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Pollen data were collected from a one-meter peat succession recovered from the top of the Tropea Promontory (Calabria), a territory continuously inhabited throughout Prehistory and Protohistory. The peat was deposited in a small pond/marsh that was gradually filled up. Six C-14 dates allowed the peat growth to be constrained to between ca. 3000 and 1000 calBC. Considerable landscape and land use changes occurred in the area in that time interval, due to both environmental changes and intensive human activities. An open landscape with scattered oak woods characterized the high plain, whereas on the wet soils surrounding the marsh, wet woodlands (Alnus), and hygrophilous vegetation (Cyperaceae) developed, their relative abundance being used to mark the local environmental evolution. The occurrence of different anthropogenic indicators reveals that the area was exploited for agricultural practices (cereal cultivation) and livestock grazing, the latter being the main activity practiced around the marsh between the Eneolithic (stable settlements) and the Early-Middle Bronze Age (seasonal presence). The possibility of climatic influence on the peat evolution was studied by comparisons with well-dated isotope records. The marsh contraction phase roughly coincides with the 4.2 ka calBP event, while the end of peat accumulation postdates the 3.0 ka calBP rapid climate change event.

Pollen data were collected from a one-meter peat succession recovered from the top of the Tropea Promontory (Calabria), a territory continuously inhabited throughout Prehistory and Protohistory. The peat was deposited in a small pond/marsh that was gradually filled up. Six C-14 dates allowed the peat growth to be constrained to between ca. 3000 and 1000 calBC. Considerable landscape and land use changes occurred in the area in that time interval, due to both environmental changes and intensive human activities. An open landscape with scattered oak woods characterized the high plain, whereas on the wet soils surrounding the marsh, wet woodlands (Alnus), and hygrophilous vegetation (Cyperaceae) developed, their relative abundance being used to mark the local environmental evolution. The occurrence of different anthropogenic indicators reveals that the area was exploited for agricultural practices (cereal cultivation) and livestock grazing, the latter being the main activity practiced around the marsh between the Eneolithic (stable settlements) and the Early-Middle Bronze Age (seasonal presence). The possibility of climatic influence on the peat evolution was studied by comparisons with well-dated isotope records. The marsh contraction phase roughly coincides with the 4.2 ka calBP event, while the end of peat accumulation postdates the 3.0 ka calBP rapid climate change event.

Mediterranean Early Iron Age chronology was mainly constructed by means of Greek Proto-geometric and Geometric ceramic wares, which are widely used for chronological correlations with the Aegean. However, Greek Early Iron Age chronology that is exclusively based on historical evidence in the eastern Mediterranean as well as in the contexts of Greek colonisation in Sicily has not yet been tested by extended series of radiocarbon dates from welldated stratified contexts in the Aegean. Due to the high chronological resolution that is only achievable by (metric-scale) stratigraphic C-14-age-depth modelling, the analysis of 21 C-14-AMS dates on stratified animal bones from Sindos (northern Greece) shows results that immediately challenge the conventional Greek chronology. Based on pottery-style comparisons with other sites, the new dates for Sindos not only indicate a generally higher Aegean Early Iron Age chronology, but also imply the need for a revised understanding of the Greek periodisation system that will foreseeably have a major impact on our understanding of Greek and Mediterranean history.

The region of the upper Neckar and Ammer river valley is situated on the south-westernmost periphery of the overall distribution area of the earliest LBK in Europe. In a small side valley of the Ammer, we have been able to investigate in the past few years the two sites 'Lusse' and 'Unteres Feld' which have provided important information about the beginning and development of the Early Neolithic in southwestern Germany. From these two sites, we have a sequence of features from all phases of the LBK. Radiocarbon data obtained from short living samples (charred seeds, animal bones from ungulates and human bones) were combined with pottery stylistic data from the same features to construct an age-model that can be applied, simultaneously, on site-level (locally) as well as on supra-regional level. The data series was first analysed using the GaussWM-algorithm in the CalPal program (Version, 2019.5), by application of an assumed linear (equal phase-length) age-model, and then using OxCal (Version 4.3), by application of Bayesian Boundary analysis. Both methods come to practically identical results. The pottery stylistic development of the LBK can henceforth be described, locally, by application of the five Ammer Valley stages (AV 1-5), and which are in turn synchronised with the widely applicable chronological system of Meier-Arendt (1966) which itself has five phases (I-V). Although generally similar, the two systems show certain differences but which only become apparent due to the achieved high temporal resolution of a few decades. An important observation is that in the Ammer Valley material with typological features of the earliest LBK (AV 1) can also be found in more recent LBK contexts, apparently undisturbed. In the upper Neckar region, in contrast, it is the Flomborn style (AV 2 and 3) that appears alongside the old pottery traditions. Put together, the old pottery traditions persisted for an exceptionally long time, in the newly founded settlements in the Amme

Mediterranean Early Iron Age chronology was mainly constructed by means of Greek Proto-geometric and Geometric ceramic wares, which are widely used for chronological correlations with the Aegean. However, Greek Early Iron Age chronology that is exclusively based on historical evidence in the eastern Mediterranean as well as in the contexts of Greek colonisation in Sicily has not yet been tested by extended series of radiocarbon dates from welldated stratified contexts in the Aegean. Due to the high chronological resolution that is only achievable by (metric-scale) stratigraphic C-14-age-depth modelling, the analysis of 21 C-14-AMS dates on stratified animal bones from Sindos (northern Greece) shows results that immediately challenge the conventional Greek chronology. Based on pottery-style comparisons with other sites, the new dates for Sindos not only indicate a generally higher Aegean Early Iron Age chronology, but also imply the need for a revised understanding of the Greek periodisation system that will foreseeably have a major impact on our understanding of Greek and Mediterranean history.

The region of the upper Neckar and Ammer river valley is situated on the south-westernmost periphery of the overall distribution area of the earliest LBK in Europe. In a small side valley of the Ammer, we have been able to investigate in the past few years the two sites 'Lusse' and 'Unteres Feld' which have provided important information about the beginning and development of the Early Neolithic in southwestern Germany. From these two sites, we have a sequence of features from all phases of the LBK. Radiocarbon data obtained from short living samples (charred seeds, animal bones from ungulates and human bones) were combined with pottery stylistic data from the same features to construct an age-model that can be applied, simultaneously, on site-level (locally) as well as on supra-regional level. The data series was first analysed using the GaussWM-algorithm in the CalPal program (Version, 2019.5), by application of an assumed linear (equal phase-length) age-model, and then using OxCal (Version 4.3), by application of Bayesian Boundary analysis. Both methods come to practically identical results. The pottery stylistic development of the LBK can henceforth be described, locally, by application of the five Ammer Valley stages (AV 1-5), and which are in turn synchronised with the widely applicable chronological system of Meier-Arendt (1966) which itself has five phases (I-V). Although generally similar, the two systems show certain differences but which only become apparent due to the achieved high temporal resolution of a few decades. An important observation is that in the Ammer Valley material with typological features of the earliest LBK (AV 1) can also be found in more recent LBK contexts, apparently undisturbed. In the upper Neckar region, in contrast, it is the Flomborn style (AV 2 and 3) that appears alongside the old pottery traditions. Put together, the old pottery traditions persisted for an exceptionally long time, in the newly founded settlements in the Amme

In this report, we present the contributions, outcomes, ideas, discussions and conclusions obtained at the PaleoMaps Workshop 2019, that took place at the Institute of Geography of the University of Cologne on 23 and 24 September 2019. The twofold aim of the workshop was: (1) to provide an overview of approaches and methods that are presently used to incorporate paleoenvironmental information in human–environment interaction modeling applications, and building thereon; (2) to devise new approaches and solutions that might be used to enhance the reconstruction of past human–environmental interconnections. This report first outlines the presented papers, and then provides a joint protocol of the often extensive discussions that came up following the presentations or else during the refreshment intervals. It concludes by adressing the open points to be resolved in future research avenues, e.g., implementation of open science practices, new procedures for reviewing of publications, and future concepts for quality assurance of the often complex paleoenvironmental data. This report may serve as an overview of the state of the art in paleoenvironment mapping and modeling. It includes an extensive compilation of the basic literature, as provided by the workshop attendants, which will itself facilitate the necessary future research.

A repeating pattern of multi-centennial-scale Holocene climate events has been widely (globally) documented, and they were termed Rapid Climate Change (RCC) events. Non-seasalt potassium ion (K+) series in Greenland ice cores provide well-constrained timings for the events, and a direct timing relationship has been inferred between these events and the frequency of northerly cold polar/continental air outbreaks over the eastern Mediterranean Sea through gaps in the mountain ranges along the northern margin of the basin. There also appears to be a remarkable timing agreement with major archaeological turnover events in the Aegean/Levantine region. Yet no physically consistent assessment exists for understanding the regional climatic impacts of the events around this critical region. We present a simple 2-dimensional Lagrangian model, which yields a broad suite of physically coherent simulations of the impacts of frequency changes in winter-time northerly air outbreaks over the Aegean/Levantine region. We validate this with existing reconstructions from palaeoclimate proxy data, with emphasis on well-validated sea-surface temperature reconstructions and a highly resolved cave speleothem stable oxygen isotope record from Lebanon. Given that the RCCs were clearly marked by negative sea surface temperature anomalies in the region, we find that the predominant climatic impacts of this winter-time mechanism were cold and wet, in contrast with intercalated warmer and more arid conditions of non-RCC periods. More specifically, the RCCs are found to be periods of highly variable conditions, with an overall tendency toward cold and wet conditions with potential for flash flooding and for episodic snow-cover at low altitudes, at least in the lower-altitude (lower 1-1.5 km) regions of Crete and the Levant. The modelled winter-anomaly process cannot address underlying longer-term, astronomically forced trends, or the relatively warm and arid anomalies in between RCCs. The latter

A repeating pattern of multi-centennial-scale Holocene climate events has been widely (globally) documented, and they were termed Rapid Climate Change (RCC) events. Non-seasalt potassium ion (K+) series in Greenland ice cores provide well-constrained timings for the events, and a direct timing relationship has been inferred between these events and the frequency of northerly cold polar/continental air outbreaks over the eastern Mediterranean Sea through gaps in the mountain ranges along the northern margin of the basin. There also appears to be a remarkable timing agreement with major archaeological turnover events in the Aegean/Levantine region. Yet no physically consistent assessment exists for understanding the regional climatic impacts of the events around this critical region. We present a simple 2-dimensional Lagrangian model, which yields a broad suite of physically coherent simulations of the impacts of frequency changes in winter-time northerly air outbreaks over the Aegean/Levantine region. We validate this with existing reconstructions from palaeoclimate proxy data, with emphasis on well-validated sea-surface temperature reconstructions and a highly resolved cave speleothem stable oxygen isotope record from Lebanon. Given that the RCCs were clearly marked by negative sea surface temperature anomalies in the region, we find that the predominant climatic impacts of this winter-time mechanism were “cold and wet,” in contrast with intercalated “warmer and more arid” conditions of non-RCC periods. More specifically, the RCCs are found to be periods of highly variable conditions, with an overall tendency toward cold and wet conditions with potential for flash flooding and for episodic snow-cover at low altitudes, at least in the lower-altitude (lower 1–1.5 km) regions of Crete and the Levant. The modelled winter-anomaly process cannot address underlying longer-term, astronomically forced trends, or the relatively warm and arid anomalies in between RCCs. The lat

A repeating pattern of multi-centennial-scale Holocene climate events has been widely (globally) documented, and they were termed Rapid Climate Change (RCC) events. Non-seasalt potassium ion (K+) series in Greenland ice cores provide well-constrained timings for the events, and a direct timing relationship has been inferred between these events and the frequency of northerly cold polar/continental air outbreaks over the eastern Mediterranean Sea through gaps in the mountain ranges along the northern margin of the basin. There also appears to be a remarkable timing agreement with major archaeological turnover events in the Aegean/Levantine region. Yet no physically consistent assessment exists for understanding the regional climatic impacts of the events around this critical region. We present a simple 2-dimensional Lagrangian model, which yields a broad suite of physically coherent simulations of the impacts of frequency changes in winter-time northerly air outbreaks over the Aegean/Levantine region. We validate this with existing reconstructions from palaeoclimate proxy data, with emphasis on well-validated sea-surface temperature reconstructions and a highly resolved cave speleothem stable oxygen isotope record from Lebanon. Given that the RCCs were clearly marked by negative sea surface temperature anomalies in the region, we find that the predominant climatic impacts of this winter-time mechanism were cold and wet, in contrast with intercalated warmer and more arid conditions of non-RCC periods. More specifically, the RCCs are found to be periods of highly variable conditions, with an overall tendency toward cold and wet conditions with potential for flash flooding and for episodic snow-cover at low altitudes, at least in the lower-altitude (lower 1-1.5 km) regions of Crete and the Levant. The modelled winter-anomaly process cannot address underlying longer-term, astronomically forced trends, or the relatively warm and arid anomalies in between RCCs. The latter

Statistical analysis of Carl Blegen's pottery sequence using Correspondence Analysis (CA) suggests a gap of 100-200 years between his Troy III and IV periods. From the Manfred Korfmann excavations three stratigraphic sequences hitherto assigned to Troy IV and V appear to bridge it. This allocation is based on stratigraphic/architectural grounds and on the observable development in ceramic shapes and wares. Heinrich Schliemann's pottery sequence from 1870-1873 is also analysed by CA and found to compare well with Blegen's (with limited exceptions probably due to the larger scope of his excavations), but it does not exhibit the same gap. This suggests that during the 'bridge' period occupation shrank to the summit on the western end of the citadel mound. This 'bridge' period of seven or more building phases has a distinctive ceramic assemblage and may be called the Proto-IV period. It is broadly contemporary with Middle Helladic I, Beycesultan VIII-VI, Kulluoba II and the Tarsus Early Bronze to Middle Bronze transitional period. Careful re-evaluation of the radiocarbon evidence dates it to ca 2150-1990 cal. BC. Botanical and faunal evidence from the strata in question attests significantly drier climatic conditions which, together with the smaller size of the settlement, probably reflect the 4.2ka cal. BP climatic deterioration.

Close examination of the geographic position of Early Neolithic settlements in SE-Europe shows that the oldest sites are almost exclusively situated in some very specific biogeographic areas. These earliest Neolithic settlements are all concentrated in a region that Pavle Cikovac calls the Sub-Mediterranean-Aegean (SMA) biogeographic region. It covers the northern and north-western edge of the Aegean, including Thessaly, Greek Macedonia and Greek Thrace, and extends further into the Balkans, but only along the valleys of the Vardar (Axios), Struma (Strymon) and Mesta (Nestos) rivers. Surprisingly, although Thrace is the closest landscape to Anatolia, it does not contain any sites of the earliest phase of the Neolithic at all beyond the narrow zone of the northern Marmara. In the present paper we explain this remarkable situation in terms of the natural environment in this particular region of the Southern Balkans. To begin, we propose that the lack of oldest Early Neolithic settlements in Thrace is related to the extreme microclimate of this region. As shown by modern vegetation analogues, Thracian oriental hornbeam-downy oak forests are exposed to stronger continental influence with frosts in the winter and average temperatures during the coldest months that are ca. 2-3 degrees C lower than those in the Central Balkans that have Sub-Mediterranean vegetation. In general terms, what we may expect is that the earliest Neolithic groups would first appear in regions with similarly mild conditions, on a yearly average, to those in the Mediterranean. Such mild conditions are indeed present in the SMA biogeographic region. On the other hand, before moving further to the north along the north-south oriented river systems of the Central Balkans, the Neolithic economy based on agriculture and stockbreeding would first have to be adapted to the relatively harsh winters in the Balkans. In consequence, it would have been possible to apply the new Neolithic lifestyle in the neigh

Statistical analysis of Carl Blegen's pottery sequence using Correspondence Analysis (CA) suggests a gap of 100-200 years between his Troy III and IV periods. From the Manfred Korfmann excavations three stratigraphic sequences hitherto assigned to Troy IV and V appear to bridge it. This allocation is based on stratigraphic/architectural grounds and on the observable development in ceramic shapes and wares. Heinrich Schliemann's pottery sequence from 1870-1873 is also analysed by CA and found to compare well with Blegen's (with limited exceptions probably due to the larger scope of his excavations), but it does not exhibit the same gap. This suggests that during the 'bridge' period occupation shrank to the summit on the western end of the citadel mound. This 'bridge' period of seven or more building phases has a distinctive ceramic assemblage and may be called the Proto-IV period. It is broadly contemporary with Middle Helladic I, Beycesultan VIII-VI, Kulluoba II and the Tarsus Early Bronze to Middle Bronze transitional period. Careful re-evaluation of the radiocarbon evidence dates it to ca 2150-1990 cal. BC. Botanical and faunal evidence from the strata in question attests significantly drier climatic conditions which, together with the smaller size of the settlement, probably reflect the 4.2ka cal. BP climatic deterioration.

Close examination of the geographic position of Early Neolithic settlements in SE-Europe shows that the oldest sites are almost exclusively situated in some very specific biogeographic areas. These earliest Neolithic settlements are all concentrated in a region that Pavle Cikovac calls the Sub-Mediterranean-Aegean (SMA) biogeographic region. It covers the northern and north-western edge of the Aegean, including Thessaly, Greek Macedonia and Greek Thrace, and extends further into the Balkans, but only along the valleys of the Vardar (Axios), Struma (Strymon) and Mesta (Nestos) rivers. Surprisingly, although Thrace is the closest landscape to Anatolia, it does not contain any sites of the earliest phase of the Neolithic at all beyond the narrow zone of the northern Marmara. In the present paper we explain this remarkable situation in terms of the natural environment in this particular region of the Southern Balkans. To begin, we propose that the lack of oldest Early Neolithic settlements in Thrace is related to the extreme microclimate of this region. As shown by modern vegetation analogues, Thracian oriental hornbeam-downy oak forests are exposed to stronger continental influence with frosts in the winter and average temperatures during the coldest months that are ca. 2-3 degrees C lower than those in the Central Balkans that have Sub-Mediterranean vegetation. In general terms, what we may expect is that the earliest Neolithic groups would first appear in regions with similarly mild conditions, on a yearly average, to those in the Mediterranean. Such mild conditions are indeed present in the SMA biogeographic region. On the other hand, before moving further to the north along the north-south oriented river systems of the Central Balkans, the Neolithic economy based on agriculture and stockbreeding would first have to be adapted to the relatively harsh winters in the Balkans. In consequence, it would have been possible to apply the new Neolithic lifestyle in the neigh

The Sahara is the world's largest dust source with significant impacts on trans-Atlantic terrestrial and large-scale marine ecosystems. Contested views about a gradual or abrupt onset of Saharan aridity at the end of the African Humid Period dominate the current scientific debate about the Holocene Saharan desiccation. In this study, we present a 19.63 m sediment core sequence from Lake Sidi All (Middle Atlas, Morocco) at the North African desert margin. We reconstruct the interaction between Saharan dust supply and Western Mediterranean hydro-climatic variability during the last 12,000 yr based on analyses of lithogenic grain-sizes, XRF geochemistry and stable isotopes of ostracod shells. A robust chronological model based on AMS C-14 dated pollen concentrates supports our multi-proxy study. At orbital-scale there is an overall increase in southern dust supply from the Early Holocene to the Late Holocene, but our Northern Saharan dust record indicates that a gradual Saharan desiccation was interrupted by multiple abrupt dust increases before the 'southern dust mode' was finally established at 4.7 cal ka BP. The Sidi Ali record features millennial peaks in Saharan dust increase at about 11.1, 10.2, 9.4, 8.2, 7.3, 6.6, 6.0, and 5.0 cal ka BP. Early Holocene Saharan dust peaks coincide with Western Mediterranean winter rain minima and North Atlantic cooling events. In contrast, Late Holocene dust peaks correspond mostly with prevailing positive phases of the North Atlantic Oscillation. By comparing with other North African records, we suggest that increases in Northern Saharan dust supply do not solely indicate sub-regional to regional aridity in Mediterranean Northwest Africa but might reflect aridity at a trans-Saharan scale. In particular, our findings support major bimillennial phases of trans-Saharan aridity at 10.2, 8.2, 6.0 and 4.2 cal ka BP. These phases coincide with North Atlantic cooling and a weak African monsoon. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevie

The Sahara is the world's largest dust source with significant impacts on trans-Atlantic terrestrial and large-scale marine ecosystems. Contested views about a gradual or abrupt onset of Saharan aridity at the end of the African Humid Period dominate the current scientific debate about the Holocene Saharan desiccation. In this study, we present a 19.63 m sediment core sequence from Lake Sidi Ali (Middle Atlas, Morocco) at the North African desert margin. We reconstruct the interaction between Saharan dust supply and Western Mediterranean hydro-climatic variability during the last 12,000 yr based on analyses of lithogenic grain-sizes, XRF geochemistry and stable isotopes of ostracod shells. A robust chronological model based on AMS 14C dated pollen concentrates supports our multi-proxy study. At orbital-scale there is an overall increase in southern dust supply from the Early Holocene to the Late Holocene, but our Northern Saharan dust record indicates that a gradual Saharan desiccation was interrupted by multiple abrupt dust increases before the ‘southern dust mode‘ was finally established at 4.7 cal ka BP. The Sidi Ali record features millennial peaks in Saharan dust increase at about 11.1, 10.2, 9.4, 8.2, 7.3, 6.6, 6.0, and 5.0 cal ka BP. Early Holocene Saharan dust peaks coincide with Western Mediterranean winter rain minima and North Atlantic cooling events. In contrast, Late Holocene dust peaks correspond mostly with prevailing positive phases of the North Atlantic Oscillation. By comparing with other North African records, we suggest that increases in Northern Saharan dust supply do not solely indicate sub-regional to regional aridity in Mediterranean Northwest Africa but might reflect aridity at a trans-Saharan scale. In particular, our findings support major bimillennial phases of trans-Saharan aridity at 10.2, 8.2, 6.0 and 4.2 cal ka BP. These phases coincide with North Atlantic cooling and a weak African monsoon.

The Sahara is the world's largest dust source with significant impacts on trans-Atlantic terrestrial and large-scale marine ecosystems. Contested views about a gradual or abrupt onset of Saharan aridity at the end of the African Humid Period dominate the current scientific debate about the Holocene Saharan desiccation. In this study, we present a 19.63 m sediment core sequence from Lake Sidi All (Middle Atlas, Morocco) at the North African desert margin. We reconstruct the interaction between Saharan dust supply and Western Mediterranean hydro-climatic variability during the last 12,000 yr based on analyses of lithogenic grain-sizes, XRF geochemistry and stable isotopes of ostracod shells. A robust chronological model based on AMS C-14 dated pollen concentrates supports our multi-proxy study. At orbital-scale there is an overall increase in southern dust supply from the Early Holocene to the Late Holocene, but our Northern Saharan dust record indicates that a gradual Saharan desiccation was interrupted by multiple abrupt dust increases before the 'southern dust mode' was finally established at 4.7 cal ka BP. The Sidi Ali record features millennial peaks in Saharan dust increase at about 11.1, 10.2, 9.4, 8.2, 7.3, 6.6, 6.0, and 5.0 cal ka BP. Early Holocene Saharan dust peaks coincide with Western Mediterranean winter rain minima and North Atlantic cooling events. In contrast, Late Holocene dust peaks correspond mostly with prevailing positive phases of the North Atlantic Oscillation. By comparing with other North African records, we suggest that increases in Northern Saharan dust supply do not solely indicate sub-regional to regional aridity in Mediterranean Northwest Africa but might reflect aridity at a trans-Saharan scale. In particular, our findings support major bimillennial phases of trans-Saharan aridity at 10.2, 8.2, 6.0 and 4.2 cal ka BP. These phases coincide with North Atlantic cooling and a weak African monsoon. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevie

The Sahara is the world's largest dust source with significant impacts on trans-Atlantic terrestrial and large-scale marine ecosystems. Contested views about a gradual or abrupt onset of Saharan aridity at the end of the African Humid Period dominate the current scientific debate about the Holocene Saharan desiccation. In this study, we present a 19.63 m sediment core sequence from Lake Sidi Ali (Middle Atlas, Morocco) at the North African desert margin. We reconstruct the interaction between Saharan dust supply and Western Mediterranean hydro-climatic variability during the last 12,000 yr based on analyses of lithogenic grain-sizes, XRF geochemistry and stable isotopes of ostracod shells. A robust chronological model based on AMS 14C dated pollen concentrates supports our multi-proxy study. At orbital-scale there is an overall increase in southern dust supply from the Early Holocene to the Late Holocene, but our Northern Saharan dust record indicates that a gradual Saharan desiccation was interrupted by multiple abrupt dust increases before the ‘southern dust mode‘ was finally established at 4.7 cal ka BP. The Sidi Ali record features millennial peaks in Saharan dust increase at about 11.1, 10.2, 9.4, 8.2, 7.3, 6.6, 6.0, and 5.0 cal ka BP. Early Holocene Saharan dust peaks coincide with Western Mediterranean winter rain minima and North Atlantic cooling events. In contrast, Late Holocene dust peaks correspond mostly with prevailing positive phases of the North Atlantic Oscillation. By comparing with other North African records, we suggest that increases in Northern Saharan dust supply do not solely indicate sub-regional to regional aridity in Mediterranean Northwest Africa but might reflect aridity at a trans-Saharan scale. In particular, our findings support major bimillennial phases of trans-Saharan aridity at 10.2, 8.2, 6.0 and 4.2 cal ka BP. These phases coincide with North Atlantic cooling and a weak African monsoon.

This paper explores the possible links between rapid climate change (RCC) and social change in the Near East and surrounding regions (Anatolia, central Syria, southern Israel, Mesopotamia, Cyprus and eastern and central Sahara) during the 'long' 4th millennium (similar to 4500-3000) BC. Twenty terrestrial and 20 marine climate proxies are used to identify long-term trends in humidity involving transitions from humid to arid conditions and vice versa. The frequency distribution of episodes of relative aridity across these records is calculated for the period 6300-2000 BC, so that the results may be interpreted in the context of the established arid episodes associated with RCC around 6200 and 2200 BC (the 8.2 and 4.2 kyr events). We identify two distinct episodes of heightened aridity in the early-mid 4th, and late 4th millennium BC. These episodes cluster strongly at 3600-3700 and 3100-3300 BC. There is also evidence of localised aridity spikes in the 5th and 6th millennia BC. These results are used as context for the interpretation of regional and local archaeological records with a particular focus on case studies from western Syria, the middle Euphrates, southern Israel and Cyprus. Interpretation of the records involves the construction of plausible narratives of human-climate interaction informed by concepts of adaptation and resilience from the literature on contemporary (i.e. 21st century) climate change and adaptation. The results are presented alongside well-documented examples of climatically-influenced societal change in the central and eastern Sahara, where detailed geomorphological studies of ancient environments have been undertaken in tandem with archaeological research. While the narratives for the Near East and Eastern Mediterranean remain somewhat speculative, the use of resilience and adaptation frameworks allows for a more nuanced treatment of human climate interactions and recognises the diversity and context-specificity of human responses to cli

This paper explores the possible links between rapid climate change (RCC) and social change in the Near East and surrounding regions (Anatolia, central Syria, southern Israel, Mesopotamia, Cyprus and eastern and central Sahara) during the 'long' 4th millennium (similar to 4500-3000) BC. Twenty terrestrial and 20 marine climate proxies are used to identify long-term trends in humidity involving transitions from humid to arid conditions and vice versa. The frequency distribution of episodes of relative aridity across these records is calculated for the period 6300-2000 BC, so that the results may be interpreted in the context of the established arid episodes associated with RCC around 6200 and 2200 BC (the 8.2 and 4.2 kyr events). We identify two distinct episodes of heightened aridity in the early-mid 4th, and late 4th millennium BC. These episodes cluster strongly at 3600-3700 and 3100-3300 BC. There is also evidence of localised aridity spikes in the 5th and 6th millennia BC. These results are used as context for the interpretation of regional and local archaeological records with a particular focus on case studies from western Syria, the middle Euphrates, southern Israel and Cyprus. Interpretation of the records involves the construction of plausible narratives of human-climate interaction informed by concepts of adaptation and resilience from the literature on contemporary (i.e. 21st century) climate change and adaptation. The results are presented alongside well-documented examples of climatically-influenced societal change in the central and eastern Sahara, where detailed geomorphological studies of ancient environments have been undertaken in tandem with archaeological research. While the narratives for the Near East and Eastern Mediterranean remain somewhat speculative, the use of resilience and adaptation frameworks allows for a more nuanced treatment of human climate interactions and recognises the diversity and context-specificity of human responses to cli

In the study described in this thesis, it is demonstrated that combined short-term and long-term energy storage in one device, the battolyzer, is possible. The battolyzer is a device that works as a rechargeable battery, and that is capable of performing highly efficient electrolysis with any excess electricity. The battolyzer was based on the Nickel-Iron-Battery, which was developed by Thomas Edison and Waldemar Jungner, and on alkaline electrolysis. Both are well-established technologies that were developed more than a century ago. The main research question in this thesis is: "Is an energy storage system based on Nickel and Iron suitable to operate as an integrated battery and electrolyzer, and what would be the overall energy efficiency of such a device?". Firstly, a test-series that was designed to simulate various real-life situations, including partial and full charging and discharging, rapid switching, continuous overcharging, and the around-the-clock cycling. Neither the battery, nor the electrolysis have noticeably deteriorated after the many cycles. The remarkable finding is that the reversible discharge capacity of the battery is not adversely affected by such harsh test conditions. Secondly, the gas quality was analyzed, qualitatively and quantitatively. The outcome of these tests was that overcharging leads to gas production with a Coulombic (or Faradaic) conversion efficiency of equal to 100%, within the experimental accuracy. In a final step, optimal operating conditions for the battolyzer have been identified. Tests show that the overall energy efficiency of the battolyzer could surpass 90%. However, the most remarkable finding of the whole project is the stability of the energetic efficiency at 80-90% over many different types of cycles, including all cycles to simulate real-life situations. We anticipate these results to be a starting point for a robust grid-scale energy storage solution in a low-cost, abundant-element based, Electrical Engineering | Sustainable Energy Technology

The calibration of radiocarbon measurements is based on a number of mathematical assumptions that are rarely considered by users of the various available calibration programs. As C-14 ages take on mathematical properties best known from quantum physics, a quantum theoretical approach provides a useful basis to evaluate the reliability of processes of calibration and Bayesian modelling of radiocarbon datasets. We undertake such an evaluation here through a consideration of the mathematics of calibration, the normalization process, and through an archaeological case study. We demonstrate that the normalization function deemed necessary for C-14 histogram shape-correction is identical to the default prior widely used in Bayesian calibration. We highlight flaws in default Bayesian calibration algorithms which may affect archaeological studies that are overly reliant on high calibration precision, especially when based on relatively small (N<100) sample sizes. The observed differences between algorithms have consequences for radiocarbon models that claim sub-generational (similar to 25-30 calendar years) precision.

The calibration of radiocarbon measurements is based on a number of mathematical assumptions that are rarely considered by users of the various available calibration programs. As C-14 ages take on mathematical properties best known from quantum physics, a quantum theoretical approach provides a useful basis to evaluate the reliability of processes of calibration and Bayesian modelling of radiocarbon datasets. We undertake such an evaluation here through a consideration of the mathematics of calibration, the normalization process, and through an archaeological case study. We demonstrate that the normalization function deemed necessary for C-14 histogram shape-correction is identical to the default prior widely used in Bayesian calibration. We highlight flaws in default Bayesian calibration algorithms which may affect archaeological studies that are overly reliant on high calibration precision, especially when based on relatively small (N<100) sample sizes. The observed differences between algorithms have consequences for radiocarbon models that claim sub-generational (similar to 25-30 calendar years) precision.

In extension of the recently established ‘Rapid Climate Change (RCC) Neolithisation Model’ (Clare 2013), in the present paper we demonstrate the existence of a remarkable coincidence between the exact (decadel-scale) entry and departure dates of the Neolithic into/from the Aegean (~6600/6050 calBC) with begin/end of RCC-conditions.

'Ain Ghazal is among the earliest large population centers known in the Middle East. A total of four major stratigraphic cultural units have been identified: 1) The oldest Middle Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (MPPNB) unit (10.2 to 9.5 cal ka BP) clearly corresponds with the early Holocene maximum Dead Sea levels. 2) The second unit consists of Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (LPPNB) in situ walls and hearths. 3) In the subsequent PPNC (8.9 to 8.6 cal ka BP) the population density at the settlement drops dramatically, which corresponds with a significant drop in the Dead Sea level. 4) The 4th stratigraphic unit is characterized by the Yarmoukian rubble layer. Additionally, there is evidence for a previously unrecognized use of the site by Chalcolithic pastoralists. Sedimentological analyses reveal a constant increase in dust from a remote source during the entire human occupation period, which correlates well with the detectable drops in climatic humidity from the Dead Sea. As the major focus of this study, we can now rule out previous notions that the Yarmoukian rubble layer could have been produced by (catastrophic) slope-scale gravitational movements. To this point, it appears that the Neolithic mega-site was abandoned due to a climatic aridification. (c) 2012 University of Washington. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Due to its diverse geographic and climatic conditions, the Iberian Peninsula is well suited for studies into the relationship between climate, environment and hunter-gatherer adaptation. With focus on the archaeological record, this paper examines to what extent diachronic variations in site density on the Iberian Peninsula are related to climate variability and cultural change. Studies are based on a comprehensive record of technocomplexes that date from the late Middle Palaeolithic, early Upper Palaeolithic, Gravettian and Solutrean. The record comprises altogether 152 archaeological cave sites and rock shelters. Analysis reveals strong regional differences between Northern and Southern Iberia, both in isochronic and in diachronic perspective. This is expressed by the strongly different patterns of human presence in these regions. In particular, within both regions major cultural changes coincide with the environmental impact of North Atlantic Heinrich Events (HE). From previous studies, it is known that the human population on the Iberian Peninsula (IP) must have suffered strongly under the extremely variable climate conditions during the Late Pleistocene. Based on extensive site-mapping, the hypothesis is that during HE a major disintegration of habitats must have occurred, with various but strongly isolated patchy refugia remaining. Further, during HE, Southern Iberia could not uphold its previous function in providing a reliable refuge for humans. Not only does climatic deterioration during the different HE repeatedly lead to a near-complete breakdown of settlement patterns, but following each HE there is major reorganization in settlement patterns on the IP. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA.

Due to its diverse geographic and climatic conditions, the Iberian Peninsula is well suited for studies into the relationship between climate, environment and hunter-gatherer adaptation. With focus on the archaeological record, this paper examines to what extent diachronic variations in site density on the Iberian Peninsula are related to climate variability and cultural change. Studies are based on a comprehensive record of technocomplexes that date from the late Middle Palaeolithic, early Upper Palaeolithic, Gravettian and Solutrean. The record comprises altogether 152 archaeological cave sites and rock shelters. Analysis reveals strong regional differences between Northern and Southern Iberia, both in isochronic and in diachronic perspective. This is expressed by the strongly different patterns of human presence in these regions. In particular, within both regions major cultural changes coincide with the environmental impact of North Atlantic Heinrich Events (HE). From previous studies, it is known that the human population on the Iberian Peninsula (IP) must have suffered strongly under the extremely variable climate conditions during the Late Pleistocene. Based on extensive site-mapping, the hypothesis is that during HE a major disintegration of habitats must have occurred, with various but strongly isolated patchy refugia remaining. Further, during HE, Southern Iberia could not uphold its previous function in providing a reliable refuge for humans. Not only does climatic deterioration during the different HE repeatedly lead to a near-complete breakdown of settlement patterns, but following each HE there is major reorganization in settlement patterns on the IP. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA.

'Ain Ghazal is among the earliest large population centers known in the Middle East. A total of four major stratigraphic cultural units have been identified: 1) The oldest Middle Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (MPPNB) unit (10.2 to 9.5 cal ka BP) clearly corresponds with the early Holocene maximum Dead Sea levels. 2) The second unit consists of Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (LPPNB) in situ walls and hearths. 3) In the subsequent PPNC (8.9 to 8.6 cal ka BP) the population density at the settlement drops dramatically, which corresponds with a significant drop in the Dead Sea level. 4) The 4th stratigraphic unit is characterized by the Yarmoukian rubble layer. Additionally, there is evidence for a previously unrecognized use of the site by Chalcolithic pastoralists. Sedimentological analyses reveal a constant increase in dust from a remote source during the entire human occupation period, which correlates well with the detectable drops in climatic humidity from the Dead Sea. As the major focus of this study, we can now rule out previous notions that the Yarmoukian rubble layer could have been produced by (catastrophic) slope-scale gravitational movements. To this point, it appears that the Neolithic mega-site was abandoned due to a climatic aridification. (c) 2012 University of Washington. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

In this paper we explore the impact of Rapid Climate Change (RCC) on prehistoric communities in the Eastern Mediterranean during the Early and Middle Holocene. Our focus is on the social implications of the four major climate cold anomalies that have recently been identified as key time-windows for global RCC (Mayewski et al. 2004). These cooling anomalies are well-dated, with Greenland ice-core resolution, due to synchronicity between warm/cold foraminifera ratios in Mediterranean core LC21 as a proxy for surface water temperature, and Greenland GISP2 non sea-salt (nss) [K+] ions as a proxy for the intensification of the Siberian High and for polar air outbreaks in the northeast Mediterranean (Rohling et al. 2002). Building on these synchronisms, the GISP2 agemodel supplies the following precise time-intervals for archaeological RCC research: (i) 8.6-8.0 ka, (ii) 6.0-5.2 ka, (iii) 4.2-4.0 ka and (iv) 3.1-2.9 ka calBP. For each of these RCC time intervals, based on detailed 14C-based chronological studies, we investigate contemporaneous cultural developments. From our studies it follows that RCC-related climatic deterioration is a major factor underlying social change, although always at work within a wide spectrum of social, cultural, economic and religious factors.