Investigating Neolithic ecology and settlement networks in the Konya Plain: integrated micro-contextual analysis of buildings and open areas at Çatalhöyük East, Boncuklu Hüyük, and Pınarbaşı

This PhD research focuses on the investigation of local developments in sedentism, ecological strategies, and site networks in Central Turkey through the microstratigraphic study of buildings, middens, and open areas at the Neolithic sites of Boncuklu Hüyük (9th-8th millennium BC cal), Çatalhöyük (8th-6th millennium BC cal), and Pınarbaşı (9th-7th millennium BC cal). To examine the relationship between Neolithic subsistence economy and settlement dynamics at high resolution it is necessary to investigate the nature, distribution, and periodicity of accumulated micro-residues derived from daily activities, as well as the technological choices expressed in floor construction materials. Thus, a geoarchaeological study appears as the most suitable approach to this problem, as it provides us with the tools to explore questions of ecology and society at multiple analytical scales, tying environmental data from the surrounding landscape to excavated on-site evidence for subsistence. This research has entailed, firstly, the microstratigraphic excavation of a building at Çatalhöyük to experiment with field, recording, and sampling strategies of finely laminated sequences. Second, a micromorphological study of house floors, middens, and open areas at the three sites has been conducted to identify the origin, deposition, and periodicity of components indicating particular human activities such as storage, food procurement and cooking practices, and the ecological and social variations of these. Thirdly, construction floor materials have been characterised through XRF, XRD, and FTIR methods. Finally, SEMEDX and IR microscopy have contributed to the characterisation of specific deposits related to domestic activities such as food and fuel management. The combination of these highly resolved spatial and chronological datasets has offered robust explanations for each community’s economic, ecological, and social basis. The results address the relationship between Neolithic communities and their environments, giving a more precise understanding of the full range of landscape exploitation strategies used by early farmers in the wetland/dryland setting in which these sites existed. This integrative approach is essential to confirm the different path to sedentism that scholars are currently positing for Central Anatolia, and models for local diversity more widely

Early animal management strategies during the Neolithic of the Konya Plain, Central Anatolia: integrating micromorphological and microfossil evidence

This paper examines the contribution of microscopic multi-proxy approaches to the study of early husbandry practices and animal diet by integrated micromorphological, phytolith, and calcitic dung spherulite analyses of midden deposits at the three neighbouring Neolithic sites of Boncuklu (9th-8th millennium cal BC), Pınarbaşı (7th millennium cal BC) and Çatalhöyük (8th-6th millennium cal BC) in the Konya Plain, Central Turkey. The results reveal considerable chronological and contextual variation in human-animal inter-relations in open areas between different communities and sites. At Boncuklu, middens display well-defined areas where phytoliths and substantial accumulations of omnivore faecal matter low in spherulite content have been identified. By contrast, open spaces at the Late Neolithic campsite of Pınarbaşı comprise large concentrations of herbivore dung material associated with neonatal ovicaprine remains from spring birthing. Here, the deposits represent repeated dung-burning events, and include high concentrations of dung spherulites and phytoliths from wild grasses, and leaves and culms of reeds that, we suggest here, derive from fodder and fuel sources. Late middens at Çatalhöyük are characterised by thick sequences derived from multiple fuel burning events and rich in ashes, charred plants, articulated phytoliths – mainly from the husk of cereals, as well as the leaves and stems of reeds and sedges – and omnivore/ruminant coprolites, the abundance of the latter declining markedly in the latest levels of occupation. The application of this integrated microscopic approach to open areas has contributed to unravelling the complexity of formation processes at these sites, providing new insights into herding practices, diet, and the ecological diversity of Neolithic communities in Central Anatolia

Animal penning and open area activity at Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Turkey

Over the last few decades a variety of geoarchaeological methods and ethnoarchaeological and experimental approaches have demonstrated the fundamental importance of animal dung deposits for reconstructing past human life-ways. Through simultaneous examination in micromorphological thin-section and integrated phytolith and faecal spherulite analyses, this study provides direct evidence for animal management and organisation of space at Neolithic Çatalhöyük by examining livestock penning deposits across the settlement. The identification of new extensive areas of penning distributed within the boundaries of the early occupation of the site suggests greater proximity to and management of herds immediately prior to a phase of settlement expansion, access to wider networks and resources, and increased exploitation of the wider landscape. Phytolith assemblages from in situ dung accumulations also provide new insights into foddering/grazing practices showing highly variable herbivorous regimes, including both dicotyledonous and grass-based diets with an important proportion of grasses used as fodder and/or grazing during the early occupation of Çatalhöyük. This study provides direct evidence of the proximity of humans and herds, continuity and change in animal management strategies and farming practices, and concepts of space at the site

Prospective individual patient data meta-analysis of two randomized trials on convalescent plasma for COVID-19 outpatients

Data on convalescent plasma (CP) treatment in COVID-19 outpatients are scarce. We aimed to assess whether CP administered during the first week of symptoms reduced the disease progression or risk of hospitalization of outpatients. Two multicenter, double-blind randomized trials (NCT04621123, NCT04589949) were merged with data pooling starting when = 50 years and symptomatic for <= 7days were included. The intervention consisted of 200-300mL of CP with a predefined minimum level of antibodies. Primary endpoints were a 5-point disease severity scale and a composite of hospitalization or death by 28 days. Amongst the 797 patients included, 390 received CP and 392 placebo; they had a median age of 58 years, 1 comorbidity, 5 days symptoms and 93% had negative IgG antibody-test. Seventy-four patients were hospitalized, 6 required mechanical ventilation and 3 died. The odds ratio (OR) of CP for improved disease severity scale was 0.936 (credible interval (CI) 0.667-1.311); OR for hospitalization or death was 0.919 (CI 0.592-1.416). CP effect on hospital admission or death was largest in patients with <= 5 days of symptoms (OR 0.658, 95%CI 0.394-1.085). CP did not decrease the time to full symptom resolution

Integrating phytolith and micromorphological research in Central Anatolia: insights into Early Holocene human-plant-animal dynamics

27th EAA Annual Meeting (Kiel Virtual, 2021)The tight integration of phytolith and micromorphological methodologies is a very promising line of work in environmental archaeology, since it allows us to combine the strengths of both quantitative (i.e. concentrations of micro-remains) and qualitative (i.e. micro-contextual) studies. In this paper, we present case studies from the Central Anatolian Neolithic record to illustrate the many advantages associated with this interdisciplinary approach, particularly when capable of expanding/dismissing functional interpretations of archaeological contexts defined by field observations. We then evaluate these results under the light of ethnographic research in modern Turkish villages, highlighting how these investigations contribute to refining archaeological interpretations of deposits and embedded micro-remains from comparable contexts. Phytolith spot samples were collected from the sediment blocks before preparation for manufacture into thin-sections, resulting in the strong association of microfossil and micromorphological data. Results demonstrate how the combination of geo- and bio-markers leads to solid interpretations on key archaeological issues such as uses and concepts of space, landscape exploitation and herd management, in particular feeding regimes and dung use. Specifically, micromorphology has made significant contributions to our understanding of the depositional pathways and taphonomic alterations of plant contents in the studied contexts, whereasphytolith analyses of spot samples have allowed us to overcome the limitations posed by the observation of plant microfossils in micromorphological thin-sections. Through this combination, depositional processes, ecological choices and post-depositional alterations are identified and understood more accurately

Microarchaeology: making visible the invisible archaeological record through high resolution integrated approaches

Although microarchaeological techniques are being increasingly applied to reconstructing human-environment dynamics within built environments from the Early Holocene onwards, its integration particularly in archaeological research programs based on historical periods, is far from systematic. Over the last decades, the study of the invisible microscopic record through the application of high-resolution methodologies in the fields of geoarchaeology, archaeobiology and biochemistry, including microbiological remains and molecular signatures from a varied range of contexts, has contributed significantly to improve our knowledge about landscapes and environmental conditions, water availability, food production, energy supply, technology, site formation processes and the use of space, contributing to a better understanding of changing social, economic and cultural dynamics of past populations through time. The aim of this international conference is to bring together different perspectives derived from multi-proxy techniques applied to a varied range of archaeological contexts, from early built environments to complex urban societies in the Central-Western Mediterranean, but not limited to these. Further, it intends to 1) review current methodologies, recent applications, and advances in the study of the microarchaeological record; 2) to address the challenges of integrating high-resolution approaches; 3) to evaluate the contribution of experimental and ethnoarchaeological comparative records; 4) to discuss the role of microarchaeological records in exploring major research questions; and 5) to suggest possible future perspectives and directions