Archaeological research on islands has made significant contributions to our understanding of human cultural development, with aquatic resources and maritime adaptations being increasingly recognized as having had profound effects on human evolution, worldwide dispersals, and the development of social complexity. Once thought to be marginal habitats for humans--lacking in many of the necessary dietary and raw material requirements for societies to thrive--recent research in island and coastal regions around the world has shown this to be false. In fact, the opposite appears to be true in many cases, where aquatic resources were plentiful, highly nutritious, and relatively easy to harvest.

The Oxford Handbook of Island & Coastal Archaeology is the first volume to synthesize major topics in the subfield of island and coastal archaeology on a truly global scale, including methodological and theoretical advances that have positioned the subfield as central to archaeology, history, and historical ecology. It includes up-to-date syntheses by leading scholars of the development of human societies in island and coastal environments around the world, including Oceania, the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa. This volume also highlights emerging contemporary issues such as Indigenous perspectives and rights, submerged landscapes, heritage conservation and management, and tourism.

This volume explores an array of research topics, including: the origins and development of aquatic adaptations and the exploitation of marine resources; the colonization and settlement histories of island and coastal regions around the worlds; the movement and transfer of exotic goods, plants, and animals; the development of trade and exchange systems between different cultural groups; interaction spheres that evolved through time; reports or comparisons of seafaring technologies worldwide; how insular environments affected or influenced sociocultural complexity; how peoples compensated for restricted resources on some islands; historical ecologies, human impacts, and long-term human resilience in island settings; the transformation of Indigenous societies after European contact; and current multidisciplinary methods and research of archaeologists and other scientists.