Lo studio degli isotopi del carbonio e dell'azoto per ricostruire cronologia, clima e agricoltura nell'Olocene medio ad Arslantepe (Anatolia) - Carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis reveals chronology, palaeoclimate and agricultural practices at Arslantepe (Turkey) during the mid-Holocene

This PhD project has been carried out on plant remains recovered at the site of Arslantepe (Malatya, Turkey), whose research team the candidate is member. Excavations have been carried out by Sapienza University of Rome since 1961. Chronologically, the site can be placed as early as 4700 BC, when the first settlement so far investigated has been dated. The occupation is exceptionally long-term and continues until historical times. The archaeobotanical research at Arslantepe has been carried out for 35 years: several studies were focussed on huge amount of charcoal and seed/fruit remains. In the very last years complementary stable carbon isotope records from charred wood and cereal remains of 3400-2000 BC levels were established in order to describe climatic conditions and agricultural practices. The present research project aims firstly for the improvement of chronological framing by new 14C-AMS dates on plant remains. Secondly, the extension of stable carbon isotope analysis to charcoal and cereal remains from 4700 BC and the establishment of new nitrogen isotope records from cereal grains have to be ensued. As a result, the first high-resolution isotope records from an archaeological site of the Near East for the mid-Holocene have been achieved, displaying more than 2500 years of unfailing climate changes and agronomic conditions behind cultural developments. Specifically, the manuscript is a collection of several papers on archaeobotanical data from the study site, obtained by the candidate during his PhD. Formats are displayed as journal publications

THE BEGINNING OF THE IRON AGE AT ARSLANTEPE: A 14C PERSPECTIVE

The Iron Age chronology at Arslantepe is the result of the interpretation of Luwian hieroglyphic inscriptions and archaeological data coming from the site and its surrounding region. A new round of investigations of the Iron Age levels has been conducted at the site over the last 10 years. Preliminary results allowed the combination of the archaeological sequence with the historical events that extended from the collapse of the Late Bronze Age empires to the formation and development of the new Iron Age kingdoms. The integration into this picture of a new set of radiocarbon (14C) dates is aimed at establishing a more solid local chronology. High precision 14C dating by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) and its correlation with archaeobotanical analysis and stratigraphic data are presented here with the purpose of improving our knowledge of the site’s history and to build a reliable absolute chronology of the Iron Age. The results show that the earliest level of the sequence dates to ca. the mid-13th century BC, implying that the site started developing a new set of relationships with the Levant already before the breakdown of the Hittite empire, entailing important historical implications for the Syro-Anatolian region at the end of the 2nd millennium BC

The first extensive study of an Imperial Roman Garden in the city of Rome. The Horti Lamiani

This paper presents the first systematic results of integrated plant macrofossil and pollen analyses from the Horti Lamiani (1st-3rd century ce), an aristocratic residence with a luxury garden which was established on the Esquilino (Esquiline Hill) in Rome during the time of the first Emperor, Caesar Augustus (27 bce-14 ce) and later became one of the most famous Imperial gardens around the ancient city. Different types of plant remains such as charcoal, seeds and fruits and pollen were recovered from pits and pots in the garden and reflect the presence of plants there. There seem to have been ornamental shrubs which were probably grown as decorative modelled hedges and/or isolated bushes, as well as cultivated trees. Several ornamental flowering plants grew in pots. Although this archaeobotanical assemblage could represent some patches of wild vegetation still growing in the study area at the time of the Imperial garden, it is likely that most of the identified plants were intentionally planted and organised to create a glimpse of the past wild landscape of Rome. They have special characteristics, such as bearing coloured flowers or fruits and offering shade, that made them suitable for embellishing a magnificent garden. Moreover this reflects the Roman desire to control nature, testified by the expansion of luxury gardens during the Imperial period and the spread of decorative horticultural techniques, like the miniaturisation of trees and shaping of trees and shrubs by topiary

High-resolution late Holocene sedimentary cores record the long history of the city of Cádiz (south-western Spain)

Today, coastal cities worldwide are facing major changes resulting from climate change and anthropogenic forcing, which requires adaptation and mitigation strategies to be established. In this context, sedimentological archives in many Mediterranean cities record a multi-millennial history of environmental dynamics and human adaptation, revealing a long-lasting resilience. Founded by the Phoenicians around 3000 years ago, Cadiz (south-western Spain) is a key example of a coastal resilient city. This urban centre is considered to be one of the first cities of western Europe and has experienced major natural hazards during its long history, such as coastal erosion, storms, and also tsunamis (like the one in 1755 CE following the destructive Lisbon earthquake). In the framework of an international, joint archaeological and geoarchaeological project, three cores have been drilled in a marine palaeochannel that ran through the ancient city of Cadiz. These cores reveal a >= 50m thick Holocene sedimentary sequence. Importantly, most of the deposits date from the 1st millennium BCE to the 1st millennium CE. This exceptional sedimentary archive will allow our scientific team to achieve its research goals, which are (1) to reconstruct the palaeogeographical evolution of this specific coastal area; (2) to trace the intensity of activities of the city of Cadiz based on archaeological data, as well as geochemical and palaeoecological indicators; and (3) to identify and date high-energy event deposits such as storms and tsunami

Three-thousands-years records of climate and agriculture in Turkey: the stable isotopes approach to plant remains from Arslantepe

Based on the merely quantification of archaeobotanical remains, i.e. seeds, fruits and charcoals, palaeoecological reconstructions could lead to misleading conclusions. Thanks to the study of the stable isotopes, plant remains have been disclosed as a powerful tools to explore the role of climate in the evolution of both the environment and human communities and the past growing conditions of plants. The high-resolution isotope records from the long-lived archaeological site of Arslantepe in the Near East have been produced. The characterising features of Arslantepe (Turkey) are the long-term occupation, from 4700 to 2000 BCE, and the huge amount of plant remains preserved in situ. The improvement of the chronological framing by new 14C-AMS dates has been the base for building up the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope records from both charcoals and cereal grains. Deciduous Quercus and Juniperus isotopic signals have revealed that climate was wetter than nowadays, with regional fluctuations involved in the local cultural changes. The past crop management system has been reconstructed using the isotopic values of Hordeum vulgare, Triticum dicoccon and T. aestivum/durum grains, considering the relationship with social and cultural transformation

The view from the thermal baths of Pompeii: reconstructing the vegetation of the 1st millennium BCE

This study aims to point out the impact of the ancient city of Pompeii on the Sarno floodplain during the 1st millennium BCE. The issue of the development of the Sarno River and its response to past urbanization before and at the time of the volcanic eruption in 79 CE (Vogel and Märker 2010) benefits from the reconstruction of the environmental conditions in the area between the city, the river meander belt, and the sea. Data from an archaeological excavation (Furlan et al. 2019) and geoarchaeological analyses (Nicosia et al. 2019; Deiana 2019) have been complemented by recent palynological analyses performed within the framework of an interdisciplinary research project of the University of Padua. In order to outline the anthropogenic features and the palaeoenvironmental evolution several sediment cores were drilled in 2017 immediately south to the Sarno Baths, the thermal complex located along the southern section of the city wall. After having identified a succession of organic layers which formed the fluvial deposits dated to the 900–750 BCE to 79 CE interval, continuous pollen samples have been recovered from one core (S5). The preliminary results display a strictly local open landscape with a patchy scenario: Herbs prevail on Mediterranean shrubs, riparian trees and wetland plants. The regional vegetation is poorly represented. Intense cultivation of cabbages and other vegetables is also recorded as crops that possibly alternated with pastureland

Social aspects of plant and animal consumption at Late Chalcolithic Arslantepe, Turkey

This article is aimed at establishing trends in the taxonomic composition of Late Chalcolithic animal and plant assemblages in three different sectors of the Arslantepe settlement in Eastern Anatolia. Differences between common and elite dwellings as well as communal areas and storage facilities may help highlight parallels outlined by sister disciplines in reconstructing diet in various periods of the site. Capricious patterns found during the distinction between elite residences and common households were in part influenced by changes in food consumption through time, a hypothesis tested by diachronic comparisons between animal and plant remains in an effort to pinpoint the expression of social inequalities in the diet. The analyses are based on groupings of provenances seen as functionally diverse areas whose individual composition of biological remains can be compared to other archaeological parameters discussed by Balossi Restelli et alii and Iacumin et alii in the same issue

The Lake Dojran pollen sequence: a bridge between scientific and humanistic approach to the environmental history in the Balkans

How have the societies of the past afforded climatic changes? How prolonged dryness, exceptionally cold winters, or dramatic increases in annual rainfall had been overcome by past societies? Why some societies were resilient while other vulnerable? Palaeoenvironmental studies have been trying to answer these questions but it is only applying both scientific and historical methodologies in the same project that we can fully understand the past (Izdebski et al. 2016). The Palaeo-Science and History group of the Max Planck Institute of Jena (https://www.shh.mpg.de/1056512/psh) explores the ways in which environmental sciences converges with history as a humanistic discipline that focus on the past. The project focuses on Macedonia and the Peloponnese in Greece, Sicily in Italy, and Western Turkey where evidences suggest the presence of complex societies adapted to a variety of environmental conditions. In this frame, palynology has a primary role reconstructing the past population behaviour, giving essential information on cultivation and land management. Climatic oscillation can be also inferred and contributes in the reconstruction of past events. Here we present a focus on the southern Balkans with a comparison between Lake Dojran (at the border between Greece and Republic of North Macedonia) and Lake Volvi (continental Greece) records. A pollen sequence, covering the last 12000 years with a lower resolution, is already available for Lake Dojran (Masi et al. 2018). The new data consists in the pollen, NPP and charcoal analysis at high resolution for the two lakes. The results give an interesting example of societal and environmental processes that, influencing one each other, left traces in the pollen assemblages. The period taken in consideration spans from the Roman Empire to its collapse and the establishment of Byzantium new equilibrium. Political power and socio-economic structures completely changed, but the Byzantine society was not only able to adjust successfully to dramatic changes. but also became resilient for many centuries. The pollen assemblage of the two lakes shows some similarities related to human exploitation such as the forest cover can be ascribed not only to human impact, but also to an aridification trend. Land use is evidenced by the curves of cereal and olive pollen, and also by other anthropogenic indicators. At Dojran grapevine cultivation is also assessed. The high-resolution pollen data together with the deep knowledge of the historical sources available for the region reveal all the complexity of the historical vs. environmental reconstruction of the Macedonian region, which has always been the connection point between Europe and Asia