UNDER THE SEA: ARCHAEOLOGY AND PALAEOLANDSCAPES CONFERENCE
COST Action TD0902 SPLASHCOS Final Conference University of Szczecin, Poland, 23-27 September, 2013
Account creation from:
1st January 2013
Abstract submission from:
14th January 2013
Abstract submission deadline:
30th April 2013
Registration fees:
Students 30 €
Splashcos members 50 €
Others 70 €
UNDER THE SEA: Archeology and Palaeolandscapes CONFERENCE,
University of Szczecin, Poland, 23-27 September, 2013
For most of human existence, sea levels have been substantially lower than the present exposing extensive areas of the continental shelf with productive conditions for human settlement. Some of the most important developments in human social evolution over the past 100,000 years took place on these now-submerged landscapes against a backdrop of fluctuating sea levels and dramatic changes in physical landscape – early colonisation of new territory; the origins of seafaring and fishing; the dispersal of early agriculture; and the roots or our earliest civilizations. Most of the relevant evidence is now under water. Thousands of archaeological sites and find spots are known to have survived the sea level rise at the end of the Last Glaciation, often with unusual conditions of preservation and valuable data on past environmental conditions, along with extensive traces of the ancient landscape, including palaeoshorelines and sediments that are providing new data on changes of sea level and palaeoclimate. Nevertheless, recovering data from the seabed poses significant technical challenges, and demands collaboration between many different disciplines including archaeology, marine geosciences, palaeoclimatology, geophysics, cultural heritage management, government organizations and offshore industries. Many new investigations involving such collaborations are now underway or being planned, and new technologies are being developed to meet these challenges. Since 2009, COST Action TD0902 SPLASHCOS, Submerged Prehistoric Archaeology and Landscapes of the Continental Shelf, has brought together over 100 specialists across a range of disciplines from 24 European States to coordinate existing knowledge, promote the wider field of submerged landscape archaeology, and plan new research. This final Conference is open to participation by all those with an interest in this field.