Pascal Flohr
My research covers a wide range of topics and periods, which (mostly) have in common an interest in environment-people interactions and a focus on the Near East.
My current research focuses on the effects of climatic changes on societies in the Holocene Near East. At the moment I am studying the oxygen and carbon isotopes and trace elements of a speleothem from Iraqi Kurdistan. This 2500-year old stalagmite gives a record of moisture, allowing for a comparison between climatic and socio-economic change for the Iron Age, Achaemenid, Hellenistic, Parthian, Sasanian, and Islamic periods.
I also look into the Neolithic, during which short-lived cool and arid events, such as the 9.2 and 8.2 ka BP events occurred. I have ciritically re-evaluated available archaeological data, foremost by a reappraisal of archaeological chronologies to assess synchronocity of climate events and changes visible in the archaeological record. The results of this research have been published in Quaternary Science Reviews.
For my PhD research, I studied the use of carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analyses of plant remains for reconstruction of crop water status, to infer water management practices. I took part in experimental crop growing in Jordan, undertook experimental charring and burial of cereal grains, and applied the method to archaeobotanical samples.
Besides this, I am interested in using experimental archaeology, and have been involved in building and repairing replica structures at the Neolithic sites of WF16 and Beidha, respectively.
My current research focuses on the effects of climatic changes on societies in the Holocene Near East. At the moment I am studying the oxygen and carbon isotopes and trace elements of a speleothem from Iraqi Kurdistan. This 2500-year old stalagmite gives a record of moisture, allowing for a comparison between climatic and socio-economic change for the Iron Age, Achaemenid, Hellenistic, Parthian, Sasanian, and Islamic periods.
I also look into the Neolithic, during which short-lived cool and arid events, such as the 9.2 and 8.2 ka BP events occurred. I have ciritically re-evaluated available archaeological data, foremost by a reappraisal of archaeological chronologies to assess synchronocity of climate events and changes visible in the archaeological record. The results of this research have been published in Quaternary Science Reviews.
For my PhD research, I studied the use of carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analyses of plant remains for reconstruction of crop water status, to infer water management practices. I took part in experimental crop growing in Jordan, undertook experimental charring and burial of cereal grains, and applied the method to archaeobotanical samples.
Besides this, I am interested in using experimental archaeology, and have been involved in building and repairing replica structures at the Neolithic sites of WF16 and Beidha, respectively.
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Papers by Pascal Flohr
century. The processes and decisions that shaped the formation of the EAMENA dataset, including its methodology and the structure of the database, will be discussed next. The final part of this chapter introduces the various papers that make up this Special Issue, starting with those that have helped to shape the project’s most important achievement to date — the database itself — and continuing with a few initial explorations of the research potential of the emerging dataset.
Talks by Pascal Flohr
Using publications and existing datasets, information on Late Neolithic sites in Jordan was collected and recorded in the freely available EAMENA database (www.eamenadatabase.arch.ox.ac.uk). Over a hundred sites with reliable evidence for Late Neolithic occupation have already been entered (April 2018). The dataset confirms that there is no lack of Late Neolithic sites, but they are often poorly visible with little evidence visible on the surface, and a research bias is clearly present. Remote sensing (satellite images and aerial photographs) is used to assess the condition of each site, including existing damage and potential threats. Finally, an analysis is made of site locations – while sites are hard to see on imagery or even the surface, we might be able to establish a pattern to their locations creating a predictive model potentially of value for other prehistoric periods.
This paper will explore how we can use such data to trace patterns of settlement and landscape use. Analysis was carried out across three transects of ~700 km2, each running from coast to hills in northern, central, and southern Lebanon, giving us a holistic overview of the landscape. The majority of the database records for these areas are characterised by the remains of abandoned buildings and agricultural terraces, and – to a lesser extent – religious sites. Our results show profound differences between northern and southern Lebanon, as well as between coastal and inland zones. These differences reflect historical differences in land use, subsistence economies, and belief systems which often bear little relevance to modern socio-political boundaries. Our study demonstrates the importance of large, holistic datasets for previously understudied site types and periods in piecing together past patterns of land use and change over time.
Nonetheless, Pottery Neolithic sites have been recorded in surveys and excavations, and it is possible to collate these data into a standardised framework. Large datasets, such as the Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa (EAMENA) database, can therefore help by giving an overview of what is known across the Southern Levant. Importantly, the remote sensing methodology developed by the EAMENA Project can also be used to assess the condition of these sites. Preliminary results for Jordan show that Pottery Neolithic sites have a more widespread distribution than previously thought, and that it is possible to predict their location (see Hitchings et al. 2013, Antiquity). By combining the EAMENA methodology, published data, and predictive models, we can start to identify areas of possible Pottery Neolithic sites and thus prioritise which areas to further research or protect when development takes place. This study shows how large datasets can help us study and protect neglected periods and sites.
century. The processes and decisions that shaped the formation of the EAMENA dataset, including its methodology and the structure of the database, will be discussed next. The final part of this chapter introduces the various papers that make up this Special Issue, starting with those that have helped to shape the project’s most important achievement to date — the database itself — and continuing with a few initial explorations of the research potential of the emerging dataset.
Using publications and existing datasets, information on Late Neolithic sites in Jordan was collected and recorded in the freely available EAMENA database (www.eamenadatabase.arch.ox.ac.uk). Over a hundred sites with reliable evidence for Late Neolithic occupation have already been entered (April 2018). The dataset confirms that there is no lack of Late Neolithic sites, but they are often poorly visible with little evidence visible on the surface, and a research bias is clearly present. Remote sensing (satellite images and aerial photographs) is used to assess the condition of each site, including existing damage and potential threats. Finally, an analysis is made of site locations – while sites are hard to see on imagery or even the surface, we might be able to establish a pattern to their locations creating a predictive model potentially of value for other prehistoric periods.
This paper will explore how we can use such data to trace patterns of settlement and landscape use. Analysis was carried out across three transects of ~700 km2, each running from coast to hills in northern, central, and southern Lebanon, giving us a holistic overview of the landscape. The majority of the database records for these areas are characterised by the remains of abandoned buildings and agricultural terraces, and – to a lesser extent – religious sites. Our results show profound differences between northern and southern Lebanon, as well as between coastal and inland zones. These differences reflect historical differences in land use, subsistence economies, and belief systems which often bear little relevance to modern socio-political boundaries. Our study demonstrates the importance of large, holistic datasets for previously understudied site types and periods in piecing together past patterns of land use and change over time.
Nonetheless, Pottery Neolithic sites have been recorded in surveys and excavations, and it is possible to collate these data into a standardised framework. Large datasets, such as the Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa (EAMENA) database, can therefore help by giving an overview of what is known across the Southern Levant. Importantly, the remote sensing methodology developed by the EAMENA Project can also be used to assess the condition of these sites. Preliminary results for Jordan show that Pottery Neolithic sites have a more widespread distribution than previously thought, and that it is possible to predict their location (see Hitchings et al. 2013, Antiquity). By combining the EAMENA methodology, published data, and predictive models, we can start to identify areas of possible Pottery Neolithic sites and thus prioritise which areas to further research or protect when development takes place. This study shows how large datasets can help us study and protect neglected periods and sites.
This paper presents the results of a re-evaluation of currently available data to assess the impact of these two climatic events on Near Eastern early farming societies. As a first, but essential step is to ascertain synchronicity between climate and socio-economic change, the research focused on absolute dating evidence of al xx sites in use around the time of the climate events which have been radiocarbon dated. In addition, archaeological evidence was assessed. The results show that early farming societies were resilient to severe climate change events.
Authors: Pascal Flohr, Dominik Fleitmann, Matt Bosomworth, Hai Cheng, Lawrence Edwards, Aleksey Sadekov, Roger Matthews, Wendy Matthews, Stuart Black
We re-assessed all available radiocarbon evidence for the relevant time period (9500-7500 cal BP), strictly quality-checking dates and where possible using Bayesian models, and combining dating evidence with archaeological information. Our results show that no systematic, large-scale site abandonment or migration took place at the time of either the 9.2., or the 8.2 ka event. At some sites, change occurs, which represent climate adaptations, but a large variability is present. We conclude that early farming communities were resilient in the face of climatic and environmental deterioration.
This research aimed to establish whether or not there was an effect of these rapid climate events, and what new research is needed to further our understanding. Hereto, we 1) synthesized available archaeological data, including the latest publications, focusing on ‘quality checked’ radiocarbon dates, as synchronicity of climate and archaeological changes is a key prerequisite; 2) assessed the available climatic evidence from the Near East, including recently published and yet unpublished high-resolution speleothem records.
We conclude that, based on currently available data, there are no overall, substantial socio-economic changes contemporaneous with the 9.3 or 8.2 ka events. Rather, changes take place around the time of the events, but gradually over several hundreds of years. This lack of a clear response could be caused by the absence of a severe impact of the climate events in (certain areas of) the Near East. We argue, however, that early farming societies were also much more resilient than often assumed, not so much despite their relatively ‘simple’ economy, but rather because of it.
This paper focuses on the abrupt and short-lived 9.2 and 8.2 ka BP climatic events and their potential impact on Near Eastern societies. Both events are well-documented in climate archives and are, partly by the work of members of our team, precisely dated. The research presented here provides a critical re-evaluation of the archaeological data, foremost by a reappraisal of archaeological chronologies by quality checking radiocarbon dates and where possible applying Bayesian statistics. At the same time, GIS are used to better evaluate spatio-temporal changes. The results show variable reactions of Near Eastern societies living through climatic events.
The research presented in this paper focused first on improving the empirical basis of the method. Cereal crops were experimentally grown under different irrigation regimes at three locations in Jordan to test the effects of different amounts of water input in relation to other environmental variables. The suitability of charred archaeological grains for isotopic analyses was tested by charring and burial experiments. It was concluded that the method can be applied to archaeological samples for the reconstruction of past water availability, albeit with limitations.
This paper will present evidence for these conclusions and show how the method can be applied to archaeological samples. For the latter, the case studies of Tell es-Sa’idiyeh and Tell esh-Shuna, both in the Jordan Valley, are used; stable isotopic analyses of grains of these sites have given valuable insights into the development of water management in this region from the Chalcolithic to the Iron Age.
Experimentally grown cereals were used to assess the relationship between water availability, other environmental variables, and the crops’ stable isotopic composition. Wheat, barley and sorghum were grown at five different irrigation regimes at three different sites in Jordan for up to three years. Results indicate a relationship between water availability and carbon stable isotope ratios of wheat and barley grains, but one that is site-specific. No consistent relationship between nitrogen stable isotope ratios and water availability was found, but significant differences were present between sites.
Grains were experimentally charred, which appeared to alter plant isotope ratios in a few cases, but these can be corrected for. In addition, samples were buried at sites in the UK and Jordan and retrieved after up to two years. Preliminary results indicate that burial for this length of time does not alter isotopic ratios in any systematic manner, but unexplained exceptions were present.
This paper will thus argue that the method can be applied to archaeological samples for reconstruction of past water availability, but with limitations.
semi-subterranean elliptical structures consisting of pits lined with pisé walls. One structure had been burnt down and contained evidence regarding how their
roofs were made of wood, reeds and mud. Using this information a replica was built nearby to understand better how these buildings were constructed and used,
as well as to show the public what a PPNA structure would have looked like.