Geoarchaeology is traditionally concerned with reconstructing the environmental aspects of past societies using the methods of the earth sciences. The field has been steadily enriched by scholars from a diversity of disciplines and much has happened as the importance of global perspectives on environmental change has emerged. Carlos Cordova, provides a fully up-to-date account of geoarchaeology that reflects the important changes that have occurred in the past four decades. Innovative features include: the development of the human-ecological approach and the impact of technology on this approach; how the diversity of disciplines contributes to archaeological questions; frontiers of archaeology in the deep past, particularly the Anthropocene; the geoarchaeology of the contemporary past; the emerging field of ethno-geoarchaeology; the role of geoarchaeology in global environmental crises and climate change.

The Crimean Peninsula has a rich and complex environmental history. The Black Sea in particular has had a major impact on nearly all aspects of Crimea's natural and cultural history. Carlos Cordova explains the making of Crimea's natural environment, from its geology and relief to its climate and soils. He explores the rich flora and fauna of the peninsula, including the biogeographical isolation of Crimea, the transformation of the landscape brought about by Mediterranean farmers, as well as Khrushchev's Virgin Lands Campaign, which saw virtually all the steppe turned into cropland. The development of the south coast as a tourist destination and the pollution brought about by agricultural and industrial development are also discussed. This pioneering study represents the first modern work in the English language on the environmental history of a little known but environmentally significant region.