δ¹³C values in archaeological ¹⁴C‐AMS dated charcoals: Assessing mid‐Holocene climate fluctuations and human response from a high‐resolution isotope record (Arslantepe, Turkey)

Abstract

The local climate experienced times of enhanced/reduced precipitation in concert with regional trends. Anomalies in the air mass circulation from the Mediterranean basin also produced oscillations of rainfall amount. In such a frame the Rapid Climate Change dry events had a consistent signature in the Arslantepe Δ C record, thus potentially contributing to social or organisational changes at the site.

From influence to impact: The multifunctional land use in Mediterranean prehistory emerging from palynology of archaeological sites (8.0-2.8 ka BP)

“…The different occurrence of taxa according to the depositional context highlights that the hydrophilous plants prevail in building structures, with the exception of the c. 4900-4500 cal. BP period: isotope data demonstrate that during this period, there was an increased humidity; nevertheless, there was a prevalent use of woodlandsteppe plants (Masi et al, 2018).…”

“…Samples for macrobotanical remains were taken from occupation layers discovered during the excavations. A charcoal sample includes all the wood fragments corresponding to one single wood, or those recovered from the fill of small features or single structure (Masi et al, 2018).…”

“…The selection of the timber appears mainly linked to the different cultural and socio-economic traits of the Arslantepe communities. Palaeoclimatic reconstruction based on stable carbon isotope demonstrated that environmental changes played only a marginal role in the different wood exploitation (Masi et al, 2013a(Masi et al, , 2013bVignola et al, 2017Vignola et al, , 2018. Charcoal analysis shows important changes in plant use not matching the environmental changes.…”

Landscapes, climate and choice: Examining patterns in animal provisioning across the Near East c. 13,000-0 BCE

“…In recent years, much attention has been paid to the impact of local environmental capacity on food production choices made by ancient societies (e.g. Gaastra et al 2020a;Riehl 2012Riehl , 2017Riehl et al 2014;Vignola et al 2017). With advances in our understanding of past variation in both landscape and climate, it has become possible to study the relationship between societal preferences in food production and the constraints placed upon these by local environmental variation and climate changes.…”