HOW GEOARCHAEOLOGICAL & MULTISCALAR APPROACH PROVIDES INSIGHT ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE & SOCIAL DYNAMICS
Channel: European Association of Archaeologists
Date: 08/01/2021

The research is conducted in Northern Greece onto two distinct but connected river basins, the southern part of lower Strymon Valley and his last tributary (Angitis) draining the former Tenaghi-Philippon marsh, 30 km to the east. Four terrestrial cores, will be presented in order to bring new information about climate instability and social dynamics occurred in the region during Bronze Age. Two cores spaced from 2km each other were carried out in the wetland between the Tenaghi-Philippon former marsh and the multiperiod tell of Dikili Tash currently investigated by archaeologists. We attempt to use these archives to identify periods of landscapes and socio-cultural changes around the inhabited area. Another two cores, equally spaced from 2km each other, are situated on the riverbank of contemporary large river systems (Strymon and Angitis) into Lower-Strymon-Valley. The latter fluvio-lacustrine deposits (from 7 to 10 meters thick) describing the interval between 3200 to 800 cal BC (EBA to Antiquity in this region) offer a significant potential for high-resolution palaeoenvironmental studies. They give us new insight into the complex puzzle of Human-Environment relationships at this cultural time.

For each sequence, two sources of palaeoecological investigations have been conducted: geomorphological and palynological. They give an overview of climate variability in the Eastern Mediterranean, particularly for some RCCs episodes and thereafter a comprehensive view of anthropogenic responses and impacts on the vegetation cover. This case study highlights the interest to (1) combine geomorphological with palynological evidence and multiscalar approach to discuss on the Climate/Environment/Society relationships. (2) It points out the necessity to assess the effects of specific farming practices as of the Climate Change on the dynamics of mosaic landscapes. This long term analysis about Bronze-Age landscape dynamics provides (3) food for thought to fill the archaeological shortcoming for this period, guiding the future investigations.


Author(s): Glais, Arthur (LETG-Caen at Normandy University) - Lespez, Laurent (LGP-University of Paris-East Créteil) - Lopez-Saez, José-Antonio (Archaeobiology Group, Institute of History, CCHS, CSIC, Madrid) - Darcque, Pascal - Tsirtsoni, Zoï (Arscan, Maison de l’archéologie et de l’Ethnologie, University of Paris 10, Nanterre) - Malamidou, Dimitra (Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities, Greek ministry of culture, Kavala)