This thesis expands on the theoretical understandings of environmental archaeology and climate change driven landscapes. An understanding of environmental archaeology and climate change assists in the heritage management at KLGO and throughout the national park system. Incorporating biological, ecological, and geological sciences with applied anthropological investigations remains necessary in understanding the research conducted at KLGO. I use environmental archaeology and climate change theories to understand past environments and people’s interactions with their environment, examine impacts to archaeological sites, prepare preservation plans and develop future monitoring plans using comparative data, conduct archaeological inventories,…show more content… “Theory, whether descriptive, analytical, or predictive, is a powerful tool for researchers, helping to define questions, isolate significant variables, and indicate appropriate and productive techniques for collection and analysis of variables” (Dincauze 2000). Environmental archaeology “is the study of the past environment of [humans]” (Evans 1978) with the primary goal of defining characteristics and processes of the biophysical environment in relation to socioeconomic systems. Environmental archaeology incorporates biology, geology, and climate sciences with applied archaeological investigations. “People are a part of ecosystems, and the role of the biophysical environment in offering challenges and opportunities to them is fundamental” (Evans and O’Connor 1999). Environmental archaeology applies anthropology and research to study past biotic and abiotic environments and, in particular, the interactions between environments and human populations. The impact of humans on the environment, past and present, and the repercussions of environmental impact remain critically important. Examining and knowing climatic and local environmental indicators is significant to this thesis. In environmental archaeology, several parameters can be broken down and used for assessing the local environments: climate, geology, soil, flora, and fauna. Equally important factors consist of spatial and temporal variability – space and time. “Because of the interrelationships of organisms and their environments, past conditions continue to shape the present and future” (Dincauze
