Marine Ventures: Comparative Perspectives on the Dynamics of Early Human Approaches to the Seascapes of Tierra del Fuego and Norway

Abstract

The Marine Ventures project seeks to increase our understanding of the early relations between humans and the sea, especially subsistence and maritime voyaging. Through comparative analysis, we are interested in how hunter-gatherer societies have adapted to environmental, material, and social surroundings in two different, yet similar settings: the archipelagos of Scandinavia and Patagonia. The similarities and differences in the natural and cultural settings of the two regions are a valuable source for comparison that shed light on the general dynamics of human environmental interactions and regional landscape and social histories. Marine Ventures addresses these problems in four interrelated components: 1) colonizing seascapes and the dynamics of the development of marine foraging; 2) interactions between logistics (boats) and settlements; 3) dwelling types and settlement structure; and 4) legislation and heritage management. The Norway/Tierra del Fuego comparisons include a variety of distinct methodological, theoretical, and cultural heritage management approaches. The broad comparative framework of the Marine Ventures project is an approach that should be useful for archaeologists working in island and coastal settings around the world.