The relatively new science of environmental archaeology seeks to reconstruct how early cultures interacted with their environments, as well as how past societies adapted to changing environmental conditions. For example, an environmental archaeologist might choose to examine the impact of the volcanic explosion at Santorini on Minoan agriculture, and thus on the Minoan civilisation on Crete.

In trying to cover such a broad subject, environmental archaeology embraces a broad spectrum of disciplines ranging from geophysics to human biology. However, three general approaches are commonly recognised: zoological, botanical, and geological. A fourth, still quite rare, focuses on the microscopic world, and includes such elements as patterns of disease.

Zooarchaeology is the analysis and interpretation of animal remains within archaeological contexts. For example, this approach would be used in studying traditional herding societies and their impact on such former pasturelands as the Sahara Desert.

Archaeobotany is the study of plant remains, from charred wood to pollen grains. Along the Orinoco River and parts of the Amazon basin, this approach has identified the existence of nomadic agriculture within the rain forest. Together with zooarchaeology, these two approaches also examine human diet in stable and transitional societies.

Archaeopedology examines ancient soils, and thus helps provide the crucial archaeological context for artifacts. At its most basic, archaeopeological disciplines differentiate between paleosols, or old soils formed by natural processes, and anthrosols, or soils created by human activity: and thus can indicate the relative stability of a human settlement.

In seeking to understand past human impact upon environment, the lessons learned through environmental archaeology may well give us guidance in choosing our future paths.

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