EAA 2021 Kiel Statement on Archaeology and Climate Change

The European Association of Archaeologist adopted a joint statement during the Kiel conference 2021. The Statement was officially approved and adopted at the Annual Membership Businesses Meeting held per rollam on 20 – 23 September 2021. The draft of this Statement was prepared by an EAA Task Force composed of Johannes Muller (Co-Chair), Amanda Chadburn (Co-Chair), Peter Biehl (EAA Community for Climate Change and Heritage), Eszter Bánffy and Felipe Criado-Boado during 2021. The full statement is found here.

In this call inspired by the motto of the Kiel conference “Widening Horizons” , EAA encourages its members (and the broader archaeology community)  to address the challenges posed by climate change to society, the environment and to our archaeological heritage. Archaeologists are asked to formulate recommendations and make visible ‘best practices’ when it comes to addressing these challenges. As EEA concludes “Archaeology provides a unique perspective to the interpretation of recent climate and cultural change and provides a vast array of data for the better understanding of the development of, and resilience to these global crises”.

IHOPE endorses the EAA statement and hope for more collaborations and a wider network of engaged archaeologists to address current day challenges.