Coastal prehistory and submerged landscapes: Molluscan resources, shell-middens and underwater investigations

Abstract This Special Issue brings together fourteen articles that present new methods, ideas, and approaches in the study of coastal prehistory with examples drawn from the Americas, Australia, Europe, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa. In this introductory overview, we set out the rationale for combining articles on shell middens and submerged landscapes and the underlying logic of the order in which we have chosen to present the articles. The sequence begins with studies of marine molluscs and moves progressively outwards from small-scale studies of midden composition to large-scale studies of submerged landscapes, and from land to sea. We summarise the contents of each article and highlight connections between them and similarities and contrasts. We conclude with some final comments about the relationship between on-land and underwater investigations and identify the taphonomic, formational and deformational histories of archaeological deposits, materials and landscapes, and the variable impact of sea-level change as unifying themes.