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Waste Journeys
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This multidisciplinary study examined plastic waste as a material of the Anthropocene by tracing the journeys of plastic objects across cultural, natural, marine, and terrestrial landscapes, exploring how plastic's resilience makes it a defining and problematic artifact of modern civilization.
Plastics, as supermodern artefacts of the Anthropocene, form a significant part of waste landscapes. But they also pollute landscapes – cultural and natural, marine and terrestrial – across the globe, including in the most isolated of places. The material’s resilience meansthat plastic pollution is one of the biggest global challenges facing contemporary society. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, this paper demonstrates how archaeological methods can help address the issue of plastic pollution in Galapagos, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its “Outstanding Universal Value” to humanity. Studied archaeologically, plastics are artefacts that through careful observation can yield precious information about their journey to this archipelago. As objects of story writing and the focus of object itineraries, they can also be used as a window into perceptions of plastic litter locally, as well as providing an opportunity to engage students in the topic.
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Plastic pollution: archaeological perspective on an Anthropocene climate emergency
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This paper advocates for an archaeological perspective on plastic pollution, treating plastics as artefacts amenable to visual analysis and archaeological science while also serving as stratigraphic chronological markers in the Anthropocene. The author argues that plastic pollution threatens natural and cultural heritage sites and that archaeologists must engage with this emerging research and conservation challenge.
Toward an anthropology of plastics
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Anthropological essay arguing that plastics' material ambivalence, ubiquity, and social effects demand sustained anthropological study across the full plastic lifecycle.
Unwanted pathways : a material flow analysis of plastics from production to the ocean
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This material flow analysis traced the pathways by which plastics move from production through use and into the ocean, identifying the routes that lead to microplastic accumulation in marine environments. The study highlights gaps in the research beyond ocean gyre surveys and calls for better tracking of land-to-sea plastic flows.
Anthropocene Ouroboros
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This ethnographic study explores how plastic objects on an Indian Ocean island shatter and disperse into microplastics, complicating our understanding of geological time. Researchers argue that because microplastics can migrate through sedimentary layers and infiltrate earlier geological strata, they disrupt the very framework used to delineate the Anthropocene. The paper examines the cultural and temporal implications of plastic pollution as a defining material of the modern era.
Microplastics: Contaminants of Global Concern in the Anthropocene
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This review summarizes the state of knowledge on microplastics as a global contaminant, covering their sources, distribution in different environments, and potential ecological and health effects. It frames microplastics as a defining pollution challenge of the Anthropocene era.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.