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Abstract: Calcareous pericarps of the tribe Lithospermeae (fam. Boraginaceae) are a common component of archaeobotanical macroremain assemblages in the Mediterranean region. In this study, the relationship between oxygen isotopic composition of fruit biogenic carbonate and climatic conditions was examined. δ 18O and δ 13C values of biogenic carbonate were measured in modern Lithospermeae fruits from seven Eurasian sites (Berlin, Kirchentellinsfurt, Göttingen, Athens, Ankara, Tbilisi, and Almaty) and in fossil fruits from three archaeological sites in the eastern Mediterranean (Troy, Kumtepe, and Hirbet ez-Zeraqon). Additionally, three 14C measurements were performed on ancient fruit carbonate from Hirbet ez-Zeraqon. The δ 18O and δ 13C values varied from −9 to 5‰ PDB and between −35 and −7‰ PDB respectively. In modern fruits, δ 18O of biogenic carbonate was correlated to local summer precipitation amounts (inversely proportional) and summer air temperatures (proportional). In fossil fruits, the δ 18O values of carbonate from Troy and Kumtepe were significantly lower than that from Hirbet ez-Zeraqon (ca. −5 vs. 2‰ PDB respectively). The vertical distribution of stable isotopic values and 14C dates in cultural layers of Hirbet ez-Zeraqon indicate that fruit biogenic carbonate can persist in sediment without appreciable diagenetic alteration. These findings suggest that biogenic carbonate of Lithospermeae fruits can be useful as a paleoclimate proxy at least in the Mediterranean. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: It has been suggested that pedogenic carbonate coatings on stones in archaeological sites can be used to reconstruct late Quaternary environmental changes in the area of the Fertile Crescent. This research compares a pedogenic carbonate record from southeastern Turkey with three other local or regional sources of palaeoenvironmental information in order to evaluate the correlation of this new proxy with other independent data from the area: (1) ancient plant macroremains from archaeological sites as ecological indicators, (2) stable carbon isotope composition of ancient plant macroremains available in the literature and from our own investigations in six mid-Holocene archaeological sites, and (3) modelled Holocene precipitation and temperature changes in the northern Fertile Crescent. Comparison involved selected palynological and isotopic data from lacustrine sediments as well as speleothem isotopic records in Near Eastern locations available in the literature. Although the data show a certain amount of variation of proxy records on the regional scale, for the northern Fertile Crescent (Upper Mesopotamia) they suggest three pronounced features of the Holocene environmental history: (1) a trend toward warmer temperatures may have affected the area during the early Holocene (between ca. 10,000–6000cal BP), (2) increased moisture availability and relatively high temperatures in the mid-Holocene (ca. between 5000 and 4000cal BP), and (3) a significant decrease in moisture availability around 4000cal BP. Further research is needed to enhance the chronological resolution of both pedogenic carbonate and plant macrofossil records. This study stresses the complexity of the Holocene palaeogeography of the Near East and underlines the need for careful analysis of local sources of palaeonvironmental information in the region. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The potential of archaeobotanical data for investigation of environmental change was examined with a multi-site approach to tracking changes in crop husbandry. Archaeobotanical data from 138 sites in the Levant, Syria and northern Mesopotamia were mapped with geographical information system (GIS) software. The presence, proportions and ubiquities of the main Near Eastern crop plants throughout a sequence spanning from the Early Bronze Age to the Iron Age (5000–2500cal.BP) were analyzed for developmental patterns related to the palaeoclimatic history of the region, modeled climate parameter, anthropological facts and the bioclimatic properties of the crop species. Although there are considerable methodological problems, the overall patterns emerging from this large database demonstrate how agricultural decision-making was influenced by climate change in the past. While a relatively favorable degree of available moisture can be recognized in the crop assemblages of Early Bronze Age sites, with the cultivation of numerous crops with comparatively high water-requirements, the impact of the 4200BP event, with an increased aridity after 4000BP latest, is reflected strongly in the reduction or absence of drought-susceptible crop species in the Middle Bronze Age. The general pattern of crop proportions and ubiquities during the Late Bronze Age implies a further, although slight, increase in arid conditions, particularly in northern Syria. However this is much less marked than that for the Early to Middle Bronze Age transition. Regional variation is large for some crops, and an increase in arid conditions is not indicated by the patterns of crop production for the southern Levant. The patterns during the Iron Age suggest a slightly better water availability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Subsistence patterns during the Early Bronze Age I through the Iron Age II (3600-586 BCE) are the topic of many archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological studies. The results of these two disciplines are usually published separately, depriving us of an all-encompassing view of subsistence and agriculture during this time period since people did not solely make use of animal or plant products. In this paper, our goal is to integrate faunal and botanical lines of evidence and study developments in subsistence using multivariate statistics. By analysing individual and integrated datasets of botanical and faunal remains, we aim to better understand the role of diverse variables, such as chronology, mean annual precipitation, and elevation within the composition of our datasets. We see chronological differences, a distinction between sites at higher (400–600 mm) and lower (200–400 mm) precipitation ranges and differences between sites at different elevations (0–100 m and 500–600 m). We also highlight methodological issues intrinsic to differences in genesis and quantification of archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological datasets. We conclude that to obtain a complete understanding of subsistence during the Bronze and Iron Age in the Southern Levant, archaeobotanists and zooarchaeologists need to work on integrating their data on a site-specific level. This will allow us to obtain a holistic understanding of subsistence and agricultural practices on both a site and regional level and allow us to develop a stronger framework for understanding social and political developments that occurred during these time periods. • Integration of archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological data is essential. • Multivariate statistics help understand past subsistence practices. • Bronze and Iron Age diet are determined by historical processes. • Early and Middle Bronze Age diet differs from Late Bronze Age and Iron Age diet. • Precipitation and elevation play a role in past subsistence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: New reconstructions of changing vegetation patterns in the Mediterranean-Black Sea Corridor since the Last Glacial Maximum are being produced by an improved biomisation scheme that uses both pollen and plant macrofossil data, in conjunction. Changes in fire regimes over the same interval will also be reconstructed using both microscopic and macroscopic charcoal remains. These reconstructions will allow a diagnosis of the interactions between climate, fire and vegetation on millennial timescales, and will also help to clarify the role of coastline and other geomorphic changes, salinity and impacts of human activities in this region. These new data sets are being produced as a result of collaboration between the Palynology Working Group (WG-2) within the IGCP-521 project and the international Palaeovegetation Mapping Project (BIOME 6000). The main objective of this paper is to present the goals of this cooperation, methodology, including limitations and planned improvements, and to show the initial results of some applications. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]