Seagrass Meadows: Ancient Ecosystems Vital to Human History
Recent research reveals a stunning connection between humans and seagrass meadows dating back 180,000 years. While savannas and forests are often considered the birthplaces of human evolution, underwater seagrass habitats have quietly supported human survival, culture, and livelihoods for millennia.
Coastal Migration and Seagrass: A Deep-Rooted Relationship
As early Homo species migrated from Africa, they followed coastlines to avoid inhospitable deserts and tundra. Along the way, they encountered seagrass meadows—marine flowering plants that thrive in shallow coastal waters and support diverse marine life.
Archaeological evidence from Paleolithic sites in France shows Neanderthals used Posidonia oceanica, a Mediterranean seagrass species, likely as bedding material, bringing along tiny snails naturally found among the seagrass. Additional findings from 120,000 years ago show Neanderthals also harvested seagrass-associated scallops.
Seagrass Meadows: Natural Marine Supermarkets
Providing Sustainable Food Sources for Thousands of Years
Seagrass ecosystems serve as vital nurseries and shelters for fish, invertebrates, marine mammals, and reptiles. Due to their proximity to shorelines, coastal communities have long relied on seagrass meadows for fishing, hunting, and gathering edible marine life.
Ancient Fishing Traditions
- Around 6,000 years ago, communities in eastern Arabia used seagrass-rich waters to hunt rabbitfish. Their stone fishing traps are still visible from satellite imagery today.
- On Isla Cedros, off the coast of Baja California, early North American cultures harvested Zostera marina (eelgrass) seeds over 12,000 years ago, milling them into flour for breads and cakes.
- The Kwakwaka’wakw Indigenous people of North America sustainably gathered eelgrass rhizomes as early as 10,000 years ago—an eco-friendly technique shown to boost plant regrowth.
Seagrass in Human Culture, Medicine, and Construction
A Multifunctional Natural Resource Across Civilizations
Seagrass leaves are moisture-resistant, rot-proof, and resilient—properties that ancient civilizations discovered and utilized in numerous ways:
- Bronze Age Minoans reinforced mudbrick walls with dried seagrass, creating structures with superior thermal insulation.
- By the 16th century, seagrass-stuffed mattresses were in demand for their pest-repellent qualities, even used by Pope Julius III.
- During the 17th century, Europeans began thatching roofs with seagrass and insulating homes with it—a practice brought to North America by colonial settlers.
- In the 19th century, the Samuel Cabot Company in Boston developed Cabot’s Quilt, a patented seagrass insulation used in major U.S. landmarks like the Rockefeller Center and the U.S. Capitol.
Cultural and Spiritual Significance of Seagrass Ecosystems
More Than Just a Marine Habitat
Seagrass meadows have also been woven into spiritual and ritualistic practices. In Neolithic Denmark, human remains were discovered wrapped in seagrass within graves, indicating a profound cultural and symbolic connection to the sea.
Seagrass Meadows Today: Ecosystems Worth Saving
Sustaining Modern Coastal Communities
Across the Indian and Pacific Oceans, fishing within seagrass habitats continues to be a reliable source of livelihood, especially for women engaged in gleaning—the manual collection of shellfish and marine edibles during low tide. Seagrass meadows often provide essential food when offshore fishing is restricted by storms or seasonal changes.
The Takeaway: Seagrass Meadows as Ecological and Cultural Treasures
Seagrass meadows are more than biodiversity hotspots and carbon sinks—they are living legacies of human history. For 180,000 years, they have provided:
- Nutrition
- Shelter
- Materials
- Medicine
- Cultural heritage
Investing in the conservation and restoration of seagrass ecosystems is not just about ecological balance—it’s about preserving an intimate and ancient human connection to the sea.