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Object narratives as a methodology for mitigating marine plastic pollution: multidisciplinary investigations in Galápagos

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 February 2020

John Schofield Open the ORCID record for John Schofield [Opens in a new window] ,
Kayleigh J. Wyles ,
Sean Doherty Open the ORCID record for Sean Doherty [Opens in a new window] ,
Andy Donnelly ,
Jen Jones  and
Adam Porter Open the ORCID record for Adam Porter [Opens in a new window]
John Schofield*
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, University of York, UK
Kayleigh J. Wyles
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Surrey, UK
Sean Doherty
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, University of York, UK
Andy Donnelly
Affiliation:
Galapagos Conservation Trust, London, UK
Jen Jones
Affiliation:
Department of Biosciences, Exeter, UK
Adam Porter
Affiliation:
Department of Biosciences, Exeter, UK
*
*Author for correspondence: ✉ john.schofield@york.ac.uk
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Abstract

Marine plastic pollution is a global environmental concern. With reference to approaches in contemporary archaeology, object biographies and psychology, this article presents the application of a novel participatory (‘World Café’) methodology that aims both to understand how marine plastic pollution occurs and to demonstrate the value of the approach for encouraging behaviour change. As proof of concept, the authors present the preliminary results of fieldwork involving local people in the Galápagos archipelago to demonstrate the benefits of an archaeological approach in developing new frameworks to help mitigate this critical environmental threat.

Keywords

Galápagoscontemporary archaeologymarine pollutionobject biographyWorld Café
Type
Research Article
Information
Antiquity , Volume 94 , Issue 373 , February 2020 , pp. 228 - 244
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2020

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