Bjerck et al./Marine Ventures, 1. Introduction

Human-sea relations are important factors in past and present human evolution. Discussions about these relations have ranged from shellfish gathering at beaches to the elaboration of technological, social and cognitive systems for marine foraging. The role of the marine environment is now seen as a primary factor in the understanding of social complexity. Archaeological data and methods are uniquely placed to produce interesting perspectives about human adaptations to the sea through global and local dimensions, geological, archaeological and ethnographic timescales, and empirical studies of cultural practice. This volume brings together an international collection of papers in which human-sea relations are analyzed through various temporal and spatial scales. The themes covered include initial developments and further elaboration of marine foraging, technological and logistical implications of travelling by sea, interrelations between social and cognitive systems, settlement patterns and subsistence of marine hunter-gatherers, landscape archaeology and palaeogeographic models and the role of marine resources in human-sea relations. This volume will be of interest to students, archaeologists and researchers from related disciplines.