Vol 4 - Issue 1

Archaeology, Society and Environment

List of Articles

Forests in the county of Nantes during the 15th century have long considered as badly handled and maintained. Seigniorial accounts lead to ask some new questions. This paper aims to sum up issues and current researches in order to take another look at this question. Tensions are increasing in the end of the Middle Ages, with several crises on territories and societies linked with the destructions of war and depredations. By studying seigniorial accounts historians could enlighten very contrasting situations depending on the main trade roads. In this special case, livestock farming is developed and put pressure on forest territories with glandees and panages. Other topics such as hunting and enclosed parks are unevenly informed by seigniorial accounts. There is a lack of field investigations to study more precisely these themes.

Passion Island-Clipperton is currently free of continuous and regular human settlement, but supports a large colony of birds, crabs, rats and plant species. However, from the remnants of past human occupation to the plastic waste brought in daily by the sea, it is subject to human interaction. Following an international scientific mission, we focussed on the nature of the anthropic remains, i.e. their history, dispersion, dynamics and effects on the environment. Overall, this study addresses the history, uses, activities on and around the atoll, as well as leisure activities, human appropriation and territorial claims. The processing of this data has considerable heuristic value for the human and social sciences. The problem of waste is considered not only as a reverse side of production, but also as a research object combining historical, geographical, economic, geopolitical, landscape, environmental, ecological and symbolic dimensions. In this way, the study provides an opportunity to consider and debate the effects of the current economic and environmental crises.