Climate, Vulcanism, and Agricultural Terrace Construction in Late Bronze Age Crete

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Environmental change during the Bronze Age (3000 to 1100 BC) on Crete had a strong impact on the viability of agriculture and subsequent development of land land management technologies. In particular the development of terraced agricultural systems increased the capacity of slope agriculture, allowing cultivation to keep pace with population growth. In particular, the 4.2 ky climate event (2200 BC) and the volcanic eruption of the island of Thera (mid-16th century BC) appear to have resulted in flooding and soil loss which would have been a challenge to cultivation. This paper presents results from geoarchaeological and geochronological research at two Bronze Age terrace sites in eastern Crete, Anavlochos and Choiromandres. Portable X-Ray Fluorescence (pXRF), portable Optically Stimulated Luminescence (pOSL), and Archaeological Thin Section Micromorphology were integrated to reconstruct the history of land use and soil loss at the sites. Results confirm the use of terraces for agriculture in the Bronze and Iron Age and suggest that increased erosion affected slopes in Crete ca. 4.2 ky (2200 BC) and 3.6 ky (1600 BC). The causes for these erosive events, such as the eruption of Thera, are discussed, as well as the motivations for terrace construction in the Aegean during this period.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39189.0