Contemporary Archaeology as a Framework for Investigating the Impact of Disposable Plastic Bags on Environmental Pollution in Galápagos. (31st December 2020)
- Record Type:
- Journal Article
- Title:
- Contemporary Archaeology as a Framework for Investigating the Impact of Disposable Plastic Bags on Environmental Pollution in Galápagos. (31st December 2020)
- Main Title:
- Contemporary Archaeology as a Framework for Investigating the Impact of Disposable Plastic Bags on Environmental Pollution in Galápagos
- Authors:
- Schofield, John
Aylmer, Jerry
Donnelly, Andy
Jones, Jen
Muñoz-Pérez, Juan
Perez, Elena
Scott, Callum
Townsend, Kathy - Abstract:
- Abstract : This paper presents contemporary archaeology as a novel framework for investigating environmental pollution, specifically marine pollution, which comprises a global "toxic assemblage" of an estimated 5.25 trillion plastic artefacts. The ideas behind this approach were developed in 2018 during a multidisciplinary "Science to Solutions" workshop held in Galápagos (Ecuador), led by the Galápagos National Park and Galapagos Conservation Trust and hosted by the Galapagos Science Center and the Charles Darwin Research Station. These ideas informed two studies which began separately but became increasingly aligned within a contemporary archaeology framework, in effect tackling the same problem from two very different perspectives: the first involving surface mapping, designed to inform an understanding of how plastic items enter the environment, including the marine environment, in the first place; and the second comprising utilization-focused evaluation, designed to better understand people's behaviours and aspirations. Both of the studies centred on a specific and ubiquitous type of item or artefact: the disposable plastic bag. We conclude that the two studies together demonstrate that, through giving primacy to material culture, contemporary archaeology can (1) serve as a cross-disciplinary framework for tackling environmental pollution, and (2) provide a basis for shaping practice and informing policy.
- Is Part Of:
- Journal of contemporary archaeology. Volume 7:Number 2(2020)Special issue
- Journal:
- Journal of contemporary archaeology
- Issue:
- Volume 7:Number 2(2020)Special issue
- Issue Display:
- Volume 7, Issue 2 (2020)
- Year:
- 2020
- Volume:
- 7
- Issue:
- 2
- Issue Sort Value:
- 2020-0007-0002-0000
- Page Start:
- 276
- Page End:
- 306
- Publication Date:
- 2020-12-31
- Subjects:
- utilization-focused evaluation -- disposable plastic bags -- galapagos -- surface collection -- plastic waste -- pollution
Archaeology -- Periodicals
Civilization -- Periodicals
Sociology -- Periodicals
930.1 - Journal URLs:
- http://www.equinoxpub.com/journals/index.php/JCA ↗
- DOI:
- 10.1558/jca.41134 ↗
- Languages:
- English
- ISSNs:
- 2051-3429
- Deposit Type:
- Legaldeposit
- View Content:
- Available online (eLD content is only available in our Reading Rooms) ↗
- Physical Locations:
- British Library HMNTS - ELD Digital store
- Ingest File:
- 16761.xml