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Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A (2010) 368, 5225–5248
doi:10.1098/rsta.2010.0190
Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction in the
Southern Levant: synthesis, challenges, recent
developments and perspectives
BY CLAIRE M. C. RAMBEAU*
School of Human and Environmental Sciences, University of Reading,
Whiteknights, PO Box 227, Reading RG6 6AB, UK
Palaeoenvironmental research in the Southern Levant presents a series of challenges,
partly due to the unequal distribution of palaeoenvironmental records and potential
archives throughout the region. Our knowledge of climatic evolution, during the last
approximately 25 000 years, is of crucial importance to understand cultural developments.
More local, well-dated, multi-proxy studies are much needed to obtain an accurate picture
of environmental change in respect of the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene.
This contribution reviews the current state of knowledge regarding Late Quaternary
palaeoenvironmental changes in the Southern Levant, including some examples of more
recent developments in palaeoenvironmental reconstruction in Israel and the Dead Sea
area, and introduces the major challenges researchers face in the region. It also presents
the first results of a new case study in Jordan, based on an analysis of peaty deposits
located in the mountain slopes east of the Dead Sea. Such new studies help refine our
knowledge of local environmental changes in the Southern Levant and especially the more
arid areas, for which little information is presently available. More material suitable for
palaeoenvironmental research, for example extensive tufa and travertine series, still awaits
consideration in Jordan, opening up exciting perspectives for future research in the area.
Keywords: Southern Levant; Late Pleistocene; Holocene; palaeoenvironments;
environmental change
1. Introduction
Palaeoenvironmental research in the Southern Levant (modern Israel, Palestinian
territories and Jordan) presents a series of challenges. Most of the well-preserved
archives are located in restricted areas, in the northern and eastern regions,
which receive more abundant rainfall (figure 1). Dating constraints and the
potentially variable interpretation of the different proxies available to study
further complicate constructing a regional picture of environmental change.
However, obtaining reliable palaeoclimatic reconstructions from the Levant is
becoming increasingly important. Such evidence is key to our understanding of
past societies and their relationship with (and vulnerability to) climate change,
particularly water availability and changing landscapes through prehistoric and
*[email protected]
One contribution of 14 to a Discussion Meeting Issue ‘Water and society: past, present and future’.
5225
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5226
C. M. C. Rambeau
mean annual
rainfall (mm)
11
15
Lake
Kinneret
2
5
16
Jordan 10
Valley
Israeli
coastal
plain
18
3
T.A.
9
Amman
J.
47
Me
d.
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1
12
14
17
Dead Sea
area
8 13
duration of record
cal. ka BP
0
20
5
northern
Negev
6
15
10
categories
1
Ma’an
2
N
3
4
Re
dS
ea
19
Figure 1. Schematic location and duration of the records, for a selection of palaeoenvironmental
records in the Southern Levant, 25 000 BP–present. 1, Hula Basin (Baruch & Bottema 1999; see
also Cappers et al. 2002; Wright & Thorpe 2003; Rosen 2007). 2, Peqiin Cave (Bar-Matthews et al.
2003). 3, Ma’ale Efrayim Cave (Vaks et al. 2003). 4, Soreq Cave (Bar-Matthews et al. 1996, 1997,
1998, 1999, 2000, 2003; Ayalon et al. 1999; Bar-Matthews & Ayalon 2004). 5, Israeli coastal plain
(Gvirtzman & Wieder 2001). 6, Wadi Faynan (Hunt et al. 2004, 2007; McLaren et al. 2004; Grattan
et al. 2007). 7, Jerusalem West Cave (Frumkin et al. 1999a, 2000). 8, Dead Sea and Lake Lisan
levels (e.g. Neev & Emery 1995; Bartov et al. 2002, 2003; Frumkin & Elitzur 2002; Landmann
et al. 2002; Enzel et al. 2003; Klinger et al. 2003; Bookman et al. 2004; Migowski et al. 2006; Stein
et al. 2010; see also compilation curves in Robinson et al. 2006; Black et al. in press; Rambeau &
Black in press). 9, Cores GA 112-110 (Schilman et al. 2001a,b). 10, Jordan Valley (Hourani &
Courty 1997). 11, Northern Negev Desert (Goodfriend 1990, 1991, 1999). 12, Core DS7-1SC (Heim
et al. 1997; Leroy 2010). 13, Pollen analyses on the western Dead Sea shore (Neumann et al.
2007, 2010). 14, Tzavoa Cave, northern Negev (Vaks et al. 2006). 15, Birkat Ram Lake, Golan
Heights (Schwab et al. 2004). 16, Wadi ash-Shallalah (Cordova 2008). 17, Wadi al-Wala and the
Madaba-Dhiban plateau (Cordova et al. 2005; Cordova 2008). 18, Nahal Qanah Cave (Frumkin
et al. 1999b). 19, Site of core GeoB5804-4, Gulf of Aqaba (Arz et al. 2003a,b). Records have
been tentatively classified into four categories depending on their continuity, resolution and dating
constrain: 1, continuous, good resolution and dating constrain; 2, continuous, lower resolution
and/or dating uncertainties; 3, discontinuous, dating uncertainties, relatively good resolution;
4, discontinuous, serious dating uncertainties/very low resolution. Mean annual rainfall from
EXACT (1998). J., Jerusalem; T.A., Tel Aviv. Scale bar, 50 km.
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historic times. The Levant is a region of general water scarcity; in particular,
Jordan is presently one of the 10 most water-deprived countries in the world
(e.g. Kfouri et al. 2009), and understanding of its climatic conditions, past,
present and future, is crucially needed. Although the western part of the
Southern Levant has been more extensively studied, the region that lies east
of the Dead Sea and Jordan Valley is still lacking a series of well-constrained,
high-resolution palaeoenvironmental records that would help understand its
evolution during the Late Pleistocene–Holocene period and compare it with
the palaeoenvironmental changes recorded west of the Dead Sea. It cannot be
taken for granted that these evolutions will prove to be similar, either in timing
or in intensity.
In this contribution, I will review the palaeoenvironmental context of the
Levant established by previous studies, including some of the more recent
developments in Late Quaternary palaeoenvironmental research for the region.
I will then present the major challenges regarding environmental research in the
Southern Levant. Section 4 describes the preliminary results of an analysis of
pollen within peaty deposits from the Dead Sea region. In §5, I describe the
potential of the region for further palaeoenvironmental reconstructions, which
would help gain a better understanding of the environmental evolution of the
Southern Levant during the last approximately 25 000 years.
2. The palaeoenvironmental context: summary of literature
A series of reviews, compiling the palaeoenvironmental evidence and comparing
it with the evolution of human societies, have recently been produced for the
Levant (e.g. Issar 2003; Robinson et al. 2006; Cordova 2007; Rosen 2007; see
also Sanlaville 1996, 1997; Henri 1997; Rambeau & Black in press) in respect
of the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene. These reviews rely on a variety
of palaeoenvironmental proxies, such as pollen analyses, stable isotopes (e.g.
from speleothems, lake sediments, land snails or wood) and geomorphological
indicators.
The next paragraphs summarize a series of major climate changes that seem
to be recorded in most of the Levantine region during the Late Pleistocene
and the Holocene. The palaeoenvironmental proxies available for the Levant
are presented in more detail in Robinson et al. (2006). A schematic location
of the major records, and the period they individually cover, is shown in figure 1,
along with the rough characteristics of each record in terms of continuity, dating
constrain and resolution, parameters that are crucial to determine their potential
for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions.
(a) The period 25 000–5000 BP
During this period, the major Northern Hemisphere climatic events can be
recognized in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant (Robinson et al. 2006).
Thus, the terms defined in the Northern Hemisphere for specific climatic periods,
such as the Bølling–Allerød or the Younger Dryas, will be used by analogy
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C. M. C. Rambeau
in this review. However, it should be kept in mind that this terminology must
be employed with care when considering the Levantine sequences, since the
relative timing and extent of these events are still not fully understood in the
Eastern Mediterranean.
The Last Glacial Maximum (approx. 23–19 cal. ka BP) was probably colder
than present (e.g. Affek et al. 2008); there is still some debate about the intensity
and distribution of precipitation in the region during this period (e.g. Robinson
et al. 2006; Enzel et al. 2008). The Bølling–Allerød (approx. 15–13 cal. ka BP)
was a relatively warm and wet period, as evidenced by palynology, speleothems
and marine sediments from the Red Sea (Rossignol-Strick 1995; Bar-Matthews
et al. 1997, 1999, 2003; Arz et al. 2003a,b; Robinson et al. 2006). The Younger
Dryas (approx. 12.7–11.5 cal. ka BP) appears to show a return to more glacial
(cold and dry) conditions, even if this view has been recently challenged. (Stein
et al. (2010) notably present evidence from Lake Lisan sediments suggesting
a wet Younger Dryas.) The Early Holocene corresponds to the warmest and
wettest phase of the last 25 000 years in the region, as clearly shown in pollen
records, isotopic records, fluvial deposits and soil sequences (e.g. RossignolStrick 1995, 1999; Goodfriend 1999; Gvirtzman & Wieder 2001; Bar-Matthews
et al. 2003; McLaren et al. 2004; Robinson et al. 2006; Affek et al. 2008;
Roberts et al. 2008).
The period encompassing the Late Pleistocene and the Early Holocene
witnesses major societal evolutions in the Levant, with the transition from
Natufian (Late Epipaleolithic) semi-sedentary complex hunter-gatherer groups,
to the first agriculturalists of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A at the start of the
Holocene and finally to the Levantine Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB), with
settlement expansion and the development of animal herding strategies, at the
time of the Early Holocene climatic optimum (Rambeau et al. in press). During
this transition, it has been suggested that the Younger Dryas brief return to cold
and dry conditions had a major impact on Levantine populations (e.g. Mithen
2003; Robinson et al. 2006; Cordova 2007).
At approximately 8200 cal. BP, cold and arid conditions seem to settle in
the Eastern Mediterranean (e.g. Staubwasser & Weiss 2006; Weninger et al.
2006; Berger & Guilaine 2009). It is still unclear, however, whether such
conditions are related to an abrupt climatic event or are part of a more
gradual trend towards climate deterioration starting globally at approximately
8600 cal. BP (Rohling & Pälike 2005). It has been argued that around 8500
BP, large PPNB settlements in the Southern Levant abruptly collapsed and
were replaced by the smaller settlements of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic C, which
marked a return towards nomadic pastoralism (Rollefson & Köhler-Rollefson
1989; Rambeau et al. in press).
(b) The last 5000 years
The Holocene is characterized in the Eastern Mediterranean region by a
trend towards aridity, with several climatic fluctuations being superimposed
on this general evolution (Rambeau & Black in press). However, during these
more recent times, it becomes increasingly difficult to separate the respective
influences of climate variations and human activity on environmental change
(e.g. Heim et al. 1997; Neumann et al. 2007; Cordova 2008; Frumkin 2009).
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In semi-arid and arid areas, it is generally accepted that increased human
influence on the landscape will lead to its progressive degradation. Occasionally,
the reverse can be true, however, and ancient human activity has been shown
to have a conservative effect on a landscape menaced by erosional processes
(Avni et al. 2006).
The fact that the Middle to Late Holocene in the Eastern Mediterranean
region is a time of increased human control and modification of the landscape
(in particular, in relation to increasing agriculture and vegetation clearance)
influences the palaeoenvironmental records. Pollen sequences, in this context, are
particularly affected and reflect principally the expansion of cultivation during the
last approximately 5000 years (e.g. Baruch 1986, 1990; Baruch & Bottema 1991,
1999; Heim et al. 1997; Schwab et al. 2004; Neumann et al. 2007). The response of
human communities to climate variations may also have changed through time,
as societies evolved towards bigger centres with more economically productive
agriculture (Rosen 1995) and were included into extensive trade networks. This
renders the link between cultural evolution and potential climate change all the
more difficult to decipher.
In the Southern Levant, several climatic events can be recognized at a
regional scale, which had, to a certain extent, an impact on human communities
(Rambeau & Black in press). The cultural developments (decline in cultivation
and demise of settlement centres) at the end of the Early Bronze (EB)
Age (approx. 4200 cal. BP) and the Byzantine period (approx. 1400 cal. BP),
respectively, probably relate to a shift towards more arid conditions. It seems
that increased precipitation during the EB Age II–III triggered a decline in
settlements in the Israeli coastal plain, related to flooding and illnesses linked
to expanding marshy environments (Faust & Ashkenazy 2007). The relatively
humid conditions that prevail during the Hellenistic to Byzantine period led
to a time of thriving agriculture, marked by an increase in anthropogenic
indicators in the pollen sequences (e.g. Heim et al. 1997; Baruch & Bottema
1999; Schwab et al. 2004; Neumann et al. 2007; Rosen 2007; Cordova 2008).
At this time, olive and grape cultivation was extensive in the Southern Levant
(Neumann et al. 2007). In contrast, arid conditions seem to prevail during
most of the early Islamic to modern times. Generally, more contradictory
information is available on a regional scale for the Middle Bronze to Iron Age,
although it appears that arid conditions may have dominated at the end of
the Middle Bronze Age and during the first half of the Iron Age (Rambeau &
Black in press). Brief phases of climate instability occurred at approximately
5200–5000 BP and 1000 BP (Rambeau & Black in press); it is possible that
the latter holds some responsibility for the demise of the Decapolis society
(Lucke et al. 2005).
Part of the most recent, detailed case studies conducted in the Southern Levant,
a series of investigations in the Dead Sea region, reconstruct the vegetation history
(dominated by cultivation) and climatic fluctuations for the last 3500 years. This
reconstruction draws on pollen and sedimentological observations from sections
on the Dead Sea west shore (Neumann et al. 2010) and a core from the Dead
Sea itself (Leroy 2010). These recent studies indicate the presence of wetter
periods in the Dead Sea region during the Middle Bronze Age, part of the Iron
Age and particularly during Roman–Byzantine times, which allowed intensive
cultivation to take place, as well as during the end of the nineteenth to early
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twentieth century. In addition to climatic fluctuations, two earthquakes, in 31
BC and AD 363, affected agricultural practices in the area, inducing a clear
drop in cultivated species in the pollen records (Leroy et al. 2010). These events
have been shown to disrupt agriculture in the Dead Sea rift for periods of a few
(4–5) years.
New detailed information for the period approximately 2300–1900 BC has
also been recently derived from the study of the stable isotopic composition of
tamarisk wood from the Mount Sedom cave (Frumkin 2009). In previous studies,
it has been shown that tamarisk wood fragments (Yakir et al. 1994; Issar & Yakir
1997) from the siege at Masada (AD 70–73) yield stable isotopic composition
compatible with twice the present-day annual rainfall. Frumkin’s (2009) study
develops, to a greater extent, the potential of stable isotopes in wood to record
rainfall variations, for a much longer and older period approximately 2265–
1930 BC (determined by radiocarbon dating). Frumkin (2009) used both d13 C
and d15 N from the fossil wood, calibrated using modern values, to link isotopic
enrichment to environmental deterioration and rainfall decrease. Frumkin’s (2009)
results indicate a progressive desiccation for the period approximately 2265–
1930 BC, with rainfall diminishing roughly by half (consistent with Leroy
(2010) and Neumann et al. (2010)). The record shows a succession of droughts,
with a prominent but short-lived event at approximately 2020 BC, followed
by a longer event at approximately 1930 BC that ultimately killed the tree.
This environmental crisis is contemporaneous with the Intermediate Bronze
Age cultural changes, with the abandonment of urban centres and a return
to pastoralism. The last, prolonged drought recorded in the tamarisk wood
sequence seems in particular contemporaneous with the abandonment of the
prominent site of Bab edh-Dhra, on the southeastern shore of the Dead Sea
(Frumkin 2009).
3. Problems and challenges
(a) Collating palaeoenvironmental evidence on a regional scale
Considerable difficulties arise when one tries to extrapolate a regional history of
climate change in the Southern Levant from palaeoclimate evidence derived from
local records.
The first difficulty comes with the necessity of obtaining reliable dates.
Dating potential and related uncertainties varies; discontinuous records or
records with deposition rates that are susceptible to change through time
(such as may be the case for fluvial or lacustrine sequences) are more
difficult to date accurately. Comparing the various records may already prove
difficult while one is faced with the problem of adjusting the respective time
frames. This is emphasized by the need to calibrate radiocarbon dates, so
that they can be directly compared with calendar years BP, such as may
be obtained by uranium-series techniques, and archaeological periods, which
are usually reported in calendar years BC/AD. Unfortunately, despite calls
for uniformity in the way dates are presented in the literature (e.g. Cordova
2007), it is sometimes unclear which calibration (if any) has been used by
the authors.
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The resolution of the records is also a crucial element. Some of the records,
e.g. palaeosols or fluvial sequences, can only provide estimates of climate change
over large time scales such as millennia; other proxies, such as speleothems, give
far more detailed records, potentially to the decanal–centennial scale. Pollen,
under certain circumstances, may give information about seasonal patterns, since
different plants have a different annual cycle. Such a fine resolution may also be
attained, in certain cases, with laminated sediments or wood.
Another challenge arises with the interpretation of the various proxies. Each
proxy possesses limitations or uncertainties regarding how they relate to climatic
fluctuations. For example, the stable isotope (oxygen and carbon) composition
of carbonate precipitates (speleothems, tufa and travertine deposits, pedogenetic
nodules and lake carbonates; e.g. Deutz et al. 2001; Andrews 2006; Fairchild
et al. 2006; Jones & Roberts 2008; see also Rambeau et al. in press) depends on
the site location, plus various parameters such as water and air temperature
(and potentially evaporation), the composition of the parent water (itself
dependent on the amount and source of associated rainfall) and, in the case
of carbon isotopes, the local vegetation cover. Determining which parameter
most influenced the carbonate isotopic record, on a specific time scale, may
be difficult and should be considered with great care. Bar-Matthews and coworkers give a good example of integrative study in Soreq Cave (central Israel;
Bar-Matthews et al. 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003; Ayalon et al. 1999;
Bar-Matthews & Ayalon 2004). In parallel to studying ancient speleothems,
they compared modern precipitates with climate parameters and determined
a link between the isotopic composition of speleothems and the amount of
rainfall. Sometimes, a direct comparison of modern samples and current climatic
conditions is not possible, and the potential interpretation of isotopic records
should be cautiously addressed.
Pollen records, to consider another example, can be easily biased due to
different processes. Species can be under- or overrepresented due to unequal
preservation, especially when conditions of preservation are not optimal, such as
in a riverine sequence. It seems, for example, that Asteraceae liguliflorae (i.e. the
dandelion group) produces pollen particularly resistant to deterioration, which
would explain its domination in several archaeological records (e.g. Bottema 1975;
Cordova 2007). An uneven distribution of pollen grains can also arise due to
different types of pollinization (wind- versus insect-assisted). In archaeological
deposits, the amount of pollen grains can be too little to get an accurate picture
of the vegetation, and the record is usually greatly influenced by human activities
(e.g. Fish 1989) as it is in regions of intense cultivation, especially during the last
5000 years, due to large-scale agriculture and vegetation clearance (e.g. Neumann
et al. 2007; Rambeau & Black in press).
Whenever possible, the use of several proxies (and several records) to determine
the climatic and environmental evolution of a specific location may help
greatly in resolving difficulties arising from the timing and interpretation of
individual sequences. Multi-proxy studies represent an increasingly popular way
of conducing research, with integrative case studies in the arid and semi-arid
regions of the globe being more and more frequent (e.g. Salzmann et al. 2002;
Wick et al. 2003; Hunt et al. 2004; Kieniewicz & Smith 2007; Neumann et al.
2007; Parker & Goudie 2008). Such an approach yields great potential for future
palaeoenvironmental reconstructions in the Levant.
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C. M. C. Rambeau
(b) Climatic gradients
The Southern Levant is a region of contrasting climates and associated
environments that change sharply over tens of kilometres (Zohary 1962; Al-Eisawi
1985, 1996; EXACT 1998). These gradients are due to topographical contrasts
and a dominant source of moisture from the Mediterranean. As a result,
the eastern and southern parts of the Levant experience lower and more
variable annual precipitation rates than the northern and western areas. These
climatic gradients determine, for a great part, the location of the various
palaeoenvironmental records available for the Southern Levant (figure 1). The
more continuous records are located in the wetter part of the region (the
Mediterranean coast and the northern and central mountain ranges), whereas
to the east and south, the records are less continuous, set widely apart or
lacking altogether.
Sharp climatic gradients may partly explain the contradictions shown in the
various palaeoenvironmental records, with different regions reacting variously to
small-amplitude climatic fluctuations. Moreover, it is likely that past populations
living on the margin of arid areas were especially susceptible to the impact of
climate variations, as such locations are more vulnerable to environmental change.
A good example of localized climate fluctuation in the Dead Sea area is given in
Neumann et al. (2007). Although a short period of more arid conditions, marked
notably by a decrease in olive cultivation, seems to be recorded in the Ze’elim
sequence (southeast of the northern Dead Sea basin; see also Rambeau & Black
in press) between 1800 and 1600 BP, followed by a return towards more humid
conditions during the later Byzantine period, the more northern record at Ein
Feshkha remained unaffected (Neumann et al. 2007).
It is therefore somewhat dangerous either to assume that past climate change
was of similar intensity over the whole area of the Southern Levant or to assume
that the whole region would have reacted similarly and simultaneously to climate
change. It is most likely (a point of view already emphasized in Enzel et al.
(2008)) that climate gradients, similar to today’s or even more accentuated, were
already present in the Southern Levant during the Late Pleistocene/Holocene.
It is probable that the southern Negev has been hyper-arid during the whole
Holocene (and even before; Enzel et al. 2008); this is also valid for the eastern
Jordan desert (Davies 2005). A wet phase during the Early Holocene would have
little significance to these regions; doubling the rainfall amount such areas receive
yearly would have a next to zero impact on their environment (Enzel et al. 2008).
Changes in the gradients’ intensity would, however, have impacted the relative
extend of desertic or semi-desertic areas, and marginal zones would have been
the most affected by such changes. In the currently semi-arid northern Negev,
some palaeoenvironmental evidence indeed suggests that the location of desert
boundaries has changed during the Holocene (Goodfriend 1999).
Using the well-constrained records from the northern and western parts of
the region to assess the environmental evolution of the whole Southern Levant,
although tempting (see a similar line of reflection in Rosen (2007)), will not
reflect the complexity of local conditions. It leads to an oversimplification of the
climate and environmental history of specific climatic zones (e.g. Enzel et al.
2008) and should be avoided, if at all possible, whenever the modern evidence
shows great climate discrepancies (e.g. between central and southern Israel;
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figure 1). More detailed, local studies in the more arid parts of the Southern
Levant are crucially needed to understand their evolution during the Late
Pleistocene/Holocene. In a context of scarcity of palaeoenvironmental indicators,
new studies might have to rely upon a broader range of materials than previously
used (see §§4 and 5).
(c) Seasonality
One of the greatest challenges currently faced by researchers in the Southern
Levant is the study of seasonal variations. Of particular importance for
understanding the evolution of past environments is a better knowledge of how
rainfall was distributed throughout the year. This is of particular interest when
studying the development and evolution of agricultural practices. In the Eastern
Mediterranean, some proxy records suggest greater summer moisture availability
during the Early Holocene (Rossignol-Strick 1995, 1999). There have been
recurrent suggestions of monsoon-induced summer rain reaching the Southern
Levant during the Climatic Optimum (e.g. El-Moslimany 1994; Abed & Yaghan
2000; Issar 2003).
Such information is very difficult to derive from palaeoenvironmental proxies
alone. However, climate models suggest that although enhanced precipitation
during the Early Holocene occurred in the Southern Levant, summer rains were
unlikely (Brayshaw et al. in press). This has significant implications for our
perception of the development of agricultural practices and associated cultural
evolutions during the Climatic Optimum.
4. The Holocene evolution of a semi-arid area: insights from a new analysis
of peaty deposits
Pollen assemblages are important archives of palaeoenvironmental changes, as
they record variations in the local and/or regional type of vegetation cover, itself
related to parameters such as precipitation, temperature and seasonality. In a
context of general water scarcity, continuous and well-dated pollen records—
which are best preserved in waterlogged environments—are rare for the Southern
Levant, albeit they appear to exist in slightly unusual contexts, as will be
described in the following.
Here, we present the preliminary results of an analysis of peaty deposits
discovered in the desertic mountain slopes of the east of the Dead Sea (figure 2).
More than 50 wetlands or former wetlands, varying between approximately 2
and 80 m in diameter, were mapped within a 2 km2 area of reduced vegetation
(figure 3), which bears clear marks of on-going desertification processes (including
extensive grazing and trampling). Most of these structures are dome-shaped;
some bear remnants of grass vegetation cover and others are covered by
shrubs, which have been interpreted as a sign of decreased moisture content
(figure 4). A few are capped by carbonate crusts. All these structures show
preferential alignment, most likely related to tectonic faults (figure 3), and
are probably fed by artesian springs (figure 4). Some of them have been
excavated by local farmers to gain access to the groundwater, especially since
the 1980s.
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C. M. C. Rambeau
mean annual
rainfall (mm)
T.A.
J.
Amman
east of the Dead Sea
domed wetlands
Me
d.
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
Lake
Kinneret
Ma’an
Re
dS
ea
N
Figure 2. Location of the domed wetlands east of the Dead Sea. Mean annual rainfall from EXACT
(1998). J., Jerusalem; T.A., Tel Aviv. Scale bar, 50 km.
At one of the domed structures, named EDSA (figures 3 and 4), a 450 cm
core was extracted, revealing the presence of approximately 225 cm sequence of
organic sediments overlying a transition zone and subsequent clayey deposits,
and capped by more clayey sediments (last approx. 80 cm; figure 5). Organic
matter (OM) contents were determined by loss on ignition at 550◦ C (following
the method described in Heiri et al. (2001)). Four radiocarbon ages were obtained
on the main organic sequence (AMS analysis, Beta Analytic Radiocarbon Dating
Laboratory, Miami, FL) and were used to construct an age model (table 1 and
figure 5). Calendar years have been determined using the calibration database
IntCal04 (Reimer et al. 2004), with a two-sigma interval (95%). The sample at
84 cm (table 1) has been considered to have an age of approximately 0 BP.
Pollen analyses have been performed on the EDSA core, with a division
as follows. The first 80 cm were considered as modern sediments, and four
discontinuous slices of 5 cm thickness were analysed at 0–5, 15–20, 40–45 and
55–60 cm depth (samples A–D, figure 6), to obtain information on the more
recent (last approx. 60 years) vegetation cover. The main organic sequence was
Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A (2010)
Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A (2010)
20
0
EDSA
200
N
wetland systems
main directions of
fracturation
conglomerate, travertine,
colluvium
limestone
sandy limestone/
calcareous sandstone
sandstone
simplified
geological map
main direction
of alignment
domed wetlands
heavily encrusted
moist
(partial grass coverage)
dry (bare land
or shrub coverage)
other wetlands
excavated wetlands
other wetlands
(with grass coverage)
> 30 m
10–30 m
< 10 m
diameter
Figure 3. Simplified geological map and location of the wetlands east of the Dead Sea, showing preferential alignment on structural lines.
Scale bar, 200 m.
100
0
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Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction
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5236
C. M. C. Rambeau
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
Figure 4. A selection of the domed wetlands east of the Dead Sea. (a) The active EDSA dome
(note water under pressure springing at the borehole after the sediment core has been retrieved).
(b) An excavated wetland showing its capping of clayey sediments. (c) A still partially moist dome,
with remnants of grass cover. (d) A former, inactive and degraded dome, with shrub coverage.
(e) A heavily encrusted dome.
divided into 18 successive layers of varying thickness, according to the age
model, so as to obtain slices of equal duration (500 years). The underlying
transition zone, for which no age control has been obtained, was divided into
three successive samples of 5 cm thickness, at 311.5–316.5, 316.5–321.5 and 321.5–
326.5 cm depth, respectively (samples 1–3, figure 6). Pollen analyses were realized
at the University of Jordan under the supervision of Prof. Dawud Al-Eisawi.
OM contents in the main organic sequence (peaty deposits) reach up to 55
per cent (figure 5). Radiocarbon dating and the subsequent age model (figure 5)
indicate that the main organic sequence started to form approximately 8500–9000
years ago (figure 5) and finished very recently, sometime after 1950. This implies
a drastic change in the sedimentation type and rate during the last approximately
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5237
Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction
(a) depth
(cm)
0
modern or sub-modern sediments
(b)
0
surface vegetation
0
20
40 60%
grey clay with roots
black organic-rich clay
grey clay
radiocarbon dating
post 1950
100
100
radiocarbon dating
1465 ± 85 cal. BP
minerogenic
herbaceous peat
200
200
radiocarbon dating
3280 ± 10 cal. BP
radiocarbon dating
7695 ± 95
transition zone
300
300
blue/brown/green
clay
400
400
0
4000 8000 years BP
Figure 5. EDSA core: (a) sequence description, age model and (b) organic matter contents. The
equation of the age model is y = 338.1347 + (258.4998 × exp(0.0002526 × x)).
Table 1. Radiocarbon dates from EDSA. pMC, percent modern carbon.
depth (cm)
reference
pre-treatment
radiocarbon age
date cal. BP
%
84
157
230
301
b234856
b236440
b236441
b234857
acid/alkali/acid
acid washes
acid washes
acid washes
112.2 ± 0.5 pMC
1580 ± 40 BP
3140 ± 40 BP
6850 ± 50 BP
post 1950
1465 ± 85
3280 ± 10
7695 ± 95
—
95
95
95
60 years, which can be attributed to increased desiccation of the area surrounding
the EDSA system, possibly linked with a lowering of the local water table. This
change of sedimentation at approximately 80 cm depth is observable in other
peat-bearing bodies in the area (figure 4b).
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5238
C. M. C. Rambeau
calendar years BP
0
A
B
C
D
>500
500–1000
1000–1500
1500–2000
2000–2500
2500–3000
3000–3500
3500–4000
4000–4500
4500–5000
5000–5500
5500–6000
6000–6500
6500–7000
7000–7500
7500–8000
8000–8500
8500–9000
1
2
3
20
40
60
80
100%
modern
sediments
80 cm
main organic sequence
311.5 cm
transition zone
326.5 cm
Figure 6. Pollen sequence from the EDSA core: variations in the arboreal/non-arboreal pollen
composition. Light grey, grass and sedges; dark grey, trees and shrubs; black, ferns; white,
undetermined.
Pollen analyses were surprisingly successful, considering the aridity of the
region (approx. 100–150 mm average rainfall), with a total of more than one
hundred species identified. The ratio between arboreal (tree and shrub) pollen
and non-arboreal pollen in particular shows dramatic variations (figure 6), with
an unexpectedly large tree and shrub community developing during the last
approximately 5000 years (only a few isolated trees grow at present in the
studied area). The composition of the arboreal association also varies through
time. The modern samples show a predominance of Atriplex halimus shrubs.
Although the profile of arboreal pollen is largely dominated by acacia species
for most of the peaty sequence and underlying sediments, it also shows large
percentages of more Mediterranean species, led by Arbutus andrachne, for several
time slices, including the period 2000–2500 BP. Acacia woodlands are a common
feature of the Sudanian rocky vegetation that is natural to the Dead Sea rift
valley and the slope of the mountain escarpments, whereas A. andrachne is
currently only found, in Jordan, in the Mediterranean northern highlands (e.g.
Al-Eisawi 1996; Cordova 2007). This shift in the local arboreal vegetation seems
to confirm the presence of a wetter climate in the Dead Sea region during
the Hellenistic and Roman times, such as suggested by previous studies (e.g.
Yakir et al. 1994; Issar & Yakir 1997; Neumann et al. 2007, 2010; Leroy 2010).
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Pollen analyses at EDSA furthermore suggest a very low cultivation impact on
this new record during the Late Holocene, which would render this sequence a
real rarity in the area.
In summary, the simple fact that organic sequences exist within the currently
desertic environment edging the Dead Sea indicates that palaeoenvironmental
archives for the region may be more abundant and more informative than
previously thought. The first results from the study at EDSA show both a
drastic change in the landscape during the last approximately 60 years and
a Holocene evolution of the vegetation featuring significant variations in the
tree and shrub cover as well as in the species associations. A significant
amount of the information obtained from the pollen record and sedimentological
observations at the Dead Sea domed wetlands is still being processed, and these
exciting new archives will produce important new palaeoenvironmental records
for the region.
5. Potential for further palaeoenvironmental reconstructions within this region
More local studies, based on well-dated sequences, may help refine our
understanding of Middle to Late Holocene climate change in the Southern
Levant. New studies can make use of the latest developments in dating
techniques, such as uranium series for carbonate deposits, and in particular
the isochron method, which allow for reliable dating of ‘impure’ (i.e. detritalrich) carbonates (e.g. Candy et al. 2005; Rambeau et al. in press and references
therein). Numerous outcrops of tufa and travertine, former lake sequences,
carbonate roots, rock-shelter speleothems and carbonate deposits within historic
and prehistoric water systems occur in various parts of the Southern Levant.
They represent a potential for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions that is still
largely unexploited.
For example, a multi-proxy study has been recently conducted around the
archaeological site of Beidha in southern Jordan (Rambeau et al. in press), aiming
to compare human occupation and climatic variability for the period between
approximately 18 000 years BP and 8500 years BP. Beidha is a reference site for
the agricultural, PPNB occupation in the Levant (approx. 10 300–8600 cal. years
BP at Beidha), but the site was also occupied earlier on (approx. 15 200–13 200 cal.
years BP) by semi-sedentary Natufian (late Epipaleolithic) populations (Byrd
1989, 2005; see also Kirkbride 1968). This study drew primarily on the detailed
analysis of the stable isotopic composition (oxygen and carbon) of a carbonate
sequence related to a fossil spring close to the site and of pedogenic carbonate
nodules from a sedimentary section located on the edge of the archaeological
site itself. Age control was provided by uranium series (isochron method) and
radiocarbon dating. This study suggests an overall strong coupling between
environmental variations and population response at Beidha during both the
Natufian and the Neolithic and illustrates the potential of spring and pedogenic
carbonates to record palaeoenvironmental changes that can be compared on
a very detailed scale with the local chronology of settlement. Other similar
studies, however, are needed to determine whether a causal link exists on a wider
geographical scale between climate change and the abandonment of PPNB sites
in the Southern Levant.
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C. M. C. Rambeau
In the area near Wadi Faynan (figure 1) in semi-desertic central Jordan,
travertine series, carbonate flowstones covering former pebble layers related to
ancient wadi beds and stalactite-shaped deposits related to springs in rockshelters offer a great opportunity to reconstruct both palaeoenvironmental
conditions in Wadi Faynan and the former levels of Wadi Ghuywer in the gorges
upland of Wadi Faynan. This is of direct interest to the understanding of human
occupation in the Faynan area, which goes back to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A
and is recorded in a series of archaeological sites ranging from this period to
the extensive Iron Age to Byzantine settlement and mining centre, exploiting
the local copper ores (e.g. Hunt et al. 2004, 2007; Grattan et al. 2007). In a
locality of such sharp altitudinal gradients, from the mountainous plateau of
Shawback to the desertic plains of Wadi Araba, even minor changes in the
climatic system (rainfall amounts and/or distribution throughout the year) would
have induced great variations in the local environment, influencing infiltration
rates, vegetation cover and wadi flows (Smith et al. in press). The palaeoclimatic
conditions in the Wadi Faynan area, such as recorded in carbonate deposits, are
presently being studied by the author. Tufa deposits from Wadi Hammam, a lush
oasis located in the mountainous slopes bordering the archaeological centres of
Wadi Faynan, have been dated to between approximately 13 000 and 5200 cal.
BP, and several excursions have been recognized in the associated isotopic
record. This record, and those derived from associated carbonate deposits in
the Wadi Faynan area, will provide a direct comparison to the Beidha sequence,
approximately 30 km south.
An impressive succession of travertine/tufa deposits is also present on the sharp
topographical slope of the eastern Dead Sea shore. Travertine deposits are still
forming today in the area, notably in the hot spring system of Zara, on the
Dead Sea shore. The elevation of the upper sequence is at approximately 45 m
above sea level, and the presently active Zara hot spring system is located at
an elevation of approximately −360 m (the Dead Sea levels were at −412 m in
1997; Migowski et al. 2006); a series of intermediate systems lie in between at
various elevations.
Carbonate deposits within aqueducts, baths or other water-management
structures also offer potential for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction during
the historic period, all the more since such deposits are usually very finely
laminated. Carbonate deposition has been observed, for example, in the public
baths at Jerash (northern Jordan). Land snails embedded within dammedlake sequences also present interesting possibilities for the reconstruction
of historical palaeoenvironments, especially in eastern Jordan where other
potential records are scarce. Root concretions and other pedogenic carbonates,
especially in fast-buried sequences (Deutz et al. 2001), along with cemented
gravels from former wadi terraces, give possibilities to both date and gain
palaeoenvironmental information from fluvial sequences, alluvial plains and soil
systems around springs. As an illustration, the study around the archaeological
site of Beidha presented in Rambeau et al. (in press) is currently being
complemented by a geomorphological investigation of the area, conducted
by Robyn Inglis (Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge) and
by the author, and based on the uranium-series dating of a series of
geomorphological indicators: pedogenic carbonate nodules, root concretions and
carbonate-cemented gravel terraces.
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The Lake Lisan and following Dead Sea lacustrine sequences have been seldom
studied on the eastern shore of the basin (see previous studies by Abed &
Helmdach (1981), Abed & Yaghan (2000) and Landmann et al. (2002)). The
eastern sequences, however, present a great potential for palaeoenvironmental
reconstructions, with numerous outcrops of finely laminated lacustrine deposits.
Led by Black, a recent study of the Lisan/Dead Sea laminated sediments on the
eastern shore, dated by uranium series, will allow for a better knowledge of lake
levels in the Dead Sea basin for the period approximately 25 000–8500 cal. BP
(Black et al. in press).
The multiplication of local studies, using in particular the great potential
of Jordan for further palaeoenvironmental reconstructions, is the key to our
understanding of how the various parts of the Southern Levant—and in particular
the more arid regions—reacted to climatic and environmental changes during the
past 25 000 years.
6. Conclusions
Palaeoenvironmental research in the Southern Levant, although being challenging
(due partly to the presence of great climatic gradients over reduced geographical
areas), presents great opportunities for future research, thus opening interesting
perspectives. New proxies and studies are currently being developed to further
constrain palaeoenvironmental conditions in various parts of the Southern
Levant, including the more arid parts, with a particular emphasis on a better
characterization of temperature and rainfall fluctuations; the impact of climate
change on cultural developments; and the intertwined influence of natural changes
and human activity on arid and semi-arid landscapes.
Most of the large-scale climatic fluctuations seem by now identified: the Last
Glacial Maximum was probably a colder period in the Levant, whereas the
Bølling–Allerød was relatively warm and wet. Most of the evidence points to
cold/dry conditions during the Younger Dryas, followed by a very warm and wet
Early Holocene. More arid conditions characterize the Middle and Late Holocene,
with superimposed climatic fluctuations, such as a (probably prominent) wetter
period during the Hellenistic to Byzantine times.
It therefore remains to determine with more accuracy climatic fluctuations on a
local (e.g. less than 100 km) scale, their impact on the environment and societies,
especially at the desert margins. In this context, using palaeoenvironmental
evidence collected from the wetter areas to reflect on the climatic and
environmental changes in the more arid parts of the Southern Levant may
lead to misconceptions. Only the multiplication of local studies will allow
for a better knowledge of the respective evolution of the various Southern
Levantine landscapes during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene and help
refine our understanding of how human societies reacted to local environmental
change. In semi-arid and arid Jordan, numerous tufa and travertine series, other
carbonate concretions and even organic sequences provide adequate material
for further palaeoenvironmental research. The combined use of various proxies,
whenever possible, is another decisive step towards a better understanding of
past climate variations, as it allows for a more accurate interpretation of the
palaeoenvironmental records; multi-proxy studies should therefore be encouraged.
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5242
C. M. C. Rambeau
Comparison between climatic models and environmental proxies should equally
be developed further and will help better constrain parameters such as seasonal
variations in rainfall.
The author would like to thank the editors for the invitation to write this contribution. The author
acknowledges the Leverhulme Trust for founding the WLC project (grant no. F/00239/R). Thanks
are also extended to the University of Reading, School of Human and Environmental Sciences
for a School Research Fund (2008) allocated to the author for the study of peaty deposits in the
Dead Sea region. The author would like to thank Prof. Fabrice Monna from the University of
Burgundy for helping with the coring at EDSA and the subsequent geochemical investigations
of the core sediments; Drs Emilie Grand-Clement, François Voisard, Anne-Claire Monna, Alexis
Walter, Mohameed Maayah and other members from the Maayah family for help in the field; Yvette
Wakeman and Dr Emily Black for useful comments on the manuscript; Drs Stuart Robinson, Stuart
Black, Sam Smith, Prof. Bill Finlayson and Robyn Inglis for their contribution to the Beidha
study; and Prof. Dawud Al-Eisawi and Sagida Abu-Seir from the University of Jordan for sample
preparation and identification of the pollen species from EDSA. The author would also like to
thank warmly Matthew Jones for his thorough review of the manuscript, which has helped greatly
improve the original version.
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