Climate change, heritage policy and practice in England: Risks and opportunities

Our climate is changing. Although the implications for both the physical remains and the intangible nature of the historic environment have been widely examined, the impact upon the ways in which we, as practitioners, currently conserve heritage, and how and whether practice and policy should be reconsidered, has perhaps been less so. The physical remains of England’s past are protected via four mechanisms: designation, development management (planning), agri-environment schemes and ownership. Climate change will affect all of these, as well as present new challenges that may require novel approaches to heritage management. Building upon previous research undertaken by Historic England, the public body that looks after England’s heritage, this paper looks at how three of the main cross-cutting climate change issues (loss, maladaptation and resilience) could affect heritage protection in England

Curating the Palaeolithic

This guidance explains the importance of the English Palaeolithic record (about 1 million to 11,700 years ago) in its Pleistocene context and best practices for protecting it through the planning process, illustrated by case studies from across the country. The guidance focuses on the curation of the Palaeolithic and Pleistocene records (Part A) and is particularly intended for curators. It also provides background information on the Palaeolithic and Pleistocene records for those less familiar with the period (Part B). The guidance document is accompanied by a number of concise online case studies that illustrate a range of approaches for curating the Palaeolithic record. The document is intended to be used alongside other key guidance produced by Historic England, and acknowledges the primacy of relevant legislation. It is not a statement of Government policy, nor does it seek to prescribe a single methodology

Developing Transdisciplinary Approaches to Sustainability Challenges: The Need to Model Socio-Environmental Systems in the Longue Durée

Human beings are an active component of every terrestrial ecosystem on Earth. Although our local impact on the evolution of these ecosystems has been undeniable and extensively documented, it remains unclear precisely how our activities are altering them, in part because ecosystems are dynamic systems structured by complex, non-linear feedback processes and cascading effects. We argue that it is only by studying human–environment interactions over timescales that greatly exceed the lifespan of any individual human (i.e., the deep past or longue durée), we can hope to fully understand such processes and their implications. In this article, we identify some of the key challenges faced in integrating long-term datasets with those of other areas of sustainability science, and suggest some useful ways forward. Specifically, we (a) highlight the potential of the historical sciences for sustainability science, (b) stress the need to integrate theoretical frameworks wherein humans are seen as inherently entangled with the environment, and (c) propose formal computational modelling as the ideal platform to overcome the challenges of transdisciplinary work across large, and multiple, geographical and temporal scales. Our goal is to provide a manifesto for an integrated scientific approach to the study of socio-ecological systems over the long term

Developing Transdisciplinary Approaches to Sustainability Challenges: The Need to Model Socio-Environmental Systems in the Longue Durée

Human beings are an active component of every terrestrial ecosystem on Earth. Although our local impact on the evolution of these ecosystems has been undeniable and extensively documented, it remains unclear precisely how our activities are altering them, in part because ecosystems are dynamic systems structured by complex, non-linear feedback processes and cascading effects. We argue that it is only by studying human–environment interactions over timescales that greatly exceed the lifespan of any individual human (i.e., the deep past or longue durée), we can hope to fully understand such processes and their implications. In this article, we identify some of the key challenges faced in integrating long-term datasets with those of other areas of sustainability science, and suggest some useful ways forward. Specifically, we (a) highlight the potential of the historical sciences for sustainability science, (b) stress the need to integrate theoretical frameworks wherein humans are seen as inherently entangled with the environment, and (c) propose formal computational modelling as the ideal platform to overcome the challenges of transdisciplinary work across large, and multiple, geographical and temporal scales. Our goal is to provide a manifesto for an integrated scientific approach to the study of socio-ecological systems over the long term

Non-biface assemblages in Middle Pleistocene Western Europe. A comparative study

This thesis presents the results of an investigation into the Clactonian assemblages of Middle Pleistocene souther Britain. By exploring other non-biface assemblages (NBAs) reported from elsewhere in Europe it seeks to illuminate our understanding of the British assemblages by viewing them in a wider context. It sets out how the historical and geopolitical context of Palaeolithic research has influenced what is investigated and how, as well as interpretations of assemblages without handaxes. A comparative study of the assemblages themselves based upon primary data gathered specifically for that purpose concludes that while there are a number of non-biface assemblages elsewhere in Europe the Clactonian assemblages do appear to be a phenomenon unique to the Thames Valley in early MIS 11. However, traditional explanations for this phenomenon, such as cultural variation, cultural migration and pioneer populations are challenged and a new interpretation centred on the concept of a default flaking pattern is proposed

Raw material exploitation at the middle Pleistocene site of Vértesszölös

A field investigation of the lithic resources available to Lower Palaeolithic knappers at this key sit

Vernacular Heritage as a Response to Climate: Lessons for future climate resilience from Rize, Turkey

Vernacular heritage is undergoing rapid changes caused by the effects of the changing climate, such as loss of lands, biodiversity, building materials, integrity, traditional knowledge, and maladaptation. However, little is known about the causes of deterioration in vernacular heritage sites under changing climate and landscape conditions from a user perspective. This paper provides insights into the perceptions of local people on climate change and how it has changed the landscape in the Fındıklı district of Rize in the Eastern Black Sea area of Turkey. The study proposed analyzing vernacular architecture as a heritage category for localizing the management of climate change impacts using field survey, on-site observations, and unstructured interviews with local people. The results of the shared concerns regarding the changing climate and landscapes from a local perspective evoke the use of narratives as a tool for local authorities to include local communities in building resilience of cultural heritage to climate change.History & Complexit

A chronicle of crisis: The Late Mousterian in north Iberia (Cueva del Esquilleu, Cantabria, Spain)

During the last decades, the Cantabrian region has become one of the zones of greater interest in the study of the final Mousterian on the European scale. The particular ecological and physiographic conditions of this region provide an especially attractive picture for analyzing the advanced moments of this period. Almost all the Mousterian levels of Cantabrian sites are dated to the later part of “Würm II”, as occurs in some other European regions. Close to 35 ka BP, the Esquilleu sequence expresses a process of change in archaeological record, and probably in the subsistence strategies. This late occupation extends through the H4 cold event and the interglacial to “Würm III”, between level VIf (34.3 ka BP approx. AMS) and level IV (22.8 ka BP approx. AMS). All the archaeological evidence (non-selective and directly adjacent to the river catchment; limited technical investment with fast discoid production; mainly points but objectively indeterminate from a morphological point of view; lithic and even microlithic production) and their interpretation in a spatial-contextual perspective (high fragmentation of the chaîne opératoire between the river and the cave), would indicate changes in the site function within an articulated network. Archaeologically, the change in the significance of El Esquilleu intervals is evident. The raw material catchment analysis indicates a much more fuzzy relationship of the site in relation to the environment. Esquilleu would have ceased functioning as a place of integration of elements of the territory. There is no evidence of transport or territorial relationship defined between sites. Another point for reflection is that, in the Esquilleu sequence, different production methods and the archaeological evidence interpretation can be grouped easily into discrete sets. The lower interval is technically variable, probably representing the time with more functional complexity in the cave. Subsequently, the Quina, Levallois, discoid, and final intervals occur. Archaeological evidence o