On a Mountain High: Finding and Documenting Glacial Archaeological Sites During the Anthropocene

Glacial archaeology is a developing eld brought on by climate change (Andrews and MacKay 2012; Reckin 2013; Dixon et al. 2014). Glaciers and ice patches are melting in the high mountains around the world, and human inuence on the climate is very likely the main driver of this melt (IPCC 2021). As the ice retreats, artifacts and faunal
materials are melting out in North America, the Alps, Scandinavia, and Mongolia. Glacial archaeologists in these regions are surveying along the edges of melting ice to dis-
cover and document emerging nds. Many are of organic materials rarely preserved elsewhere. The unique nds from the ice and the intersection with climate change have created a lot of interest for this new eld in archaeology, both scientically and publicly. The melting of glacial ice is part of a wider process which endangers the preservation of frozen cultural heritage in general (Hollesen et al. 2018;
Clark et al. 2021; Reitmaier 2021).

Taylor and Francis

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2022