Simone Riehl

During the mid-late eighth century BCE, the Neo-Assyrian Empire conquered the Kingdom of Israel in the southern Levant (Aster and Faust 2018; Baker 2023; Faust 2015, 2018, 2021; Gaß 2021; Radner 20...

Various researchers have demonstrated periods of instability in the cultivation of olives and grapes in the eastern Mediterranean, dating back at least to the Early Bronze Age. So far, pollen-based studies have focused primarily on olive cultivation in the southern Levant. Our research extends these studies to include both cash crops throughout the Levant and northern Mesopotamia, including several different climatic zones, to better understand the diversity of human strategies for maintaining agricultural stability. We analysed 1,514 charred olive (Olea europaea) and grape (Vitis vinfera) seed and wood samples from archaeological sites for their stable carbon isotope ratios to reconstruct Bronze and Iron Age growing conditions. The results, with generally 3.7‰ higher Δ¹³C values in grapevine than in olive, are consistent with the physiological characteristics of the two species, i.e., their water use efficiency, and with their different agronomic needs. Furthermore, higher values in charcoals than in fruits indicate the natural differences in the budgets of water availability associated with the period of formation of the measured plant tissue. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) of the complete data set shows clear correlation of the mean Δ¹³C values with reconstructed average precipitation (RAP) and the general north-south and west-east decline in precipitation of the region, as well as with chronology, including a gradual drying trend through time. Principal component analysis (PCA) based on these variables shows a highly diversified relationship between mean and maximum stress levels and RAP at different sites over time. An important trend is the significant accumulation of Iron Age sites in olive-growing and wine-producing regions above 500 mm RAP. However, there are considerable diachronic differences in the stress signals for the two tree crops. Interpolations of the mean Δ¹³C values of the crop species are in good agreement with the layout of the isohyets and visualize the PCA patterns of stable carbon isotope and precipitation relationships thereby confirming the major trends such as a better water availability in the Iron Age. The well-known major climatic fluctuations at 4.2 and 3.2 kyr BP correlate with likely irrigation of olive trees, while there are also drought patterns indicated in the Δ¹³C values at the end of the Middle Bronze Age. In general, the greater commitment to the establishment of agricultural niches and successful production for viticulture compared to oleiculture, which has already been observed in historical times, is confirmed, at least since the Middle Bronze Age and especially in the Iron Age.

Location: Körtik Tepe, Province Diyarbakır, Southeastern Turkey, at the confluence of the River Tigris and the Batman Creek. Period: Younger Dryas to Early Holocene (10400-9200 BCE) Focus: Archaeological evidence for permanent occupation of the site; conditions favouring early sedentism at the intersection of two ecological regimes: the riverine environments and the steppe/tree-steppe mountain ranges of the hinterland; ecological and socio-economic impact of sedentism and of climatic changes from the Younger Dryas to the Early Holocene; interpretation of burial customs comparing evidence of daily practices and emerging differentiation in burial rituals. Methods: Archaeobotany, stable isotope analyses, modelling of radiocarbon sequences; holistic approach

This paper presents a unique archaeobotanical discovery of stored crops from two domestic structures at Old Dongola in Northern Sudan, dating to the fifteenth to sixteenth centuries CE. The findings provide new insights into aspects of cuisine during the early Funj period (1504–1821 CE) and its historical roots. The assemblage of stored crops—including sorghum, bread wheat, hulled barley, grass pea, cowpea, and radish seeds—reveals a blend of Mediterranean and African influences, reflecting the diverse cultural spheres that converged at Old Dongola. We argue that these crops constituted a fundamental component of the local diet and served as the primary carbohydrate sources for the inhabitants. The size of the storage vessels and containers suggests small-scale storage practices aimed at daily subsistence. Moreover, the location of these stored crops within domestic spaces indicates a household-based economy, in which crop processing and storage were organized at the individual household level.

A stratigraphic sequence from Ghar-e Boof, a cave site in Iran, covering a period of c. 80,000–30,000 BP and containing more than 20,000 seed and chaff remains, allows a detailed study of the use of annual seed species of Palaeolithic hunter-gatherer groups and its evolution under the influence of changing environmental conditions. Taxonomic changes in the archaeobotanical assemblage and the stable carbon isotope data of pistachio support a considerable change in environmental conditions over the sequence from MIS 5a to MIS 3. The exceptional dominance of wild ancestors of modern crop species, including glume wheat and large-seeded legumes from Middle Palaeolithic layers AH VI (OSL ranges 72–81 ka BP), coincides broadly with the transition from MIS 5a to MIS 4. With the beginning of MIS 4 these taxa are strongly reduced, corresponding with a strong decrease in global CO₂ concentrations and in the Δ¹³C values of Pistacia khinjuk/atlantica from the site. Wild glume wheat completely disappears after Middle Palaeolithic AH Vb and never reappears at the site. We hypothesize that the Middle Palaeolithic niche that allowed the harvesting and consumption of wild cereals and legumes ended with a destabilization of the vegetation in early MIS 4.

Evaluating archaeobotanical data from over 3.9 million seeds and 124,300 charcoal fragments across 330 archaeological site phases in Southwest Asia, we reconstruct the history of olive and grape cultivation spanning a period of 6,000 years. Combining charcoal and seed data enables investigation into both the production and consumption of olive and grape. The earliest indication for olive and grape cultivation appears in the southern Levant around ca. 5000 BC and 4^th millennium BC respectively, although cultivation may have been practiced prior to these dates. Olive and grape cultivation in Southwest Asia was regionally concentrated within the Levant until 600 BC, although there were periodic pushes to the East. Several indications for climate influencing the history of olive and grape cultivation were found, as well as a correlation between periods of high population density and high proportions of olive and grape remains in archaeological sites. While temporal uncertainty prevents a detailed understanding of the causal mechanisms behind these correlations, we suggest that long distance trade in olives, grapes and their associated products was integral to the economic, social, and demographic trajectories of the region.

One of the largest isotopic datasets of the ancient Eastern Mediterranean region is evaluated, based on plants (n = 410), animals (n = 210) and humans (n = 16) from Tell Tweini (Syria). Diachronic analysis of plant and faunal specimens from four main periods of occupation: Early Bronze Age (2600–2000 BC), Middle Bronze Age (2000–1600 BC), Late Bronze Age (1600–1200 BC) and Iron Age (1200–333 BC) were investigated. Mean Δ¹³C results from seven plant species reveal emmer and free threshing wheat, olives, bitter vetch, rye grass and barley were adequately or well-watered during all periods of occupation. The grape Δ¹³C results suggest excellent growing conditions and particular care for its cultivation. The δ¹⁵N results indicate that especially the emmer and free threshing wheats received some manure inputs throughout the occupation sequence, while these were likely further increased during the Iron Age, encompassing also the olive groves and grape vineyards. Generally, domestic animals (cattle, sheep, goats) had C₃ terrestrial diets and were kept together in similar environments. However, some animals consumed significant amounts of marine or C₄ plants, possibly from disturbed habitats due to land use pressure or salt tolerant grasses and shrubs from wetland environments, which were recorded in the direct vicinity of the site. Middle Bronze Age humans consumed a C₃ terrestrial diet with no measurable input from C₄, freshwater or marine protein sources. Interestingly, the human diet was relatively low in animal protein and appears comparable to what is considered today a typical Mediterranean diet consisting of bread (wheat/barley), olives, grapes, pulses, dairy products and small amounts of meat. The combined isotopic analysis of plants, animals and humans from Tell Tweini represents unbroken links in the food chain which create unparalleled opportunities to enhance our current understanding of environmental conditions, climate change and lifeways in past populations from the Eastern Mediterranean.