About

Jon Erlandson is an Adjunct Professor and the Director of the Museum of Natural and Cultural History at the University of Oregon. He is associated with the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His specialization includes roles as a Professor and Director, with a focus on natural and cultural history. His contact information includes an email address at the University of Oregon and a profile link to the university's anthropology department. The page indicates his involvement in academic and museum leadership roles, emphasizing his contributions to anthropology and natural history.

Research topics

• Archaeology
• Geography
• Geology
• Ecology
• Oceanography

Selected publications

• Seaweeds, seagrasses, and the Island Chumash of Alta California

  The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology · 2026-01-08

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Island and Coastal Archaeology in the Twenty-First Century

  Oxford University Press eBooks · 2025-08-21

  book-chapterSenior author

  Abstract In this introductory chapter the authors provide a broad context for the archaeological and multi-disciplinary study of human interactions with islands and coastal zones around the world, as well as the diverse set of papers that comprise this volume. Compared to their twentieth-century counterparts, most archaeologists today recognize a deeper history of hominin/human adaptations to coastal and island settings in large parts of the world, including aquatic resource use, coastal dispersals, and island colonization events dating well back into the Pleistocene. In much of the remote Pacific, in contrast, chronologies for human colonization have shortened somewhat, the result of careful evaluation of initial chronologies and high-precision redating of many sites. Aided by new scientific techniques and multi-disciplinary collaborations, archaeologists have also documented the effects of Indigenous people on island and coastal ecosystems, as well as the long-term resilience and sustainability of such cultures before and after the devastating effects of European colonialism. In this chapter the authors discuss nine issues they believe will be central to the practice of island and coastal archaeology as the twenty-first century continues to unfold.

  PublisherDOI

• Identifying the Big Questions in paleontology: a community-driven project

  Paleobiology · 2025-08-01 · 4 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Paleontology provides insights into the history of the planet, from the origins of life billions of years ago to the biotic changes of the Recent. The scope of paleontological research is as vast as it is varied, and the field is constantly evolving. In an effort to identify “Big Questions” in paleontology, experts from around the world came together to build a list of priority questions the field can address in the years ahead. The 89 questions presented herein (grouped within 11 themes) represent contributions from nearly 200 international scientists. These questions touch on common themes including biodiversity drivers and patterns, integrating data types across spatiotemporal scales, applying paleontological data to contemporary biodiversity and climate issues, and effectively utilizing innovative methods and technology for new paleontological insights. In addition to these theoretical questions, discussions touch upon structural concerns within the field, advocating for an increased valuation of specimen-based research, protection of natural heritage sites, and the importance of collections infrastructure, along with a stronger emphasis on human diversity, equity, and inclusion. These questions offer a starting point—an initial nucleus of consensus that paleontologists can expand on—for engaging in discussions, securing funding, advocating for museums, and fostering continued growth in shared research directions.

  PublisherDOI

• The Use of Seaweeds and Marine Plants by Island and Coastal Peoples in the Past

  Oxford University Press eBooks · 2025-03-20 · 1 citations

  book-chapterSenior author

  Abstract Seaweeds and seagrasses are among the most diverse and abundant marine resources in island and coastal settings around the world. Nearly all seaweeds are edible and highly nutritious, some have medicinal uses, and others serve a variety of technological purposes. Historical, ethnographic, and archaeological data demonstrates that a variety of seaweeds and marine plants have been used by island and coastal peoples for centuries or millennia. Because they rarely preserve in archaeological sites, however, their significance in ancient economies has often been overlooked. Here, the authors summarize current information on the biology and ecology of seaweeds, their nutritional value and historical use, and archaeological approaches to better understand the importance of seaweeds and marine plants to past island and coastal societies. As modern seaweed production and consumption increase rapidly, the recognition of seaweed utilization in archaeological contexts is also growing.

  PublisherDOI

• Island and Coastal Archaeology

  Oxford University Press eBooks · 2025-08-21

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract The twenty-first century has seen the emergence of island and coastal archaeology as a vibrant subdiscipline in archaeology and historical ecology. Twenty years ago, the authors were the founding co-editors of the Journal of Island & Coastal Archaeology, a peer-reviewed academic journal dedicated to advancing scientific research related to island and coastal archaeology around the world. In 2013, an Island and Coastal Archaeology Special Interest Group was formed within the Society for American Archaeology, which now has more than 820 followers and publishes a biannual newsletter (The Current). A Facebook group devoted to island and coastal archaeology now has more than 3825 followers and provides an international forum for archaeologists working in island and coastal settings. The publication of the Oxford Handbook of Island and Coastal Archaeology marks yet another milestone in the emergence of coastal and island archaeology. The many contributors to chapters in this volume include some of the most influential scholars in archaeology today, as well as numerous emerging early-career scholars. In this chapter the authors highlight some of the accomplishments of recent decades that contribute to a “coming of age” for this growing and increasingly influential subfield of study.

  PublisherDOI

• Rising seas endanger maritime heritage

  Science · 2025-01-30 · 4 citations

  letter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• The Importance of Geophytes and Other Plant Foods in Ancient Island and Coastal Societies

  Oxford University Press eBooks · 2025-09-23

  book-chapterSenior author

  Abstract In this chapter, the authors explore the emergence of archaeobotany as a critical source of new information about the nature of ancient island and coastal ecosystems and the significance of plants as sources of food, medicine, raw materials, and fuels for humans living in such settings in the past. They focus on the importance of geophytes—plants with underground storage organs such as tubers, corms, and rhizomes—as crucial sources of carbohydrates and calories for both hunter–gatherer–fisher and agricultural societies. Evidence for the use of geophytes has grown exponentially in recent years and now extends back hundreds of thousands of years. They were especially important in many island, coastal, and other aquatic settings, where they complemented protein- and fat-rich foods and often served as dietary staples. The authors argue that plant foods, subsistence flexibility, and dietary diversity were critical to the spread of human populations around the world. The study of ancient plant-use patterns expands the understanding of human impacts and resilience in the past and provides invaluable historical ecological baselines that can aid conservation and restoration efforts today and in the future.

  PublisherDOI

• Norse Persistence and Resilience in Iceland

  University Press of Florida eBooks · 2024-04-16 · 1 citations

  book-chapterSenior author

  The Norse colonized Iceland approximately 1,150 years ago (~AD 870) and their descendants have lived there ever since. From Iceland, Viking Age settlements were established in Greenland and on the eastern shores of North America, but these colonies failed. In Iceland, in contrast, the Norse and their descendants survived substantial climatic changes and natural disasters, anthropogenic impacts to terrestrial and marine ecosystems, pandemic plagues, and major religious, political, economic, and technological changes. We review the archaeology and history of Viking Age and Medieval Period Iceland to examine how humans survived and sometimes thrived on this North Atlantic island and what might be learned from their resilience. The well-being of Iceland’s people varied through time, depending on their relative isolation or integration with European neighbors, their independence vs. subjugation by other Scandinavian powers, and their ability to adapt to everchanging environmental and sociopolitical conditions. Ultimately, Icelanders survived by relying on a mix of farming and fishing, maintaining contact and trade with neighboring countries, avoiding despotism, major wars, and military obligations, and balancing cultural conservatism and innovation. Today, Iceland is one of the most prosperous nations in the world, and the persistence and resilience of Icelandic peoples for more than a millennium offers important lessons for modern societies facing similar challenges of sustainability today.

  PublisherDOI

• The Potential Importance of Prickly Pear Cacti (Opuntia spp.) For The Island Chumash and Tongva on Alta California’s Channel Islands

  Journal of Anthropological and Archaeological Sciences · 2024-04-29 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Compared to the adjacent mainland, the islands off the Pacific Coast of Alta and Baja California were long considered to be marginal for human habitation. As Channel Island landscapes and plant communities gradually recover from more than 150 years of heavy grazing and other colonial activities, however, the notion of their marginality has waned as ecological monitoring and archaeobotanical research document an abundance of plant resources. Here we explore the potential importance of another plant taxon native to the California Islands, the prickly pear cacti of the Opuntia genus. Prickly pear fruits (tunas), leaf pads (nopales), and spines were used by Indigenous inhabitants for food, medicines, and technological purposes. Where abundant—especially in more arid areas or during dry seasons and droughts—they could also have been a critical source of moisture as the pads and fruits both consist of roughly 90% water. An abundance of prickly pear cactus on the islands adds yet another valuable terrestrial plant species to the array of terrestrial resources available to Island Chumash and Tongva peoples in the past.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Islands as Nodes of Human Resilience and Persistence

  University Press of Florida eBooks · 2024-03-24

  book-chapterSenior author
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Paleocoastal Seasonality on California's Northern Channel Islands: Shellfish Harvesting and Isotopic Signatures of Sedentism vs. Mobility

  NSF · $15k · 2012–2013

• Colonization, Ecology, and Adaptive Adjustments of Paleocoastal Peoples on California's Northern Channel Islands

  NSF · $99k · 2009–2012

• Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Archaeology, Human Impacts, and Historical Ecology on San Miguel Island, California

  NSF · $12k · 2006–2008

• Collaborative Research: Testing hypotheses of latest Pleistocene paleo-environmental collapse, Northern Channel Islands, California

  NSF · $45k · 2008–2010

Frequent coauthors

• Torben C. Rick

  National Museum of Natural History

  169 shared

• Todd J. Braje

  University of Oregon

  111 shared

• Kristina M. Gill

  44 shared

• Douglas J. Kennett

  40 shared

• René L. Vellanoweth

  California State University Los Angeles

  34 shared

• Madonna L. Moss

  28 shared

• Scott M. Fitzpatrick

  24 shared

• Nicholas P. Jew

  University of Oregon

  20 shared

Education

• PhD, Anthropology

  University of California

  1988