Additional Information

Available Through

Taylor & Francis Online

Language

English

Notes

Abstract: Environmental catastrophes represent profound challenges faced by societies today. Numerous scholars in the climate sciences and the humanities have argued for a greater ethical engagement with these pressing issues. At the same time, several disciplines concerned with hazards are moving towards formalized ethical codes or promises that not only guide the dissemination of data but oblige scientists to relate to fundamentally political issues. This article couples a survey of the recent environmental ethics literature with two case studies of how past natural hazards have affected vulnerable societies in Europe’s prehistory. We ask whether cases of past calamities and their societal effects should play a greater role in public debates and whether archaeologists working with past environmental hazards should be more outspoken in their ethical considerations. We offer no firm answers, but suggest that archaeologists engage with debates in human–environment relations at this interface between politics, public affairs and science.

Additional tags: environmental archaeology; environmental ethics; human-environment relations; archaeology and politics

Taxonomies

RPA Codes & Standards

• Appropriate Dissemination of Research
• Archaeologist's Responsibility to the Public

CIfA Codes

• Principle 1: Adherence to ethical and responsible behaviour in archaeological affairs
• Principle 2: Responsibility for the conservation of the historic environment
• Principle 4: Responsibility for the availability of archaeological results within reasonable dispatch
• Principle 5: Recognition of aspirations of employees, colleagues and helpers in all matters of employment

Keywords & Terms

• Accountability
• Environmental Impact and Issues
• Impact on Communities - Local, Descendant, etc.
• Respect for and Responsibility to Affected Groups

Topics & Issues

• Archaeological Advocacy and Activism
• Climate Change
• Environmental Issues, Impacts, and Regulations
• Ethical Responsibilities of Archaeologists
• Human Rights and Social and Economic Inequalities
• Politics and Archaeology