Both natural processes (e.g., erosion, vegetative succession) and human processes (e.g., prehistoric shell deposition, modern clearing) have impacted the structure of back-barrier islands on the coast of Georgia. Both types of processes have occurred continually throughout the past and present. Present-day-back-barrier islands cannot be understood without a thorough knowledge of their landscape history. For a full understanding of coastal ecosystems, they need to be viewed as human ecosystems that are the result of both natural and human processes.