The Natural Sciences Unit at the Flemish Heritage Institute investigates past human societies through the analysis of excavated human, animal and plant remains. The reconstruction of the evolving interaction between humans and their environment (landscapes, flora and fauna) provides both paleaeoecological and palaeoeconomic interpretations. One of the specific research themes comprises the habitation and exploitation history of the Flemish coastal plain, focusing both on the reconstruction of past agricultural activities, and the impact of humans on the natural environment (water management, deforestation, etc.). The geological evolution of the coastal plain (with, e.g., regressions and transgressions) is studied through the sampling of natural sequences such as peat layers. A second line of research, of importance for our knowledge of the history of coast and sea, consists in the diachronic analysis of consumption remains, more precisely fish bones, from Flemish sites (both coastal and inland). This yields information about the evolution of the Flemish marine fishery, illuminating aspects such as the development of fishing techniques, the localisation of fishing grounds, selection within the catch, seasonal fishing activities or overfishing. This research is organised as a close cooperation with the Osteology Laboratory of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences.
