Understanding Climatic Condition, Ecosystems, Subsistence Strategies and Human Adaptation thru Micro-Botanical Analysis in Late-Holocene, Northern Mesopotamia

Summary

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

The semi-arid region of Northern Mesopotamia has consistently encountered significant climatic variations. Therefore, human societies in the region developed innovations in environmental management and agricultural strategies, given the crucial role of agriculture in economy, trade, and politics all throughout history and in our modern world. Among all the different methods and approaches to study human societies in the past phytolith analysis stands out due to its multifaceted capabilities allowing us to examine various aspects of history. Since phytoliths indicate plant parts, plant species, and plant subfamilies, and they are preserved in different conditions, they offer a highly reliable proxy even in areas where other forms of evidence such as pollen cannot be preserved. The interpretation and assessment of phytolith data across different spatial contexts enables us to analyze the function of spaces, human-environment interaction, climatic conditions, and agricultural strategies. Drawing upon compelling new microbotanical phytolith evidence gathered from Iron Age sites in the Kurdistan region of Northern Iraq, this study discusses the functionality and construction techniques of buildings, utilization of diverse micro-environments and plants, and implementation of rainfed and local irrigation as vital methods to manage environmental fluctuations, agricultural challenges, and subsistence strategies prevalent at the time.

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): 40421.0