Benjamin J. et al. (eds.) Submerged Prehistory

Oxford and Oakville: Oxbow Books, 2011. — 338 p. — ISBN: 978-1-84217-418-0.This volume is concerned with those parts of the prehistoric archaeological record that now lie under water. Most of the sites and finds described were inundated as a result of the global sea-level rise of some 120 m that occurred during the Final Pleistocene and Early Holocene. Throughout this remarkable transformation of global geography, vast tracts of habitable terrain vanished, engulfed by the world’s oceans. Discoveries from inland waters have also been included to highlight the archaeological significance of prehistoric lacustrine and riverine sites. Examples are presented from Europe, Western Asia, and North America. The material included in this volume is predominantly Mesolithic and Neolithic in age, but we also include examples from the Palaeolithic, as well as the Chalcolithic (Copper Age) and Bronze Age...
Of the 25 peer-reviewed chapters in this volume, 13 were presented during a session at the European Association of Archaeologists’ annual meeting held in Riva del Garda, Italy, in September 2009. Entitled Underwater Archaeology and the Future of Submerged European Prehistory, the session was intended to showcase recent finds and the methods used in their discovery and investigation, and to stimulate discussion in the wider context of European and world prehistory. The burgeoning interest in this topic is reflected in the number of scholars not present at the EAA session who have subsequently contributed chapters to the volume.Preface (The Editors).
Ertebølle Canoes and Paddles from the Submerged Habitation Site of Tybrind Vig, Denmark (Søren H. Andersen).
The Excavation of a Mesolithic Double Burial from Tybrind Vig, Denmark (Otto Uldum).
Mesolithic Hunter-Fishers in a Changing World: a case study of submerged sites on the Jäckelberg, Wismar Bay, northeastern Germany (Harald Lübke, Ulrich Schmölcke and Franz Tauber).
The Unappreciated Cultural Landscape: indications of submerged Mesolithic settlement along the Norwegian southern coast (Pål Nymoen and Birgitte Skar).
How Wet Can It Get? – approaches to submerged prehistoric sites and landscapes on the Dutch continental shelf (Hans Peeters).
Seabed Prehistory: investigating palaeolandsurfaces with Palaeolithic remains from the southern North Sea (Louise Tizzard, Paul A. Baggaley and Antony J. Firth).
Experiencing Change on the Prehistoric Shores of Northsealand: an anthropological perspective on Early Holocene sea-level rise (Jim Leary).
Submerged Landscape Excavations in the Solent, Southern Britain: climate change and cultural development (Garry Momber).
Submarine Neolithic Stone Rows near Carnac (Morbihan), France: preliminary results from acoustic and underwater survey (Serge Cassen, Agnès Baltzer, André Lorin, Jérôme Fournier and Dominique Sellier).
The Middle Palaeolithic Underwater Site of La Mondrée, Normandy, France (Dominique Cliquet, Sylvie Coutard, Martine Clet, Jean Allix, Bernadette Tessier, Frank Lelong, Agnès Baltzer, Yann Mear, Emmanuel Poizot, Patrick Auguste, Philippe Alix, Jean Olive and Joë Guesnon).
Investigating Submerged Archaeological Landscapes: a research strategy illustrated with case studies from Ireland and Newfoundland, Canada (Kieran Westley, Trevor Bell, Ruth Plets and Rory Quinn).
Submerged Prehistory in the Americas (Michael K. Faught and Amy E. Gusick).
Underwater Investigations in Northwest Russia: lacustrine archaeology of Neolithic pile dwellings (Andrey Mazurkevich and Ekaterina Dolbunova).
A Late Neolithic Fishing Fence in Lake Arendsee, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany (Rosemarie Leineweber, Harald Lübke, Monika Hellmund, Hans-Jürgen Döhle and Stefanie Klooß).
A Palaeolithic Wooden Point from Ljubljansko Barje, Slovenia (Andrej Gaspari, Miran Erič and Boštjan Odar).
Investigating the Submerged Prehistory of the Eastern Adriatic: progress and prospects (Jonathan Benjamin, Luka Bekić, Darko Komšo, Ida Koncani Uhač and Clive Bonsall).
The Pavlopetri Underwater Archaeology Project: investigating an ancient submerged town (Jon C. Henderson, Chrysanthi Gallou, Nicholas C. Flemming and Elias Spondylis).
Submerged Sites and Drowned Topographies along the Anatolian Coasts: an overview (Mehmet Özdoğan).
Palaeoecology of the Submerged Prehistoric Settlements in Sozopol Harbour, Bulgaria (Mariana Filipova-Marinova, Liviu Giosan, Hristina Angelova, Anton Preisinger, Danail Pavlov and Stoyan Vergiev).
Was the Black Sea Catastrophically Flooded during the Holocene? – geological evidence and archaeological impacts (Valentina Yanko-Hombach, Peta Mudie and Allan S. Gilbert).
Underwater Investigations at the Early Sites of Aspros and Nissi Beach on Cyprus (Albert Ammerman, Duncan Howitt Marshall, Jonathan Benjamin and Tim Turnbull).
Submerged Neolithic Settlements off the Carmel Coast, Israel: cultural and environmental insights (Ehud Galili and Baruch Rosen).
Research Infrastructure for Systematic Study of the Prehistoric Archaeology of the European Submerged Continental Shelf (Nicholas C. Flemming).
Stone Age on the Continental Shelf: an eroding resource (Anders Fischer).
Continental Shelf Archaeology: where next? (Geoffrey N. Bailey).
Epilogue (Anders Fischer, Jonathan Benjamin, Catriona Pickard and Clive Bonsall).