For the past thirty years or so, wetlands have been at the forefront of developments in understanding past cultural activity and associated landscapes. The exceptional preservation afforded by waterlogged sites are paralleled only by those of comparable extremes: frozen and arid contexts. Wetland sites then, can provide a wealth of information that 'dryland' sites seldom can. But such preservation is not limited to organic deposits, but also records the environmental conditions at the time, thereby allowing for detailed reconstruction of the associated environment and landscape. Between 1992 and 2000, a project based at the University of Hull undertook the systematic investigation of over half a million hectares of land located primarily in the catchment of the Humber Basin. In order to mark the successful completion of this, the Humber Wetlands Project, the editors invited colleagues from all over the world to contribute a series of chapters to this book. The aim was to outline the current state of wetland cultural and palaeoenvironmental knowledge, and to provide multidisciplinary insights into the methodological approaches and theoretical aspects of this important area of study.
Preface
Part 1 - Introduction
Wetland Archaeology and Environments (Malcolm Lillie and Stephen Ellis)
Beware the Glutinous Ghetto! (Francis Pryor)
Whither Wetland Archaeology in Scotland in the Twenty-First Century (Anne Crone and Ciara Clarke)
The Tumbeagh Bog Body and a consideration of Raised Bog Archaeology in Ireland (Nóra Bermingham)
English Heritage's approach to Wetland Archaeology (Ian Panter)
"Value in Wetness": The Humberhead Levels Land Management Initiative (Stuart Pasley)
Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherers in Wetland Environments: Theoretical issues, economic organisation and resource management strategies (George P Nicholas)
Part 2 - Archaeology
Mesolithic Wetland Sites in Central Russia (Mickle G Zhilin)
The Ritual Use of Wetlands during the Neolithic: a local study in Southernmost Sweden (Lars Larsson)
Prehistoric Wetland Environments and Human Exploitation of the Foulness Valley, East Yorkshire, UK (Peter Halkon)
Medieval Coastal Landscape Evolution - the example of the Lincolnshire Marsh, England, UK (Helen Fenwick)
The Palace Centre of Sago City: Utti Batue site, Luwu, Sulawesi, Indonesia (F David Bulbeck, Doreen Bowdery, John Field and Bagyo Prasetyo)
Part 3 - Methodological Approaches
Wetland Science (Mike Corfield)
In situ preservation: geo-archaeological perspectives on an archaeological nirvana (Malcolm Lillie)
The Present and the Past: the interpretation of sub-fossil molluscan assemblages and the relevance of modern studies, with specific reference to wet-ground contexts in the UK (Paul Davies)
Non-marine Ostracods as Indicator Taxa in Ancient Wetlands (Huw I Griffiths)
The Role of Quantitative Diatom-Based Palaeolimnology in Environmental Archaeology (Jane M Reed)
Human Activity: an allogenic factor in wetland dynamics (M J Bunting and J E Schofield)
Recent Research from the Peatlands of the North York Moors: Human impact and climate change (J J Blackford, J B Innes, A E Kelly and S L Jones)
Part 4 - Human-Landscape Interactions
Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherers in Wetland Environments: Mobility/sedentism and aspects of socio-political organisation (George P Nicholas)
Estuarine Development and Human Occupation at Bobundara Swamp, Tilba Tilba, New South Wales, Australia (G S Hope, J J Coddington and D O'Dea)
Late Holocene Landscape Change around Bwindi-Impenetrable Forest, central Africa: human dimensions in palaeoecological research from tropical wetlands (Robert Marchant)
Reflections on Wetlands and their Cultural and Historic Significance (Malcolm Lillie, Stephen Ellis, Helen Fenwick and Robert Smith)
Index
