Galapagos marine plastic pollution: a perspective from contemporary archaeology

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Marine plastic pollution is an issue threatening most places around the world, including the remote and unique Galapagos archipelago, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Building on how archaeology of the contemporary world can help address urgent and global environmental issues, this paper offers suggestions for an archaeology of plastic pollution in Galapagos. Two approaches to study plastic pollution in Galapagos are presented: 1) the study of plastic bottles as material culture found on shores of one uninhabited island of the archipelago and 2) the use of object itineraries as an archaeological framework to organise a story-writing workshop with local students.

With PET bottles being one of the most recurrent findings on beach clean-ups around the globe, this paper adopts an archaeological approach to their analysis in order to recreate their itineraries. Through an analysis of labels, stamps and production/expiry date, this paper evaluates bottles' origin, pathway and use, while suggesting solutions. As the issue of plastic pollution is deeply entangled with human behaviour, this paper also aims at understanding perceptions of the issue, its sources, impacts and solutions. Results of a story-writing workshop to explore perceptions of marine plastic litter itineraries by students from Santa Cruz will be presented.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39928.0