World Archaeology

An Archaeology for Sustainable Development: Studying the Past to build a better Future

Finding solutions to the deterioration of our planet and its living conditions is the major challenge of our times and requires everybody’s efforts. Although archaeology’s primary mission is to unveil the details of the human past, archaeology has the power and capacity to be equally useful in the present and can contribute to building a better, more sustainable future. In Hawaii, plant species were reintroduced after archaeologists showed that they had been present on the island naturally several millennia ago. In the Amazon, exposed stratigraphies reveal layers of Terra Preta, mixtures of organic wastes, charcoal and pottery fragments. This pre-Columbian practice was used to fertilize the soils was reproduced in Australia to increase agricultural productivity. Zooarchaeological research focusing on the relationships of past primate extinctions to habitat degradation and human interactions is facilitating the formulation of new suggestions for orangutan conservation. Past engineering, such as the vertical windmills of Nashtifan in Iran that produce energy while protecting villages from strong winds and sandstorms, can inspire solutions adapted to local conditions and our contemporary challenges. 

These examples demonstrate the potential of the human past as a research framework for exploring solutions to current and future challenges. Archaeology advanced as a discipline in the last decade, in terms of multidisciplinarity and creativity, and is ideally positioned to contribute to global sustainable development goals.  

We invite archaeologists who conduct projects that can be useful in building a better future, contributing, for example, to the fight against climate change and biodiversity degradation. Topics might include, but are not limited to, papers using archaeological/heritage and bioarchaeological data to explore and propose new solutions for cleaner energy, access to water, management of natural hazards such as flooding, modern health challenges, and aiding local economic development while protecting natural and cultural heritage.