| Abstract: |
A `Preface' by Nicholas Balaam & James Rackham (v-viii), gives an overview of the conference and summarises the papers presented on the second day, which are not published here: they formed the basis of a discussion forum on the future of environmental archaeology. The published papers are divided into two sections, the first part comprising three papers which consider the relationship between environmental archaeology and its parent discipline. Paul C Buckland (1-19) gives an account of the application of palaeontological methods to the study of Icelandic sites in `Viking settlement and environmental change around the North Atlantic: retrospect upon a research project'. Twelve ways in which `The co-ordination of environmental and archaeological projects' could be improved are proposed by Martin Bell (21-33). Examining the traditional role of environmental research, it is argued that there should be closer, more equitable collaboration between cultural and environmental archaeologists, and examples of successful integrated projects are cited. Wilma Wetterstrom (35-61) contributes `Climate, diet and population at a prehistoric pueblo in New Mexico'.The second part presents three considerations of the relevance of environmental evidence to the public presentation of archaeology. `The public role of environmental archaeology: presentation and interpretation', by Peter V Addyman (63-9), looks at the recent rising concern about ecological matters and considers how a number of replication projects in USA and Europe (including Butser Ancient Farm and Jorvik Viking Centre) rely heavily on environmental evidence. Gerard F IJzereef (71-84) describes `The presentation of environmental archaeology in "Archeon": a plan for an archaeological theme park in the Netherlands'. The paper discusses the problems of recreating examples of diverse environments of various archaeological periods at three different levels (landscape, settlement, and individual dwelling) within the sixty hectare park.The closing paper, by Peter J Fowler (85-8), examines archaeology's `Responsibility to the public', which demands a commitment to scientific integrity, financial accountability, and a popularly visible product. The potential role of environmental archaeology in current debates about the management of the countryside is emphasised. JMO |
