and collapsing it on us.


Information regarding the impacts of climate change on archaeological sites. A resource portal under development.

From Bickler and Clough (2007): Island nations face an uncertain future with the possibility of significant changes to their coastline as result of climate change. New Zealand is a similar size to the mainland United Kingdom, with an extensive and complex coastline, but unlike Britain, the archaeological record in the Land of the Long White Cloud is massively weighted towards that coastline. For both Maori arriving from Polynesia up in the order of 1000 years ago and European settlers in the 19th Century, the coast has been the focus. As a result, major changes in that coastline as the result of climate change will impact significantly on the archaeology record.

Walton (2007) has recently identified some of the many and varied dimensions relating the impact of climate change on archaeology in New Zealand. However, climate change is not the only threat to archaeological sites, nor necessarily the biggest - in the short term. Today, coastal development is rampant, particularly in the North Island and some of the most attractive locations are close to, and occasionally on, the areas most vulnerable to changing sea levels and flooding. Tsunamis are high in people’s consciousness (see e.g., McFadgen 2007) while, weather patterns such as the cycle of El Niño and La Niña have also probably impacted on archaeological sites although the to what extent is not well documented (McFadgen 2001). These are the some of the more dramatic threats but normal farming, industrial and other modern human activities continue on in the background.

Tsunamis

Section on Tsunamis.

See McFadgen (2007) for a detailed discussion on this topic.


Sea Levels

Ancient Sea Levels

Monash University's Sahul Time


Useful References

New Zealand

  • Bickler, S. and R. Clough. in press. The Impact of Climate Change on the Archaeology of New Zealand’s Coastline.
  • Envrionmental Defence Society, n.d. Resource Management Act for the Community, Coastal Management. Link
  • McFadgen, B. 2001. Report on some implications of climate change to Department of Conservation activities. Science and Research Unit, Department of Conservation.
  • McFadgen, B. 2007. Hostile Shores: Catastrophic Events in Prehistoric New Zealand and Their Impact on Maori Coastal Communities. Auckland University Press: Auckland.
  • Walton, T. 2007. Potential Adverse Effects on Climate Change on Historic Heritage. Archaeology in New Zealand 50(3):186-194.

Other


External Links

This category currently contains no pages or media.