Tracing the patterns: fields, villages, and burial places in Lebanon

Archaeological research in Lebanon often focuses on settlement from the Bronze Age to Romanperiods, while surrounding landscapes, earlier and later periods are under-represented. Largedatasets collecting information from all periods and site types, such as the EndangeredArchaeology in the Middle East and North Africa (EAMENA) database, address this imbalance.EAMENA predominantly uses satellite imagery to identify archaeological sites and the threatsposed to them, leading to the recognition of many previously unpublished sites, includingabandoned buildings and agricultural terraces. Here we explore how such data can be used totrace patterns of settlement and landscape use. Transects running from coast to uplands innorthern and southern Lebanon are compared: the results show profound differences betweennorth and south, and between coastal and inland zones. The importance of large, holisticdatasets for previously understudied site types and periods in piecing together past patterns ofland use, subsistence economies, burial traditions and change over time are demonstrated

Evidence of resilience to past climate change in Southwest Asia: early farming communities and the 9.2 and 8.2 ka events

Climate change is often cited as a major factor in social change. The so-called 8.2 ka event was one of the most pronounced and abrupt Holocene cold and arid events. The 9.2 ka event was similar, albeit of a smaller magnitude. Both events affected the Northern Hemisphere climate and caused cooling and aridification in Southwest Asia. Yet, the impacts of the 8.2 and 9.2 ka events on early farming communities in this region are not well understood. Current hypotheses for an effect of the 8.2 ka event vary from large-scale site abandonment and migration (including the Neolithisation of Europe) to continuation of occupation and local adaptation, while impacts of the 9.2 ka have not previously been systematically studied. In this paper, we present a thorough assessment of available, quality-checked radiocarbon (14C) dates for sites from Southwest Asia covering the time interval between 9500 and 7500 cal BP, which we interpret in combination with archaeological evidence. In this way, the synchronicity between changes observed in the archaeological record and the rapid climate events is tested. It is shown that there is no evidence for a simultaneous and widespread collapse, large-scale site abandonment, or migration at the time of the events. However, there are indications for local adaptation. We conclude that early farming communities were resilient to the abrupt, severe climate changes at 9250 and 8200 cal BP

Late Holocene droughts in the Fertile Crescent recorded in a speleothem from northern Iraq

Droughts have had large impacts on past and present societies. High-resolution paleoclimate data are essential to place recent droughts in a meaningful historical context and to predict regional future changes with greater accuracy. Such records, however, are very scarce in the Middle East in general, and the Fertile Crescent in particular. Here we present a 2400 year long speleothem-based multiproxy record from Gejkar Cave in northern Iraq. Oxygen and carbon isotopes and magnesium are faithful recorders of effective moisture. The new Gejkar record not only shows that droughts in 1998–2000 and 2007–2010, which have been argued to be a contributing factor to Syrian civil war, were extreme compared to the current mean climate, but they were also superimposed on a long-term aridification trend that already started around or before 950 C.E. (Common Era). This long-term trend is not captured by tree ring records and climate models, emphasizing the importance of using various paleoclimate proxy data to evaluate and improve climate models and to correctly inform policy makers about future hydroclimatic changes in this drought-prone region

Heterogenous late Holocene climate in the Eastern Mediterranean – the Kocain Cave record from SW Turkey

Palaeoclimate variability must be constrained to predict the nature and impacts of future climate change in the Eastern Mediterranean. Here, we present a late Holocene high-resolution multiproxy data set from Kocain Cave, the first of its kind from SW Turkey. Regional fluctuations in effective-moisture are recorded by variations in magnesium, strontium, phosphorous and carbon isotopes, with oxygen isotopes reacting to changes in precipitation and effective-moisture. The new record shows a double-peak of arid conditions at 1150 and 800 BCE, a wet period 330–460 CE followed by a rapid shift to dry conditions 460–830 CE, and a dry/wet Medieval Climate Anomaly/Little Ice Age pattern. Large discrepancies exist between Turkish records and the Kocain record, which shares more similarities with other Eastern Mediterranean coastal records. Heterogeneity of regional climate and palaeoclimate proxy records are emphasized

Building WF16: construction of a PPNA pisé structure in Southern Jordan

The Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) period in Southwest Asia is essential for our understanding of the transition to sedentary, agricultural communities. Developments in architecture are key to understanding this transition, but many aspects of PPNA architecture remain elusive, such as construction techniques, the selection of building materials, and the functional use of space. The primary aim of the research described within this contribution was to build a PPNA-like structure in order to answer questions about PPNA architecture in general, while specifically addressing issues raised by the excavation of structures at the site of WF16, Southern Jordan. The second aim was to display a ‘PPNA’ building to visitors in Wadi Faynan to enhance their understanding of the period. The experimental construction based on one of the WF16 structures showed that 1) required materials can be acquired locally; 2) a construction technique using mud layers as described in this paper was likely used; 3) flat, or very slightly dome-shaped, roofs are functional and can also be used as a solid working platform; 4) the WF16 small semi-subterranean buildings appear inappropriate for housing a nuclear family unit

Carbon stable isotope analysis of cereal remains as a way to reconstruct water availability: preliminary results

Reconstructing past water availability, both as rainfall and irrigation, is important to answer questions about the way society reacts to climate and its changes and the role of irrigation in the development of social complexity. Carbon stable isotope analysis of archaeobotanical remains is a potentially valuable method for reconstructing water availability. To further define the relationship between water availability and plant carbon isotope composition and to set up baseline values for the Southern Levant, grains of experimentally grown barley and sorghum were studied. The cereal crops were grown at three stations under five different irrigation regimes in Jordan. Results indicate that a positive but weak relationship exists between irrigation regime and total water input of barley grains, but no relationship was found for sorghum. The relationship for barley is site-specific and inter-annual variation was present at Deir ‘Alla, but not at Ramtha and Khirbet as-Samra

What can crop stable isotopes ever do for us? An experimental perspective on using crop carbon stable isotope values for reconstructing water availability in semi-arid and arid environments

This study re-assesses and refines the use of crop carbon stable isotopes (Δ13C) to reconstruct past water availability. Durum wheat, six-row barley, and sorghum were experimentally grown at three crop growing stations in Jordan for up to three years under five different irrigation regimes: 0% (rainfall only), 40%, 80%, 100%, and 120% of the crops’ optimum water requirements. Results show large variation in carbon stable isotopes for crops that received similar amounts of water, either as absolute water input or as percentage of crop requirements. We conclude that C3 crop carbon stable isotope composition can therefore be best interpreted in terms of extremely high values showing an abundance of water versus low values indicating water-stress. Values in between these extremes are problematic and best interpreted in conjunction with other proxies. C4 crop isotopes were not found to be useful for the reconstruction of water availability

Mapping local patterns of childhood overweight and wasting in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2017

A double burden of malnutrition occurs when individuals, household members or communities experience both undernutrition and overweight. Here, we show geospatial estimates of overweight and wasting prevalence among children under 5 years of age in 105 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) from 2000 to 2017 and aggregate these to policy-relevant administrative units. Wasting decreased overall across LMICs between 2000 and 2017, from 8.4% (62.3 (55.1–70.8) million) to 6.4% (58.3 (47.6–70.7) million), but is predicted to remain above the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target of <5% in over half of LMICs by 2025. Prevalence of overweight increased from 5.2% (30 (22.8–38.5) million) in 2000 to 6.0% (55.5 (44.8–67.9) million) children aged under 5 years in 2017. Areas most affected by double burden of malnutrition were located in Indonesia, Thailand, southeastern China, Botswana, Cameroon and central Nigeria. Our estimates provide a new perspective to researchers, policy makers and public health agencies in their efforts to address this global childhood syndemic

Research needs in allergy: an EAACI position paper, in collaboration with EFA

Abstract In less than half a century, allergy, originally perceived as a rare disease, has become a major public health threat, today affecting the lives of more than 60 million people in Europe, and probably close to one billion worldwide, thereby heavily impacting the budgets of public health systems. More disturbingly, its prevalence and impact are on the rise, a development that has been associated with environmental and lifestyle changes accompanying the continuous process of urbanization and globalization. Therefore, there is an urgent need to prioritize and concert research efforts in the field of allergy, in order to achieve sustainable results on prevention, diagnosis and treatment of this most prevalent chronic disease of the 21 st century. The European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) is the leading professional organization in the field of allergy, promoting excellence in clinical care, education, training and basic and translational research, all with the ultimate goal of improving the health of allergic patients. The European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients&apos; Associations (EFA) is a non-profit network of allergy, asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD) patients&apos; organizations. In support of their missions, the present EAACI Position Paper, in collaboration with EFA, highlights the most important research needs in the field of allergy to serve as key recommendations for future research funding at the national and European levels. Although allergies may involve almost every organ of the body and an array of diverse external factors act as triggers, there are several common themes that need to be prioritized in research efforts. As in many other chronic diseases, effective prevention, curative treatment and accurate, rapid diagnosis represent major unmet needs. Detailed phenotyping/endotyping stands out as widely required in order to arrange or re-categorize clinical syndromes into more coherent, uniform and treatment-responsive groups. Research efforts to unveil the basic pathophysiologic pathways and mechanisms, thus leading to the comprehension and resolution of the pathophysiologic complexity of allergies will allow for the design of novel patient-oriented diagnostic and treatment protocols. Several allergic diseases require well-controlled epidemiological description and surveillance, using disease registries, pharmacoeconomic evaluation, as well as large biobanks. Additionally, there is a need for extensive studies to bring promising new biotechnological innovations, such as biological agents, vaccines of modified allergen molecules and engineered components for allergy diagnosis, closer to clinical practice. Finally, particular attention should be paid to the difficult-to-manage, precarious and costly severe disease forms and/or exacerbations. Nonetheless, currently arising treatments, mainly in the fields of immunotherapy and biologicals, hold great promise for targeted and causal management of allergic conditions. Active involvement of all stakeholders, including Patient Organizations and policy makers are necessary to achieve the aims emphasized herein

The Neolithic of the Jordanian Badia

Much research has been conducted in the arid zone of Jordan, beyond the Mediterranean environments traditionally understood as the Neolithic core developmental area. The Neolithic of this arid zone has often been framed as marginal, as specially adapted to the dry environmental conditions, as maintaining hunting traditions, as providing protein to the settled communities of the core, and as made possible by new developments in pastoralism. As more evidence is discovered, an increasingly nuanced picture emerges. Not least, our understanding of the environment suggests that rather than adaptation to arid conditions much of this Neolithic expansion may relate to the exploitation of extensive areas that were better watered than today. Nonetheless, new ways of living did emerge, although typically Neolithic in their intensification of the exploitation of resources leading to the carving out of new cultural and environmental niches. The relationships between people living in these lands and those living in the core established the foundations of the economic networks that become visible in the Chalcolithic and into the Early Bronze Age