Description
Quaternary Paleoenvironments examines the drowned landscapes exposed as extensive and attractive territory for prehistoric human settlement during the Ice Ages of the Pleistocene, when sea levels dropped to 120m-135m below their current levels. This volume provides an overview of the geological, geomorphological, climatic and sea-level history of the European continental shelf as a whole, as well as a series of detailed regional reviews for each of the major sea basins. The nature and variable attractions of the landscapes and resources available for human exploitation are examined, as are the conditions under which archaeological sites and landscape features are likely to have been preserved, destroyed or buried by sediment during sea-level rise. The authors also discuss the extent to which we can predict where to look for drowned landscapes with the greatest chance of success, with frequent reference to examples of preserved prehistoric sites in different submerged environments.
Quaternary Paleoenvironments will be of interest to archaeologists, geologists, marine scientists, palaeoanthropologists, cultural heritage managers, geographers, and all those with an interest in the drowned landscapes of the continental shelf.Table of Contents
Contributors vii
Foreword xi
Preface xv
Acknowledgement xvii
Chapter 1: Introduction: Prehistoric Remains on the Continental Shelf – Why do Sites and Landscapes Survive Inundation? 1
Nic Flemming, Jan Harff, Delminda Moura and Anthony Burgess
Chapter 2: Sea Level and Climate 11
J. Harff, N. Flemming, A. Groh, B. Hünicke, G. Lericolais, M. Meschede, A. Rosentau, D. Sakellariou, S. Uscinowicz, W. Zhang, E. Zorita
Chapter 3: Non-Cultural Processes of Site Formation, Preservation and Destruction 51
Nic Flemming, Jan Harff and Delminda Moura
Chapter 4: Standard Core Variables for Continental Shelf Prehistoric Research and Their Availability 83
Nic Flemming
Chapter 5: The Baltic Sea Basin 103
Alar Rosentau, Ole Bennike, Szymon U?cinowicz and Gra?yna Miotk-Szpiganowicz
Chapter 6: The Northwest Shelf 135
Kieran Westley
Chapter 7: The North Sea 147
Kim M. Cohen, Kieran Westley, Gilles Erkens, Marc P. Hijma, and Henk J.T. Weerts
Chapter 8: Northern North Sea and Atlantic Northwest Approaches 187
Sue Dawson, Richard Bates, Caroline Wickham-Jones and Alastair Dawson
Chapter 9: Paleolandscapes of the Celtic Sea and the Channel/La Manche 211
R. Helen Farr, Garry Momber, Julie Satchell and Nic Flemming
Chapter 10: Irish Sea and Atlantic Margin 241
Kieran Westley and Robin Edwards
Chapter 11: The Iberian Atlantic Margin 281
Delminda Moura, Ana Gomes and João Horta
Chapter 12: The Western Mediterranean Sea 301
Miquel Canals, Isabel Cacho, Laurent Carozza, José Luis Casamor, Galderic Lastras, and Anna Sànchez
Chapter 12 – Western Mediterranean: Annex 1
Submerged Karst Structures of the French Mediterranean Coast: An Assessment 333
Yves Billaud
Chapter 13: The Central Mediterranean 341
Fabrizio Antonioli, Francesco L. Chiocci, Marco Anzidei, Lucilla Capotondi, Daniele Casalbore, Donatella Magri and Sergio Silenzi
Chapter 14: Physical Characteristics of the Continental Shelves of the East Mediterranean Basin, Submerged Settlements and Landscapes – Actual Finds and Potential Discoveries 377
Ehud Galili, Yaacov Nir, Dina Vachtman and Yossi Mart
Chapter 15: Late Pleistocene Environmental Factors of the Aegean Region (Aegean Sea Including the Hellenic Arc) and the Identification of Potential Areas for Seabed Prehistoric Sites and Landscapes 405
D. Sakellariou, V. Lykousis, M. Geraga, G. Rousakis and T. Soukisian
Chapter 16: Geological and Geomorphological Factors and Marine Conditions of the Azov-Black Sea Basin and Coastal Characteristics as They Determine Prospecting for Seabed Prehistoric Sites on the Continental Shelf 431
Valentina Yanko-Hombach, Evgeny Schnyukov, Anatoly Pasynkov, Valentin Sorokin, Pavel Kuprin, Nikolay Maslakov, Irena Motnenko and Olena Smyntyna
Chapter 17: Late Pleistocene Environmental Factors defining the Black Sea, and Submerged Landscapes on the Western Continental Shelf 479
Gilles Lericolais
Chapter 18: Submerged Prehistoric Heritage Potential of the Romanian Black Sea Shelf 497
Glicherie Caraivan, Valentina Voinea, Corneliu Cerchia
Glossary
Index
