Exploring the Environmental Legacy of Curaçao’s Cultural Landscape
Supporting authors: Christina.M. Giovas, Department of Archaeology Simon Fraser University; Claudia Kraan, NAAM Foundation, Curaçao; Michiel Kappers, InTerris Registries / QLC Inc.; Yoshi Maezumi, Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology; and Amy Victorina, NAAM Foundation, Curaçao
Abstract
The Curaçao Cultural Landscape Project (CCLP) initiated a long-term field investigation on the ecological legacy of Indigenous and European colonial occupation of Curaçao in the southern Caribbean in 2022. By exploring multi-proxy records from human settlement, resource use, and environmental conditions over ca. 4500 years, our interdisciplinary project seeks to document past human-caused habitat and biodiversity changes on this island. From the outcomes of our analyses, we aim to develop sustainability solutions for the present. This working paper presents preliminary findings of the first field season at the Jan Thiel and St. Marie Bay landscapes. Results include newly identified sites, C-14 dating, marine sediment coring, geophysical survey, and geoarchaeological and zooarchaeological analyses. Transdisciplinary research such as this allows us to understand Curaçao’s cultural landscape and its transformation through time. We also hope to link our work about the past to present and future policy challenges in heritage management and climate change.
About the presenter
Kelsey is an archaeologist and researcher located in Brisbane. She has over 22 years experience in field and laboratory-based archaeology, specialising in archaeological geophysics, geoarchaeology, remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS). Her work has taken her to places in Queensland, New South Wales, Northern Territory, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia, and internationally on archaeological sites in Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, Indonesia, Myanmar, and North and South America. Currently, she works as a Principal Program Officer for the state government; however, she is also affiliated with the University of Queensland.
About Archaeology Working Papers
The Working Papers in Archaeology seminar series provides a forum for dissemination of archaeological research and ideas amongst UQ archaeology students and staff. All students are invited to attend the series and postgraduate students, from honours upwards, are invited to present their research. The aim is to provide opportunities for students, staff and those from outside UQ, to present and discuss their work in an informal environment. It is hoped that anyone interested in current archaeological directions, both within and outside the School and University, will be able to attend and contribute to the series.
