SDG 13: Climate Action

Shell middens: Underwater archaeological sites offer clues to ancient coastal communities

Evidence in middens offer clues on how people adapted during times of sea-level rise and climate change. Image: Jonathan Benjamin

Katherine Woo
Postdoctoral Fellow, ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, James Cook University
Sean Ulm
Deputy Director, ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, James Cook University
Jonathan Benjamin
Associate Professor in Maritime Archaeology, Flinders University
Jessica Cook Hale
Visiting Scholar, University of Georgia
Geoff Bailey
Emeritus Professor of Archaeology, University of York
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Scuba diver excavating shell midden.
shell middens are hard to differentiate from natural shell deposits. Image: Katherine Woo, Geoff Bailey, Jessica Cook Hale, Jonathan Benjamin, Sean Ulm

Danish field crew take cores of the sea floor to determine whether middens are present.
Examination of three shell middens dated them between 7,300 and 4,500 years old. Image: Katherine Woo, Geoff Bailey, Jessica Cook Hale, Jonathan Benjamin, Sean Ulm
Middens can explain coastal life 1,000s of years ago.
We teased out different strands of evidence that offer new insights into how we might find and excavate other midden sites in watery depths around the globe. Image: Katherine Woo, Geoff Bailey, Jessica Cook Hale, Jonathan Benjamin, Sean Ulm

Middens provide fundamental information about food choices, tool technology, trade practices, and cultural values.
In undersea shell middens we can find discarded tools and ornaments, old living surfaces, and in some cultures, human burials. Image: Katherine Woo, Geoff Bailey, Jessica Cook Hale, Jonathan Benjamin, Sean Ulm

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Related topics:
SDG 13: Climate ActionAustraliaTrade and InvestmentThe Net Zero TransitionNature and BiodiversitySystemic RacismDenmark
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