El Eco a Sentinel from Indigenous Time to the Present

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "The Ecology of Underwater Cultural Heritage: From Microbial Communities to Macrofauna", at the 2025 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Historically, coral reefs have been used as food resources and raw material gathering areas for coastal communities. In the present, this ecosystem is in danger around the world due to anthropogenic and climate change impacts. This centenary marine ecosystem can survive hundreds to thousands of years, creating a yearly paleoclimate record in their exoskeleton. Centenary structures hold the key for present and future coral reef conservation projects. Archaeology can contribute to restoration efforts by collaborating in interdisciplinary research to identify past coral reef systems that have been impacted by anthropogenic and climate impacts in the long term. Using the north coast of Puerto Rico as a case study, we collaborate with local communities and ecologists in the identification of sentinel coral reef ecosystems that hold the key for conservation efforts in the island and can serve as a base for inter-Caribbean collaboration in restoration projects.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2025   •
• The Ecology of Underwater Cultural Heritage: From Microbial Communities to Macrofauna

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow