As the world warms: rising seas, coastal archaeology, and the erosion of maritime history

The human history of coastal regions around the world has been under assault for decades, from forces that include dam building, coastal modifications, the destruction of wetlands, marine erosion, population growth and rampant development, looting, and other processes. Global warming will exacerbate the destruction of cultural resources in coastal zones through accelerated sea level rise, intensified storm cycles, and related coastal erosion. Although average global sea levels have been rising for ∼20,000 years, they slowed dramatically about 7,000 years ago. Rates of sea level rise now appear to be increasing rapidly due to growing anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Global warming and rising seas, especially when combined with population growth and the implementation of measures designed to protect endangered coastal properties, threaten the deep maritime history of human migrations, settlement, and adaptations in coastal areas around the world. Ranging in age from the mid-Pleistocene to recent historic times, coastal archaeological sites contain invaluable data on ancient coastal societies, fisheries, and ecosystems. Archaeologists, historians, and other cultural resource managers must do more to anticipate, evaluate, and mitigate the effects of global warming, sea level rise, and coastal erosion on the long history of human maritime cultures.