Archaeologies of Climate Change: Perceptions and Prospects
Climate change is the biggest challenge facing humanity today, and discussions of its effects—from habitat loss to psychological impacts—can be found in most academic disciplines. Among the many casualties of contemporary climatic change is the archaeological heritage of Arctic and subarctic regions...
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fterudit:oai:erudit.org:1071948ar 2024-02-11T10:01:11+01:00 Archaeologies of Climate Change: Perceptions and Prospects Britton, Kate Hillerdal, Charlotta 2019 http://id.erudit.org/iderudit/1071948ar https://doi.org/10.7202/1071948ar en eng Centre interuniversitaire d’études et de recherches autochtones (CIÉRA) Érudit Études Inuit Studies vol. 43 no. 1-2 (2019) http://id.erudit.org/iderudit/1071948ar doi:10.7202/1071948ar Tous droits réservés © La revue Études Inuit Studies, 2020 Arctic environmental archaeology community archaeology cultural heritage management resilience Yup’ik Alaska Arctique archéologie environnementale archéologie communautaire gestion de patromoine culturel résilience text 2019 fterudit https://doi.org/10.7202/1071948ar 2024-01-21T00:13:35Z Climate change is the biggest challenge facing humanity today, and discussions of its effects—from habitat loss to psychological impacts—can be found in most academic disciplines. Among the many casualties of contemporary climatic change is the archaeological heritage of Arctic and subarctic regions, as warming, erratic weather patterns, coastal erosion, and melting permafrost threaten the anthropogenic and ecological records found in northern environments. Archaeology is uniquely positioned to provide long-term perspectives on human responses to climatic shifts, and to inform on the current debate. In addition, the practice of archaeological research and assimilation of archaeological heritage into contemporary society can also address or even mitigate some of the sociocultural impacts of climate change. Focusing on the Yup’ik communities and critically endangered archaeology of the Yukon–Kuskokwim (Y–K) Delta, Alaska, here we argue community archaeology can provide new contexts for encountering and documenting the past, and through this, reinforce cultural engagement and shared cultural resilience. We emphasize the benefits of archaeological heritage and the practice of archaeology in mitigating some of the social and psychological impacts of global climate change for communities as well as individuals. We also propose that archaeology can have a role in reducing psychological distance of climate change, an acknowledged barrier that limits climate change action, mitigation, and adaptation, particularly in regions where the impacts of contemporary climate change have not yet been immediately felt. Le changement climatique est le plus grand défi auquel est aujourd’hui confrontée l’humanité, et ses effets – de la perte d’habitat aux impacts psychologiques – sont discutés dans la plupart des disciplines académiques. Le patrimoine archéologique des régions arctiques et subarctiques se trouve parmi les nombreuses victimes du changement climatique : le réchauffement global, les conditions météorologiques ... Text Arctic Arctique* Climate change Études/Inuit/Studies Kuskokwim permafrost Subarctic subarctique* Alaska Yukon Érudit.org (Université Montréal) Arctic Yukon Études/Inuit/Studies 43 1-2 265 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Érudit.org (Université Montréal) |
op_collection_id |
fterudit |
language |
English |
topic |
Arctic environmental archaeology community archaeology cultural heritage management resilience Yup’ik Alaska Arctique archéologie environnementale archéologie communautaire gestion de patromoine culturel résilience |
spellingShingle |
Arctic environmental archaeology community archaeology cultural heritage management resilience Yup’ik Alaska Arctique archéologie environnementale archéologie communautaire gestion de patromoine culturel résilience Britton, Kate Hillerdal, Charlotta Archaeologies of Climate Change: Perceptions and Prospects |
topic_facet |
Arctic environmental archaeology community archaeology cultural heritage management resilience Yup’ik Alaska Arctique archéologie environnementale archéologie communautaire gestion de patromoine culturel résilience |
description |
Climate change is the biggest challenge facing humanity today, and discussions of its effects—from habitat loss to psychological impacts—can be found in most academic disciplines. Among the many casualties of contemporary climatic change is the archaeological heritage of Arctic and subarctic regions, as warming, erratic weather patterns, coastal erosion, and melting permafrost threaten the anthropogenic and ecological records found in northern environments. Archaeology is uniquely positioned to provide long-term perspectives on human responses to climatic shifts, and to inform on the current debate. In addition, the practice of archaeological research and assimilation of archaeological heritage into contemporary society can also address or even mitigate some of the sociocultural impacts of climate change. Focusing on the Yup’ik communities and critically endangered archaeology of the Yukon–Kuskokwim (Y–K) Delta, Alaska, here we argue community archaeology can provide new contexts for encountering and documenting the past, and through this, reinforce cultural engagement and shared cultural resilience. We emphasize the benefits of archaeological heritage and the practice of archaeology in mitigating some of the social and psychological impacts of global climate change for communities as well as individuals. We also propose that archaeology can have a role in reducing psychological distance of climate change, an acknowledged barrier that limits climate change action, mitigation, and adaptation, particularly in regions where the impacts of contemporary climate change have not yet been immediately felt. Le changement climatique est le plus grand défi auquel est aujourd’hui confrontée l’humanité, et ses effets – de la perte d’habitat aux impacts psychologiques – sont discutés dans la plupart des disciplines académiques. Le patrimoine archéologique des régions arctiques et subarctiques se trouve parmi les nombreuses victimes du changement climatique : le réchauffement global, les conditions météorologiques ... |
format |
Text |
author |
Britton, Kate Hillerdal, Charlotta |
author_facet |
Britton, Kate Hillerdal, Charlotta |
author_sort |
Britton, Kate |
title |
Archaeologies of Climate Change: Perceptions and Prospects |
title_short |
Archaeologies of Climate Change: Perceptions and Prospects |
title_full |
Archaeologies of Climate Change: Perceptions and Prospects |
title_fullStr |
Archaeologies of Climate Change: Perceptions and Prospects |
title_full_unstemmed |
Archaeologies of Climate Change: Perceptions and Prospects |
title_sort |
archaeologies of climate change: perceptions and prospects |
publisher |
Centre interuniversitaire d’études et de recherches autochtones (CIÉRA) |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
http://id.erudit.org/iderudit/1071948ar https://doi.org/10.7202/1071948ar |
geographic |
Arctic Yukon |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Yukon |
genre |
Arctic Arctique* Climate change Études/Inuit/Studies Kuskokwim permafrost Subarctic subarctique* Alaska Yukon |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctique* Climate change Études/Inuit/Studies Kuskokwim permafrost Subarctic subarctique* Alaska Yukon |
op_relation |
Études Inuit Studies vol. 43 no. 1-2 (2019) http://id.erudit.org/iderudit/1071948ar doi:10.7202/1071948ar |
op_rights |
Tous droits réservés © La revue Études Inuit Studies, 2020 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.7202/1071948ar |
container_title |
Études/Inuit/Studies |
container_volume |
43 |
container_issue |
1-2 |
container_start_page |
265 |
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1790596945072357376 |