Archaeologists find ancient people who were not afraid of climate change

A new study by archaeologists from the University of Toronto and Cornell University working

in Tell Tayinat in southeastern Turkey,demonstrates that human responses to climate change are heterogeneous and must be studied using extensive and accurate data collected at the local level. The study highlights how problems and collapse in some areas combine with prosperity in others.

The "megadrought" appears to have started 4,200 years agodid not prevent ancient people from developing, explains Tim Harrison, professor and head of the Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at the University of Toronto (USA) and director of the Tayinat archaeological project. "Archaeological evidence does not indicate significant local effects of the climate episode, as there is no evidence of drought on crops."

Using radiocarbon dating and analysisarchaeological specimens recovered from Tell Tayinat, a site occupied after two notable episodes of climate change 4,200 and again 3,200 years ago, the Toronto-Cornell team established a reliable chronological timeline for Tayinat for these two key periods in ancient Near Eastern history.

“The absolute dating of these periods wasa subject of considerable controversy over the years, and this study brings in a significant new dataset that helps answer many questions, ”emphasizes Sturt Manning, professor at Cornell University College of Arts and Sciences and lead author of the study.

“Detailed chronological resolution,The findings of this study allow for a more thorough interpretation of the archaeological evidence in terms of local and regional responses to anticipated climate change, shedding light on how people respond to environmental stress and environmental variability. ”

The researchers say the chronological frameworkfor the early Iron Age show the flourishing migration of Tayinat 3200 years ago, just during the reconstructed period of increased aridity.

“The settlement of Tayinat could have been created formaximum access to arable land, and harvest traces indicate the continued cultivation of numerous water-demanding crops. This contradicts the traditional picture of drought in the region, ”the author of the study concludes. "Our research demonstrates that societies can survive during climatic stress."

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