Early Holocene palaeoseasonality inferred from the stable isotope composition of Unio shells from Catalhoyuk, Turkey

• Published in: Environmental Archaeology
• Main Authors: Lewis, Jonathan P., Leng, Melanie J., Dean, Jonathan R., Marciniak, Arkadiusz, Mayer, Daniella E. Bar-Yosef, Wu, Xiaohong
• Other Authors: Lewis, JP (reprint author), Univ Loughborough, Ctr Hydrol & Ecosyst Sci, Dept Geog, Loughborough LE11 3TU, Leics, England.; Lewis, JP (reprint author), British Geol Survey, NERC Isotope Geosci Facil, Nottingham NG12 5GG, England., Univ Loughborough, Ctr Hydrol & Ecosyst Sci, Dept Geog, Loughborough LE11 3TU, Leics, England., British Geol Survey, NERC Isotope Geosci Facil, Nottingham NG12 5GG, England., Univ Nottingham, Ctr Environm Geochem, Nottingham NG7 2RD, England., Adam Mickiewicz Univ, Inst Prehist, Sw Marcin 78, PL-61809 Poznan, Poland., Tel Aviv Univ, Steinhardt Museum Nat Hist, IL-69978 Tel Aviv, Israel., Tel Aviv Univ, Inst Archaeol, IL-69978 Tel Aviv, Israel., Harvard Univ, Peabody Museum, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA., Peking Univ, Sch Archaeol & Museol, Beijing 100871, Peoples R China., Lewis, JP (reprint author), British Geol Survey, NERC Isotope Geosci Facil, Nottingham NG12 5GG, England.
• Format: Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: ENVIRONMENTAL ARCHAEOLOGY 2017
• Subjects: Catalhoyuk; Konya; Unio; Seasonal; Palaeoclimate; Stable isotopes; Neolithic; Holocene; EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN REGION; GLACIAL-INTERGLACIAL TRANSITION; ABRUPT CLIMATE-CHANGE; 8.2 KA EVENT; KONYA BASIN; AEGEAN SEA; SOUTHWEST ASIA; NORTH-ATLANTIC; LAKE GOLHISAR; SAPROPEL S1; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11897/469580; https://doi.org/10.1080/14614103.2015.1116216

Seasonal delta C-13 and delta O-18 data are presented from 14 Unio sub-fossil shells unearthed at the archaeological site of Catalhoyuk in central Turkey, spanning the occupation period ca. 9150-8000 cal years BP. The shells likely lived in the small lakes/wetlands around the site before being gathered and taken to Catalhoyuk. Wetdry seasonal cycles are clearly apparent in the delta(18)Oshell profiles with low winter values reflecting winter precipitation and high delta O-18 in the summer resulting from evaporation. The most striking trend in the delta O-18 data is the drop in maximum summer delta O-18 ca. 8300 years BP, which we infer as indicating lower summer evaporation and hence a reduction in seasonality. Previous palaeoclimate records from the area have suggested cooler and more arid conditions, with reduced precipitation, around this time. While the drop in summer delta O-18 values could be due to reduced summer temperatures reducing summer evaporation, but there was little change in winter delta O-18, perhaps suggesting winter growth cessation or reduced influence of winter climate change on delta O-18. This shift in seasonal climate could be linked to solar-forced climate change beginning ca. 8600 years BP, and enhanced by the regional expression of the 8.2k event. Changing water balance over the occupation period is likely an important contributory factor behind observed cultural changes at Catalhoyuk in the Late Neolithic/Early Chalcolithic period. Our results might be considered to support the fission-fusion farming hypothesis as we provide additional evidence for wet winter/early spring conditions during the Early Holocene which likely caused flooding of the Carsamba Fan. The changing water balance after ca. 8300 years BP (i.e. reduced seasonality and potentially reduced local summer evaporation) is also coincidental with the proposed end of this farming system due to multi-decadal drought. NERC Isotope Geosciences Facilities; Polish National Science Centre [DEC-2012/06/M/H3/00286] A&HCI SCI(E) ARTICLE 1 79-95 22