Archaeological excavations uncover human history layer by layer. The data on environmental and social developments sheds light on the impact of climate change (Photo by: Jan Piet Brozio)

On 6 September, the first Summit on Social Archaeology of Climate Change (SACC) took place at Kiel University. The meeting was organised by Prof. Johannes Müller, the Speaker of the Cluster of Excellence ROOTS, and Prof. Peter Biehl from the University of Santa Cruz (link) with the aim of discussing the status of the worldwide research on social archaeology and climate change. The summit was held in conjunction with the annual conference of the European Association of Archaeologists (link), which this year was organised by the Johanna Mestorf Academy from 6-11 September.

Forty-five international scientists and representatives of international organisations from the fields of archaeology, heritage conservation, and climate research took part in the meeting. With the interlinking of the numerous international stakeholders, the summit gained insights from the past that are relevant to current transformation processes and can also help us to better understand current transformation processes. The study of past climate events and societies are closely connected, as Johannes Müller explains: "There have always been significant climate events and people have always reacted to them. This can be proven by research. Parallels can be drawn to the present day – even with a long-term view over the millennia. Findings about climate change from the past and the consequences of such changes can also be helpful today".

By reconstructing past ways of dealing with climate change, two important insights could be gained for today. On the one hand, it was recognised that social balance provides the basis for the sustainable use of resources and the development of other forms of sustainable behaviour. Societies with higher social equality are in general better equipped to cope with the consequences of climatic stress in the long term than societies where social differences are great. Another finding is linked to the issue of mobility. Migrations are an integral part of human history, and changes in climatic conditions have repeatedly led to forced migrations. Various migrations can be traced for the last ten thousand years and shaped our world.

Climate change was also a crucial topic during the Annual Meeting of the EAA, leading to the adoption of a European “Kiel EAA Declaration”, which states that climate change endangers archaeological legacies. Climate-related forces affecting archaeological sites include coastal erosion, sea-level rise, droughts, floods, the drying of soils, such as peat, soil erosion, increasing frequency and intensity of forest fires, changes in weather leading to extreme heat, rainfall and storms, changes in vegetation and biodiversity, permafrost thawing and glacier melting. Accordingly, archaeological heritage management will face entirely new challenges. A rethink in many areas is necessary.

You can find the full press release in English and German here