Pushing the Boundaries: Coastal Adaptation during the Palaeolithic

Coastal environments have emerged as pivotal zones for human evolution. The dynamic and resource-rich coastlines offered vital ecological and cognitive opportunities, rich, stable food resources, and strategic advantages for mobility, innovation, and social complexity. However, sea-level changes and preservation biases often limit the archaeological visibility of coastal adaptation. Recent advances in underwater archaeology, paleoenvironmental reconstruction, and geospatial modelling now offer powerful tools to reassess the significance of coasts in early human lifeways. This Research Topic seeks to synthesise global perspectives on how Palaeolithic populations adapted to, exploited, and moved through coastal environments over deep time.

Goal:

To gather cutting-edge research examining the role of coastal zones in the Palaeolithic, with an emphasis on subsistence, cognition, technology, mobility, and addressing methodological challenges in accessing submerged or poorly preserved records.

Scope:

We are welcoming contributions such as original research articles, reviews, case studies, and methodological advances. Topics may include (but are not limited to):

o Subsistence strategies and marine resource exploitation

o Symbolic or technological innovations

o Underwater archaeology, site taphonomy, and palaeoenvironmental reconstructions

o Models of coastal migration

o Interdisciplinary research integrating archaeology, paleoecology, genetics, geoscience, or the involvement of local/indigenous communities

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: coastal adaptation, palaeolithic, environment, ecology, resources, mobility

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.