Premium
The geoarchaeology of Holocene environments and land use at Kazane Höyük, S.E. Turkey
Author(s) -
Miller Rosen Arlene
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
geoarchaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1520-6548
pISSN - 0883-6353
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1520-6548(199707)12:4<395::aid-gea6>3.0.co;2-w
Subject(s) - holocene , geoarchaeology , swamp , floodplain , alluvium , archaeology , period (music) , geology , bronze age , deforestation (computer science) , chalcolithic , allerød oscillation , sediment , physical geography , hydrology (agriculture) , geography , ecology , geomorphology , younger dryas , physics , cartography , geotechnical engineering , computer science , acoustics , biology , programming language
Geoarchaeological investigations at Kazane Höyük, S.E. Turkey demonstrate a record of Holocene environmental change, fluctuating agricultural potential, and human environmental impact. A mid‐Holocene alluvial phase with seasonal swamps and steady channel flows suggests a moister climatic regime than at present. This was a suitable landscape for raising pigs and cattle (reflected in the fauna of archaeological levels from this period), and high‐yield cultivation of cereals. These environmental conditions continued from the Chalcolithic period through the Early Bronze Age. Subsequent desiccation led to downcutting of the streams and drying out of the marshy environs around the site, although the occupation continued well into the Middle Bronze Age. Alluviation was renewed again in the Medieval period. The lowermost of these Late Holocene deposits indicate fine‐grained floodplain and levee development suggestive of a climatic amelioration with later indications of sediment disturbances and colluviation related to human land use and deforestation in Medieval times. ©1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.