The North Sea is one of the best-studied shelves in the world from a geological perspective. Research triggered by the presence of natural resources such as hydrocarbons and aggregates, and, more recently, by the development of offshore wind farms has generated a vast amount of geoscience data. This chapter offers a general summary of the Quaternary history and geoarchaeological taphonomy of the southern and central North Sea continental shelf, as a starting point to understanding the taphonomy of submerged archaeology from paleolandscapes preserved below the North Sea floor. The North Sea holds a range of archaeological, sedimentary and geomorphological evidence for submerged prehistoric landscapes, i.e. drowned preserved former land surfaces, conserved and not substantially eroded or reworked by younger landscape and seabed-forming processes. In 'Quaternary background and paleogeographic framework' and 'Evidence of submerged landscapes on the shelf', links were made between paleogeographical circumstances and developments and the taphonomic variables and are summarized in the chapter.
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