Evaluating the influence of climate on the Late Bronze Age collapse in the eastern Mediterranean

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lydia Bowler ◽  
Tamar Hodos ◽  
Matthew Bosomworth ◽  
Matthew Jacobson ◽  
Melanie Leng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Archaeological Material ◽  
Cave Environment ◽  
Future Work ◽  
The Impact

<p>During the 13th and 12th centuries BCE (3.25-3.05 kyrs BP), the prosperous and globalized Late Bronze Age (LBA) world system came to an abrupt end in the eastern Mediterranean (EM). During this time, the EM witnessed the demise of powerful and well-established empires and state systems, including the Hittite empire in Anatolia and the Mycenean palace system in the Aegean (Yakar, 2006; Deger-Jalkotzy, 2008). The end of the LBA also saw the destruction and abandonment of numerous urban centres such as Mycenae, Troy, Ugarit, across an area of approx. 6 million km<sup>2</sup> (Knapp and Manning, 2016). The causes of this widespread and critical transition in the EM’s history, often referred to as the LBA “collapse”, have been debated for several decades and remain contentious. Notably, the idea of climate change in the form of widespread drought has been postulated, with the suggestion of a 3.2 kyrs BP ‘megadrought’ event presented in the last decade (Kaniewski et al. (2013; 2015; 2017; 2019a). This PhD project addresses the climate hypothesis, by examining whether climate may have acted as a contributing factor for the LBA collapse and subsequent transition into the Early Iron Age (EIA).</p><p>In order to provide a comprehensive assessment of palaeoclimatic conditions during the LBA/IA transition, a review of all existing palaeoenvironmental  records that cover the interval 3.5-2.5 kyrs BP across the EM has been undertaken. As part of this assessment, this study also presents new high-resolution multi-proxy stalagmite records covering this time interval from Kocain and Sofular Caves in Turkey. In total, 83 records were entered into a database for assessment in order to select the key hydroclimatic proxy records to be examined in this study. The resulting assessment of the remaining 14 highly resolved records from across the EM has not provided strong evidence of a major synchronous and widespread climatic event suggestive of the supposed ‘3.2 megadrought event’. Instead, the results of this study present a highly complex picture of palaeoclimatic conditions between 3.5-2.5 kyrs BP, which is partly related to site and sample-specific factors (e.g. chronological uncertainties, cave environment) and the high degree of regional climatic variability. However, a period of increasingly arid conditions from approx. 3.3-3.1 kyrs BP is apparent in several records including Anatolian records from Uzuntarla, Sofular and Kocain Caves. Future work by this team will specifically assess this aridity evidence in the Anatolian stalagmite records, with the aim to further improve the temporal resolution and chronologic control of these records. Additionally, future work will also integrate our palaeoclimatic findings with associated archaeological evidence. Engagement with the archaeological material is critical as integrated studies can provide us with more nuanced discussions, which are needed to capture the true complexity that surrounds both the archaeology and palaeoclimatic reconstruction for this period. Significantly, this archaeological engagement therefore allows us to more accurately assess the impact that increasing aridity and possible drought events may have had on the agriculturally dependent societies of the LBA in Anatolia. </p>

Late second–early first millennium BC abrupt climate changes in coastal Syria and their possible significance for the history of the Eastern Mediterranean

2010 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Kaniewski ◽  
E. Paulissen ◽  
E. Van Campo ◽  
H. Weiss ◽  
T. Otto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Environmental History ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Alluvial Deposits ◽  
Iron Age I

AbstractThe alluvial deposits near Gibala-Tell Tweini provide a unique record of environmental history and food availability estimates covering the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age. The refined pollen-derived climatic proxy suggests that drier climatic conditions occurred in the Mediterranean belt of Syria from the late 13th/early 12th centuries BC to the 9th century BC. This period corresponds with the time frame of the Late Bronze Age collapse and the subsequent Dark Age. The abrupt climate change at the end of the Late Bronze Age caused region-wide crop failures, leading towards socio-economic crises and unsustainability, forcing regional habitat-tracking. Archaeological data show that the first conflagration of Gibala occurred simultaneously with the destruction of the capital city Ugarit currently dated between 1194 and 1175 BC. Gibala redeveloped shortly after this destruction, with large-scale urbanization visible in two main architectural phases during the Early Iron Age I. The later Iron Age I city was destroyed during a second conflagration, which is radiocarbon-dated at circa 2950 cal yr BP. The data from Gibala-Tell Tweini provide evidence in support of the drought hypothesis as a triggering factor behind the Late Bronze Age collapse in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Ethnicity, Entrepreneurship, and Exchange: Mediterranean Inter-island Relations in the Late Bronze Age

1990 ◽  
Vol 85 ◽  
pp. 115-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Bernard Knapp
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Copper Production ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
Mediterranean World ◽  
Production Distribution ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Bronze Age ◽  
Metals Production

New data on Late Bronze Age Cypriot and Aegean material found in the eastern, southern, and central Mediterranean significantly alter timeworn concepts about the scope and extent of Mediterranean trade systems. Recent geochemical and statistical analyses highlight the pivotal role played by the production, distribution, and consumption of copper oxhide ingots in the Bronze Age economies of the wider Mediterranean world. As a consequence, it is possible to propose some basic hypotheses on metallurgical origins, and on the possible orientation of Mediterranean Bronze Age trade and traders.Two basic issues are involved: 1) did increased trade with the eastern Mediterranean stimulate production and intensify exchange mechanisms in the central Mediterranean? 2) or did eastern Mediterranean traders simply plug into an existing politico-economic system that somehow monitored metals' production and exchange further west?This paper also evaluates the impact of new archaeological and metallurgical data on traditional interpretations of Cypriot copper production and exchange in its Late Bronze Age Mediterranean context. Whilst Cypriot copper production remained important to the economy of the Bronze Age Mediterranean, it also made key tactical and commercial adjustments to the coming Age of Iron. Mechanisms of Mediterranean trade are still difficult to pin down, and it is unrealistic to do more than propose basic models of entrepreneurship, ethnicity, and exchange.

scholarly journals Phytomorphic carnelian pendants in the Late Bronze and Iron Ages of the Iberian Peninsula: origin, distribution, and significance

Complutum ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-47
Author(s):  
Francisco B. Gomes
Keyword(s):  
Iberian Peninsula ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Geographic Distribution ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Significant Part ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Prestige Goods

 First highlighted as possible markers for early, 2nd millennium BCE contacts between the Iberian Peninsula and the Eastern Mediterranean, phytomorphic carnelian pendants have become a significant part of the discussion on that subject. However, a number of new finds which have taken place in recent years have transformed the available image regarding both the geographic distribution and the chronological setting of these pieces. An updated overview is presented here, which suggests they should now preferably be considered as part of the array of prestige goods introduced in the Far West by Phoenician trade between the later stages of the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age

Huurlingen, mobiliteit en reizigerslatijn

Lampas ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 403-419
Author(s):  
Jorrit Kelder
Keyword(s):  
International Trade ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Near East ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Knowledge Exchange ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Private Entrepreneurs ◽  
Greek World ◽  
Do So

Summary The aim of this paper is twofold. First, it argues that the Mycenaean Greek world served as a nexus for international trade between the Near East and Europe during the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1600 to 1100 BCE). Rather than a barbarian periphery, Europe – and in particular regions such as the Carpathian basin and the southern Baltic (Denmark and Scania) – was an integral part of the much better known ‘civilised’ world of the ancient Near East. Second, it argues that ‘mercenaries’ (a term that I will use rather loosely, and which includes both private entrepreneurs and military captives) served as a hitherto overlooked conduit for knowledge exchange between Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Near East. It will do so by highlighting a number of remarkable archaeological finds, and by discussing these against the backdrop of contemporary (Late Bronze Age and Iron Age) texts as well as later legends.

scholarly journals Vegetation and Climate Changes during the Bronze and Iron Ages (∼3600–600 BCE) in the Southern Levant Based on Palynological Records

Radiocarbon ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dafna Langgut ◽  
Israel Finkelstein ◽  
Thomas Litt ◽  
Frank Harald Neumann ◽  
Mordechai Stein
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Vegetation History ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Anthropogenic Activity ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Southern Levant ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Middle Bronze Age

This article presents the role of climate fluctuations in shaping southern Levantine human history from 3600 to 600 BCE (the Bronze and Iron Ages) as evidenced in palynological studies. This time interval is critical in the history of the region; it includes two phases of rise and decline of urban life, organization of the first territorial kingdoms, and domination of the area by great Ancient Near Eastern empires. The study is based on a comparison of several fossil pollen records that span a north-south transect of 220 km along the southern Levant: Birkat Ram in the northern Golan Heights, Sea of Galilee, and Ein Feshkha and Ze'elim Gully both on the western shore of the Dead Sea. The vegetation history and its climatic implications are as follows: during the Early Bronze Age I (∼3600–3000 BCE) climate conditions were wet; a minor reduction in humidity was documented during the Early Bronze Age II–III (∼3000–2500 BCE). The Intermediate Bronze Age (∼2500–1950 BCE) was characterized by moderate climate conditions, however, since ∼2000 BCE and during the Middle Bronze Age I (∼1950–1750 BCE) drier climate conditions were prevalent, while the Middle Bronze Age II–III (∼1750–1550 BCE) was comparably wet. Humid conditions continued in the early phases of the Late Bronze Age, while towards the end of the period and down to ∼1100 BCE the area features the driest climate conditions in the timespan reported here; this observation is based on the dramatic decrease in arboreal vegetation. During the period of ∼1100–750 BCE, which covers most of the Iron Age I (∼1150–950 BCE) and the Iron Age IIA (∼950–780 BCE), an increase in Mediterranean trees was documented, representing wetter climate conditions, which followed the severe dry phase of the end of the Late Bronze Age. The decrease in arboreal percentages, which characterize the Iron Age IIB (∼780–680 BCE) and Iron Age IIC (∼680–586 BCE), could have been caused by anthropogenic activity and/or might have derived from slightly drier climate conditions. Variations in the distribution of cultivated olive trees along the different periods resulted from human preference and/or changes in the available moisture.

Contributions to a Study of the Belgae

1956 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 249-256
Author(s):  
C. A. Ralegh Radford
Keyword(s):  
Full Advantage ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Wide Area ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
The South ◽  
Archaeological Material ◽  
Present Essay

The Belgae have, in the last generation, played an increasingly important part in the archaeology of Britain in the pre-Roman Iron Age. In general the term has been confined to the two groups of invaders, who practised cremation and whose cemeteries have been traced over a wide area in the south-east and south of England. Beyond this area Belgic influence, in various forms, has been postulated in a number of districts. The Belgic origin of the invaders who practised cremation is not in doubt and it would be superfluous at this stage to argue the case once more. The nature of the Belgic influences traced beyond the area of the cremation cemeteries is more debatable, but the present essay is not intended to enter into that question. It is concerned with an earlier period and earlier invasions, which also have a right to be termed Belgic. The ultimate origin of the Continental Belgae will not be discussed, nor do the invasions considered necessarily cover all those settlements to which the term Belgic should be applied. As will be seen the traditional Irish accounts appear to demand a Belgic settlement in Britain at a date earlier than the oldest groups now identified. This is a question that can hardly be discussed to full advantage until a far wider conspectus of archaeological material is available both on the Continent and in these islands. In the meantime the question of a Belgic invasion of Britain in the Late Bronze Age is one that must remain open.

Towards the Garden of the Hesperides, 1000 BC–400 BC

The Great Sea ◽  
2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Abulafia
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Agricultural Resources ◽  
Greek Culture ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
The Rich ◽  
The Impact

The impact of contact with the eastern Mediterranean was felt in very different ways within what we now call Italy. Greek culture seeped more slowly into the everyday life of the native peoples of Sicily – Sikans, Sikels and Elymians – than into the life of the peoples of Tuscany and Latium. In Sicily, both the Greeks and the Carthaginians kept themselves largely apart from the native population. Sardinia, rich in minerals, had for centuries been the seat of a lively civilization characterized by the stone towers known as nuraghi, of which many thousands still dot the island; they were surrounded by what seem to have been prosperous villages, firmly rooted in the rich agricultural resources of the island. They began to be built around 1400 BC, but new nuraghi were still being constructed well into the Iron Age. In the Mycenaean era, there had been some contact with the outside world, as eastern Mediterranean traders arrived in search of copper. The wealth of the native elite as far back as the second millennium BC can be measured from the tombs of Anghelu Ruju, near Alghero in north-western Sardinia; these are among the richest to have been unearthed in late Neolithic and early Bronze Age western Europe, and they indicate contact with Spain, southern France and the eastern Mediterranean. The Spanish influence can be traced in the bell beaker jars found at this site. Another Spanish connection was linguistic. The Sardinians left no written records, whether because they did not use writing or because they used friable materials that have failed to survive. But place-names, many in current use, provide suggestive evidence, as does the Sard language, a distinctive form of late vulgar Latin that incorporates a number of pre-Latin words within its many dialects. It appears that the nuraghic peoples spoke a language or languages related to the non-Indo-European language Basque. Thus a Sard word for a young lamb, bitti, is very similar to a Basque term for a young goat, bitin.

A tale of three cities: urban and cultural resilience and heritage between the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age in the eastern Mediterranean

Urban History ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Guy D. Middleton
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Cultural Resilience ◽  
Urban Fabric ◽  
Resilience Thinking ◽  
The World

Abstract The turbulent years around c. 1200 BC in the eastern Mediterranean are known as a period of the collapse of states and empires. Yet by zooming in on three important royal cities, Tiryns, Hattusa and Carchemish, we can question this collapse narrative whilst at the same time exploring the now popular concept of resilience, in this case urban and cultural resilience. First these ancient cities are presented as interactive and meaningful spaces in which architecture and art were used to shape people's experience of them and the world in which they lived, before their urban fabric and functions are examined in turn. It will become clear that they had radically different fates through c. 1200 BC. Some of the difficulties in applying ideas from resilience thinking and how it might or might not be useful as an approach in studying these and other examples are then discussed.

The land of Hiyawa (Que) revisited

2016 ◽  
Vol 66 ◽  
pp. 67-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trevor Bryce
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Tenth Century ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
New Information ◽  
12Th Century ◽  
Mediterranean World ◽  
The Bronze Age

AbstractThe focus of this article is the recently published, near-duplicate ARSUZ inscriptions carved on two stelae found near İskenderun in southeastern Turkey and dating to the later tenth century BC. Particular attention is given to the historical section of these inscriptions, and its reference to a land called Hiyawa (Assyrian Que) in eastern Cilicia, previously attested in only one other Iron Age inscription, the Luwian-Phoenician bilingual found at Çineköy near Adana. The article discusses what new information can be deduced about Hiyawa, including its relationship with the land of Adana(wa) in eastern Cilicia, the implications to be drawn from the findspot of the stelae and the much-debated question of whether the references to Hiyawa reflect Greek settlement in southeastern Anatolia during the Early Iron Age. Fresh attention is also given to the two Akkadian texts from the archives of Late Bronze Age Ugarit which refer to a group called the Hiyawa-men, who were located at that time (late 13th to early 12th century) in Lukka in southwestern Anatolia. The controversial identification of this group with Ahhiyawans/Mycenaean Greeks is re-examined within the broader context of a comprehensive reconsideration of the Ahhiyawa-Hiyawa equation and the role played by ‘Hiyawans’ and the land of Hiyawa in the affairs of the eastern Mediterranean world from the end of the Bronze Age through the succeeding Iron Age.

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