Rough Cilicia Archaeological Survey: Report of the 2007 Season

The 2007 season of the Rough Cilicia Archaeological Survey Project was directed by Nicholas Rauh of Purdue University. Dr. Hulya Caner of the Institute for Marine Science Management at Istanbul University supervised the work of our highland pollen trench excavations. Dr. Unal Akkemik of the Department of Forest Botany, School of Forestry, at Istanbul University conducted the dendrochronological research. These scholars were assisted by graduate student, Margaret Bloome, of Arizona University, and undergraduate students Phillip Ramirez (Purdue University), Aaron Fettgather (American University), Alexander Jillions (American University) and Charlotte Rose (Brown University). Due to permit complications the field season lasted one week, August 2-9, 2007. This season the team focused on paleo-environmental research in the Biçkici Highland behind Gazipasha. Our purpose was to obtain data to determine the age of the current cedar forest near the tree line of the Tauros Mts. as well as to obtain pollen data from trench excavations at the same elevation to determine the remote history of the forest. At the highland (yayla) village of Sügözü, the team, supervised by Hulya Caner, excavated an open pit to obtain 50 soil samples of remarkably remote age. Unal Akkemik was able to obtain 15 tree ring samples from old growth cedar, black pine, and juniper trees in the vicinity to demonstrate that the current highland forest cover is relatively young

Rough Cilicia Archaeological Survey Project: Report of the 2004 Season

The priorities the season 2004 were to complete the envisioned maritime, geoarchaeological, and architectural surveys that had been organized for this particular grant cycle. Owing to the complexity of the 2004 season\u27s program, the various team components worked within a staggered schedule: the maritime and geoarchaeological surveys went first, followed by the architectural survey. The pedestrian survey basically worked to accommodate the needs of the other teams by working in and around them. Despite these limitations, the pedestrian team managed to conduct several days of \u27prospective\u27 survey in the Kaledran Canyon. The results of each of the team\u27s efforts are presented report in the sequence in which they occurred, maritime, geoarchaeological, architectural, and pedestrian

Miocene Cupressinoxylon from Gökçeada (Imbros), Turkey with Protophytobia cambium mining and the study of ecological signals of wood anatomy

Premise The recognition of the Miocene Climate Optimum (MCO) in terrestrial palaeoenvironments of the Eastern Mediterranean is restricted to Lesbos and Lemnos Islands, Greece. This area is significant for its wood microfossils. A recently-discovered fossil wood assemblage from Gökçeada (Imbros) Island, Turkey, including tree species similar to the Greek findings, is thought to have an early Miocene age. Here, we revise the age of the latter plant fossiliferous locality, re-evaluate the area for the study of MCO for the terrestrial palaeoecosystems of the Eastern Mediterranean and the nomenclature errors referring to the occurrence of fossil wood. We present the plant–insect–environment interactions using detailed anatomical descriptions, of an extinct conifer and its extinct cambium miner feeding traces observed in its secondary xylem. Methods Three thin sections were prepared with standard palaeoxylotomical techniques from a small section of the silicified wood; the sections were observed under a light microscope. The anatomy of the conifer and its damage patterns were compared with those of extant and fossil Cupressaceae and Agromyzidae, respectively. Pivotal results The common anatomical features of the studied wood specimen and Hesperocyparis macrocarpa (Hartw.) Bartel and a shared characteristic (the number of the cross-field pits – a feature we consider of diagnostic value) with Xanthocyparis vietnamensis Farjon & T.H. Nguyên led to its assignment to the Hesperocyparis–Xanthocyparis–Callitropsis clade. The detailed study of the wound scars and anatomical abnormalities, the anatomical–environmental associations, and structural–functional reactions follow the identification of the wood’s anatomy sensu Carlquist providing decisive results. Conclusions Based on the distinctive characteristics presented, we identify our macrofossil as Cupressinoxylon matromnense Grambast, a stem or an extinct lineage of the Hesperocyparis–Xanthocyparis vietnamensis–Callitropsis nootkatensis clade with feeding traces of the fossil cambium miner of the genus Protophytobia Süss (Diptera: Agromyzidae), and anatomical damage and reaction tissue on adventitious shoots. The use of Protopinaceae and Pinoxylon F. H. Knowlton from the eastern Mediterranean are re–evaluated and corrections are provided. The age of the studied plant fossiliferous locality in Gökçeada is revised as middle Miocene, allowing the proposal of an eastern Mediterranean MCO hotspot, including Lesbos, Lemnos, and Gökçeada (Imbros) Islands

Rough Cilicia Archaeological Survey: Report of the 2011 Season, Part One

The 2011 season of the Rough Cilicia Archaeological Survey Project was conducted between July 21 and August 12 2011. The research agenda of the 2011 was to investigate the degraded character of highland cedar forests in the Taşeli Plateau in the Taurus Mts behind Gazipaşa (Antalya Province, Gazipaşa District, Taseli Plateau). We worked in the Taseli plateau highland region from July 25 to Aug. 5, collecting tree, pollen, and carbon samples of the highland forest; we then relocated to the Baysal Hotel in Gazipaşa to conduct archaeological survey in the midlands (mesogeia) between Aug. 6 and 12. We explain the procedures and the results of both phases of the survey in two parts. This section (Part One) will address the deforestation research of the 2011 Survey; Part Two will address the finds of the 2011 Pedestrian Survey. As the mid-range theory Rough Cilicia highland survey has been investigating the possibility that resource depletion played a role in population collapse at the end of the Roman era. Throughout antiquity the forests of these mountains were praised for their lofty conifer trees, particularly cedar trees whose rot-resistant properties made them desirable for shipbuilding. By the beginning of the 20th century, this forest was essentially exhausted. While scholars agree that human activity played a determining role in deforestation, the timing and pace of pre-modern forest utilization is poorly understood. Our paleoenvironmental work this season embraced two related strategies, dendrochronological investigation of the surviving highland forest, and geomorphic trench excavations of alluvial deposits along river basins, carbon and pollen analysis of soil samples. To conduct the highland survey we positioned ourselves at a rental house at Gökgözlük Yayla for approximately 10 days. During that time we conducted geomorphic trench sampling of cedar and pollen residue at the altitude representing the natural habitat of the highland forest (1500 to 1800 m elevation)