Holocene climate variability and cultural evolution in the Near East from the Dead Sea sedimentary record |
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| Authors: | Claudia Migowski Mordechai Stein Sushma Prasad Jrg FW Negendank Amotz Agnon |
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| Institution: | aGeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam, Sec. 3.3 Climate Dynamics and Sediments, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany;bGeological Survey of Israel, 30 Malkhe Yisrael St., Jerusalem 95501, Israel;cHebrew University of Jerusalem, Givat Ram, Jerusalem 91904, Israel |
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| Abstract: | A comprehensive record of lake level changes in the Dead Sea has been reconstructed using multiple, well dated sediment cores recovered from the Dead Sea shore. Interpreting the lake level changes as monitors of precipitation in the Dead Sea drainage area and the regional eastern Mediterranean palaeoclimate, we document the presence of two major wet phases ( 10–8.6 and 5.6–3.5 cal kyr BP) and multiple abrupt arid events during the Holocene. The arid events in the Holocene Dead Sea appear to coincide with major breaks in the Near East cultural evolution (at 8.6, 8.2, 4.2, 3.5 cal kyr BP). Wetter periods are marked by the enlargement of smaller settlements and growth of farming communities in desert regions, suggesting a parallelism between climate and Near East cultural development. |
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| Keywords: | Dead Sea Holocene Paleoclimate Paleohydrology Near East Culture history |
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