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SUMMARY:Late Neolithic Herders and Climate Change : The effects of the ‘
 8.2 ka event’ on animal husbandry at the Late Neolithic site of Tell Sab
 i Abyad - Dr Anna Russell\, Leiden University
DTSTART:20101105T131500Z
DTEND:20101105T140000Z
UID:TALK27639@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Suzanne Pilaar Birch
DESCRIPTION:The Late Neolithic site of Tell Sabi Abyad in the Balikh regio
 n\, northern\nSyria\, provides the perfect case study for looking at how a
 ncient\nsocieties coped with climate change. Extensive excavations at\nthi
 s site have revealed a unique\, continuous sequence of seventh\nand early 
 sixth millennium occupation layers\, unparalleled at any\nother site in th
 e Near East so far. Tell Sabi Abyad is located in the\nupper Balikh valley
  of Northern Syria approximately 30 kilometres\nfrom the Syro-Turkish bord
 er. The main focus of this research is an\narea known as Operation III whi
 ch dates to 7100 to 5500 cal BC.\nThe occupation of this area spans the so
 -called “8.2k cal BP climate\nevent”\, a climate event that is thought
  to have brought about a sudden\nand marked reduction in precipitation in 
 Africa\, the Near East\nand Asia causing a drought in the Asian and Africa
 n monsoonal regions.\nThis abrupt climate anomaly\, peaking at c. 6200 cal
  BC\, has\nrecently gained much attention from climatologists but until no
 w\nthe archaeological and cultural implications have not been studied\nin 
 detail. In this paper I will outline the results of my research into\nthe 
 effects of this climate change on the animal based subsistence\nstrategies
  and coping mechanisms implemented by the inhabitants\nof Tell Sabi Abyad 
 at the end of the 7th millennium cal BC.
LOCATION:Seminar Room\, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research\, D
 owning Site
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