Publications on Iran

@article{nokey,

title = {Linking archaeology and paleoenvironment: Mid‐Holocene occupational sequences in the Varamin Plain (Iran)},

author = {Robert Busch and Reinhard Bernbeck and Morteza Hessari and Fabian Kirsten and Christopher Lüthgens and Susan Pollock and Nolwen Rol and Brigitta Schütt},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.21995},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-01-01},

journal = {Geoarchaeology},

publisher = {John Wiley and Sons},

abstract = {Early human habitation of the arid to semiarid Central Iranian Plateau was strongly connected to the availability of water and associated natural hazards, such as flooding and drought events. In this geoarchaeological study, we focus on the occupation at the prehistoric site of Ajor Pazi within the formerly active fluvial environment of the Varamin Plain. Through radiocarbon and luminescence-dated sediment cross-sections, we apply multivariate statistics to sedimentological characteristics of bulk samples collected during a rescue excavation in 2018. Based on facies interpretations, we differentiate depositional processes and present their implications for the environs of Ajor Pazi. Our results show evidence of settlement activities between 6.4 and 5.6 ka cal B.P. (4.4–3.6 ka cal. B.C.E.). Phases of reduced geomorphodynamics can be distinguished when soil-forming processes take place. Our findings provide insights into the hitherto scarcely explored Transitional Chalcolithic II period during which the site of Ajor Pazi emerged and began to shape its environs.

},

keywords = {Holocene, Paleoenvironment},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {Were Climatic Forcings the Main Driver for Mid-Holocene Changes in Settlement Dynamics on the Varamin Plain (Central Iranian Plateau)?},

author = {Fabian Kirsten and Anne Dallmeyer and Reinhard Bernbeck and Thomas Böhmer and Robert Busch and Morteza Hessari and Susan Pollock and Brigitta Schütt},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0290181},

year  = {2023},

date = {2023-10-31},

urldate = {2023-10-31},

journal = {PLOS ONE},

volume = {18},

issue = {10},

publisher = {Public Library of Science},

abstract = {Settlement crises in ancient cultures of Western Asia are commonly thought to be caused by climatic events such as severe droughts. However, the insufficient climate proxy situation in this region challenges the inference of clear relationships between climate and settlement dynamics. We investigate the Holocene climatic changes on the Varamin Plain in the context of the climatic history of Western Central Asia by using a transient comprehensive Earth System Model simulation (8 ka BP to pre-industrial), a high-resolution regional snapshot simulation and a synthesis of pollen-based climate reconstructions. In line with the reconstructions, the models reveal only slightly varying mean climatic conditions on the Varamin Plain but indicate substantial changes in seasonality during the Holocene. Increased precipitation during spring, combined with lower temperature and potentially stronger snow accumulation on the upstream Alborz mountains may have led to an increased water supply on the alluvial fan during the vegetation period and thus to more favourable conditions for agricultural production during the Mid-Holocene compared to modern times. According to the model, dry periods on the Central Iranian Plateau are related to particularly weak Westerly winds, fostering the subsidence in the mid-troposphere and hampering precipitation over the region. The model reveals that dry periods have spatially heterogenous manifestations, thus explaining why they do not appear in all proxy records in the wider study region. In fact, the climatic signal may depend on local environmental conditions. The interaction of the topography with the atmospheric circulation leads to additional spatial heterogeneity. Although our results provide several indications for a connection between climate and settlement dynamics, the small overall changes in moisture call into question whether climate is the main driver for settlement discontinuities on the Central Iranian Plateau. To shed further light on this issue, more high-resolution long-term proxy records are needed.

},

keywords = {Climate, Holocene, Settlement mobility},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}