How archaeologists can respond to the climate crisis

Climate change is erasing the record of past and present human culture at an alarming rate. This essay advances strategies for addressing the crisis, using archaeological data from the Southeastern United States. Major challenges include determining what will be lost, deciding what can be saved, and collaboratively developing appropriate responses. Large archaeological projects in the region provide examples of how to proceed. Archaeological site incidence and elevation data from coastal areas, in conjunction with survey and mitigation costs, provide estimates of the site loss that will occur due to sea level rise, and the funding necessary to find and mitigate these properties. Upward of $5 billion in new spending will be needed over the remainder of the century to deal with anticipated losses in southeastern coastal settings. The knowledge gained will be a major ongoing benefit, important to maintaining regional and national identity, cohesion, and unity. A transformation of archaeology will be necessary, including rethinking how cultural resources are found, evaluated, and mitigated; how collections and records are curated; and how what is learned is made accessible and meaningful to all. Our profession has faced similar challenges, and we have the leadership and technical ability to meet this one successfully.