Agricultural adaptations to mid-late Holocene climate change in western Türkiye

Abstract

The period around the mid-late Holocene transition (c. 2200 bc) saw major societal developments across the eastern Mediterranean. At the same time, the region experienced a shift to more arid climatic conditions. This included punctuated episodes of rapid climate change such as the ‘4.2 ka event’, which has been implicated in widespread societal ‘collapse’ at the end of the Early Bronze Age. The ways in which societies adapted agricultural production to cope with a drying climate are poorly understood. We begin to rectify this through stable isotope analysis of archaeobotanical remains from the Aegean region of western Türkiye, conducted to reveal changes in agricultural decision making across the mid-late Holocene transition. We find that Bronze Age farmers adapted agricultural production strategies by investing in drought-tolerant cereals cultivated on drier fields with water management strategies redirected towards pulses. Despite this, we find no evidence for pronounced drought stress in cereals grown during the period of the 4.2 ka event. This raises the potential for alternative explanations for societal disruptions visible across the Anatolian Plateau during this time, such as the breakdown of long-distance trade networks.

Archaeological evidence of resource utilisation of walrus, Odobenus rosmarus, over the past two millennia: A systematic review protocol

“…Using a systematic review protocol, we will summarise the archaeological evidence of human utilisation of walruses between 1 CE and 2000 CE across the Northern Hemisphere. The time periods between 1 CE and the present day were characterised by large-scale environmental, demographic and societal change (e.g., 21 , 82 – 95 ) and during this time, significant expansion occurred within Arctic and subarctic Indigenous communities 90 , 96 – 98 . In addition, there were increased interactions with European migrants and seafarers benefitting from ocean resources, including walrus, via expanding trade networks 99 – 104 .…”

Archaeological evidence of resource utilisation of the great whales over the past two millennia: A systematic review protocol

“…The primary objective of this systematic review is to identify zooarchaeological evidence of the great whales between 1 CE and 1900 CE (the start of the 20th century whaling period) and use this information to identify spatiotemporal variation in the occurrence and acceleration of the resource use of whale products worldwide. The time periods between 1 CE and the present day were characterised by large-scale environmental, demographic and societal change, including (but not exclusive to), the rise and expansion of Eurasian empires [ 132 ], expansion of Arctic indigenous communities [ 43 , 46 , 75 , 133 ], societal shifts in economic practices and resource procurement worldwide (e.g., [ 134 – 137 ]), environmental fluctuations including, the Roman Warm Period, the late Antique Little Ice Age, the Medieval Climate Anomaly, the Little Ice Age, and the start of the industrial revolution [ 138 – 144 ]. Although whales were also an important global commodity from 1900 CE, whaling and whale resource use has been well-documented during this time [ 59 – 61 , 91 , 92 , 97 , 145 ] and therefore, we will not re-document this evidence.…”