Archaeology and the Sustainability of the World’s Oceans

Torrey Rick

Humans have lived on the world’s coastlines and islands for thousands of years. Archaeological research has demonstrated that the oceans hold a special place in human history and evolution, and shown that people had a distinct relationship with whales, fishes, seals, and other marine animals. Boats and other maritime technologies also transformed human migration, commerce, and politics. Torrey Rick’s research on California’s Channel Islands explores a 13,000 year archaeological record of human interaction with the ocean, including human fishing, environmental impacts, boat building, and exchange.

Covering more than 70% of the earth, the world’s oceans contain diverse environments and resources that are a crucial part of many economies. Threatened by climate change, pollution, and human over-fishing, however, marine environments around the world are also in a state of crisis. To fully understand how to restore ocean environments and promote sustainable fish harvests, marine ecologists, biologists, and fisheries managers are increasingly turning towards archaeological and historical records to demonstrate how these environments have changed and been impacted by humans through time. Archaeological data from the Channel Islands research serve as a model for integrating archaeology and the biological sciences to help understand the past, present, and future of the world’s oceans.