Researchers report correlations between a well-documented climate shift that occurred around 8,200 years ago and concurrent changes in a human settlement, providing insight into human response to climate change. An abrupt shift to cold and dry conditions around 8,200 years ago that persisted for around 160 years is documented in Greenland ice core records, but the effect on human communities is largely unknown. Mélanie Roffet-Salque and colleagues analyzed animal fat residues in pottery vessels from the Çatalhöyük East archaeological site in Turkey, which was occupied during the climatic event. The authors identified a deuterium isotope signal in the lipid biomarkers that corresponded to the shift in precipitation patterns, demonstrating that archaeological lipid biomarkers can be used as a paleoclimate tool and provide additional inputs into isotope-enabled predictive climate models. Synchronous with this isotope signal, the authors report a shift from cattle herding to goat herding and osteological evidence of butchering practices consistent with food scarcity. Further, changes in dwelling structures suggested a shift from communal households to small, independent families, eventually leading to the settlement's abandonment. According to the authors, the results demonstrate the utility of lipid biomarkers in linking archaeology with paleoclimate studies aimed at exploring how ancient societies responded to changing climates.
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Article #18-03607: "Evidence for the impact of the 8.2-kyBP climate event on Near Eastern early farmers," by Mélanie Roffet-Salque et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Mélanie Roffet-Salque, University of Bristol, UNITED KINGDOM; e-mail: melanie.salque@bristol.ac.uk
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences