Bronze and Iron Age Urban Ecology in the Galilee

Summary

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

Micromammal remains have proven to be successful proxies for conducting zooarchaeological research and reconstructing paleoenvironmental conditions in the Levant. Their success as a palaeoecological proxy is due to their sensitivity to climatic change, specific ecological niche, and low rate of human interaction. While there is abundant research on micromammals from prehistoric periods of the Levant, little research has been done using micromammals as environmental proxies in historical periods which are most often represented by urban environments. These areas are crucial for understanding human social organization and humanity’s impact on local ecosystems. To address these gaps, we sourced micromammal remains of individuals weighing less than 3 kg primarily from Bronze and Iron age sites located in northern Galilee. Using community structure, biogeochemistry, geometric morphometrics, and taphonomy, we reconstructed the ecology of the historic urban environment and the level and impact of human occupation on the local micromammal ecosystems.

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): 41645.0