The archaeology of El Nino events and other 'natural' disasters

Archaeological research on disasters has increased substantially since Shee ts's 1980 review of the topic, and with heightened media coverage and fundi ng for the study of such events, archaeological interest will continue to g row. This paper examines how prehistorians have incorporated disasters into their research since 1980, using the literature on El Nino as an illustrat ive case, and assesses this work in relation to geographical approaches to disaster as well as concepts that have been developed within the 'new ecolo gies'.