Holocene fluvial and anthropogenic processes in the region of Uruk in southern Mesopotamia

Jotheri, Jaafar; Altaweel, Mark; Tuji, Akihiro; Anma, Ryo; Pennington, Benjamin T.; Rost, Stephanie; Watanabe, Chikako E.

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2017.11.037

Cited by 33 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Adams [30,31] and Nissen [32] conducted large surveys across Southern Mesopotamia that remain the main source of published information about sites and the dates of sites in the region. Additionally, sediment auger coring had previously been carried out by Jotheri in several selected locations across Southern Mesopotamia to investigate the palaeochannels in the area, and some of these results were published in Wilkinson et al [34] and Jotheri et al [35,36]. These palaeochannels were dated using accelerator mass spectroscopy (AMS) on shell samples calibrated ages with a 2-sigma error range in calendar years BP [36] (p.57).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The dimensions of the resulting marsh in terms of width and depth are normally affected by the quantity of the flooded water from the river to the lowland area and the elevation of the surrounded barriers. Climate change and river avulsion, the process by which rivers break their banks and form new channels, are two of the most common natural causes for the formation and desiccation of marshland [35], [36] (pp.170-185), [51]. Additionally, channel levees and artificial earth dykes are common barriers as antiquity that can cause or maintain marshes [39] (pp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, channel levees and artificial earth dykes are common barriers as antiquity that can cause or maintain marshes [39] (pp. [11][12][13][14], [35], [36] (pp.177-181). Meanwhile, the construction of dams, diversion of water resources, and intentional draining of marshes, like that which occurred in the 20th century in southern Iraq, are the anthropogenic factors that cause their desiccation [35], [36] (p.181).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Marshes in the Mesopotamian floodplain are subjected to both permanent and occasional desiccation caused by both natural processes and, sometimes, human interference [51]. One of the requirements of forming a marsh area is that the lowland area should be confined by a relatively highly elevated topographic feature that acts as a barrier or ridge keeping water inside the depression or the lowland area [36]. The dimensions of the resulting marsh in terms of width and depth are normally affected by the quantity of the flooded water from the river to the lowland area and the elevation of the surrounded barriers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, channel levees and artificial earth dykes are common barriers as antiquity that can cause or maintain marshes [27] (pp. [11][12][13][14], [36] and [37] (pp. 177-181).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Remote Sensing the Archaeological Traces of Boat Movement in the Marshes of Southern Mesopotamia

et al. 2019

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This study presents the results of the first remote sensing survey of hollow ways in Southern Mesopotamia between Baghdad and the Persian Gulf, primarily using the imagery in Google Earth. For archaeologists, hollow ways are important trace fossils of past human movement that inform about how people travelled in the past and what considerations were important to them as they moved through the landscape. In this study, remotely sensed hollow ways were ground-truthed and dated by association with both palaeochannels and known archaeological sites. Contextual and morphological evidence of the hollow ways indicate that they are likely the archaeological manifestation of ethnographically attested "water channels" formed through the dense reeds of marshlands in southern Iraq, not formed by traction overland like other known hollow ways. The map itself documents the first known hollow ways preserved underwater and one of the best-preserved landscapes of past human movement in the Near East.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, channel levees and artificial earth dykes are common barriers as antiquity that can cause or maintain marshes [27] (pp. [11][12][13][14], [36] and [37] (pp. 177-181).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Remote Sensing the Archaeological Traces of Boat Movement in the Marshes of Southern Mesopotamia

et al. 2019

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Development of water management strategies in southern Mesopotamia during the fourth and third millennium B.C.E.

Mantellini,

Picotti,

Al‐Hussainy

et al. 2024

Geoarchaeology

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The last two decades witnessed increasing scholarly interest in the history of water management in southern Mesopotamia. Thanks to many geoarchaeological research projects conducted throughout the central and southern Iraqi floodplains, a general understanding of the macrophases of anthropogenic manipulation of this vast hydraulic landscape has been achieved. However, current narratives mostly rely on studies at a regional scale and are based on excessively long chronological phases (often spanning a whole millennium). A finer‐tuned analysis at a submillennial scale is needed to better appreciate the dynamics that led to the development of artificial canals and irrigation systems and the creation of harbours in cities and other navigation‐related facilities. The Iraqi‐Italian QADIS project is addressing this issue through a systematic geoarchaeological investigation in the south‐eastern area of the Qadisiyah province. We aim to update the current narrative by analysing case studies involving specific periods of occupation. We performed 17 boreholes to propose a date on the functioning period of the hydraulic works in five selected archaeological sites of this region. This approach allowed us to understand changes in water management strategies in both the short and the medium term (i.e., on a scale of centuries). In this paper, we present the results for the fourth and third millennia B.C.E. This period witnessed a crucial passage from the basic exploitation of natural watercourses for irrigation and occasional navigation to the emergence of the first system of artificial canals and intraurban harbours.

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Southern Mesopotamia: Water and the rise of urbanism

Altaweel

2019

WIREs Water

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The region of southern Mesopotamia, in modern southern Iraq, was home to perhaps the world's oldest cities and complex societies. Such cities and towns developed closely to irrigation works and other water features, with major settlements developed along levees and so-called turtle backs made up of natural accumulation and human-made debris. While water was a critical component to the rise of cities, it was also the unique evolution of societies to their complex landscape, including the development of different social practices that made the region develop early cities. By-products of these social developments included religious institutions and inequality but also the rise of governments, written language, laws, and other forms of social development we associate with our own societies. Recent work in southern Iraq demonstrates that the region was likely occupied much earlier than we thought; new climate data and other work will mean our picture on how the environment shaped the development of urban-based societies in southern Mesopotamia will evolve in the coming years. New fieldwork, including surveys and excavations, will also shape a new understanding of how urbanism arose in this complex landscape.

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Holocene fluvial and anthropogenic processes in the region of Uruk in southern Mesopotamia

Cited by 33 publications

References 40 publications

Remote Sensing the Archaeological Traces of Boat Movement in the Marshes of Southern Mesopotamia

Remote Sensing the Archaeological Traces of Boat Movement in the Marshes of Southern Mesopotamia

Development of water management strategies in southern Mesopotamia during the fourth and third millennium B.C.E.

Southern Mesopotamia: Water and the rise of urbanism

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