Israel Hinojosa-Baliño

This article introduces a low-budget approach to archaeological land surveying using spherical cameras, developed for contexts where drone photography is unavailable or where UAV regulations impede its use. The technique combines a 360° camera with standard accessories, making it affordable, portable, and deployable on demand across varied logistical conditions. It has proven to be quicker, more detailed, and more accurate than EDM-based survey sampling, and it produces results comparable to drone-based photogrammetry in terms of Ground Sample Distance, with the added capability to generate orthomosaics and vertical shots. This methodological article describes technology, equipment, and workflow, and it presents two case studies in which the technique was successfully tested and validated: Tell F6 (Failaka, Kuwait) and the Roman fort at Hiw (Qena, Egypt)—two sites with complex topography, under 4 ha, and with no or scarce vegetation. Quantitative results from both sites are reported, including the GCP RMSE value. We discuss the advantages and limitations of the technique, with the objective of proposing a reproducible, affordable, and legally viable method for archaeological topographic documentation when conventional remote sensing tools are unavailable.

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.

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.

In this study, the spatial distribution of PM_2.5 air pollution in Mexico City from 37 personal exposures was modeled. Meteorological, demographic, geographic, and social data were also included. Geographic information systems (GIS), spatial analysis, and Land-Use Regression (LUR) were used to generate the final predictive model and the spatial distribution map which revealed two areas with very high concentrations (up to 109.3 µg/m³) and two more with lower concentrations (between 72 to 86.5 µg/m³) (p < 0.05). These results illustrate an overview trend of PM_2.5 in relation to human activity during the studied periods in Mexico City and show a general approach to understanding the spatial variability of PM_2.5.