A speleothem record from the Fertile Crescent covering the last deglaciation better contextualizes neolithization
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Journal Volume
122
Journal Issue
50
ISSN
0027-8424
1091-6490
Date Issued
2025-12
Author(s)
Regattieri, Eleonora
Forti, Luca
Drysdale, Russell N.
Hu, Hsun-Ming
Cornacchia, Irene
Agostini, Samuele
Isola, Ilaria
Conati Barbaro, Cecilia
Morandi Bonacossi, Daniele
Koliński, Rafal
Griffiths, Michael L.
Zerboni, Andrea
Abstract
This study presents a high-resolution, multiproxy (carbon and oxygen isotopes, trace elements, and strontium isotopes) speleothem record from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq extending from the end of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to the Early Holocene (18.0 to 7.5 ka), encompassing the Epipaleolithic–Neolithic transition in the core area of the Fertile Crescent (FC). The record shows that changes in local rainfall amount were coincident with changes in Greenland temperatures, with increased precipitation and enhanced multidecadal hydroclimatic variability during the Bølling–Allerød chronozone, followed by a drier and dustier Younger Dryas. Comparison with regional paleoclimate data suggests similar precipitation patterns across the FC, but with greater hydroclimate variability during the BA and drier conditions during the YD in the eastern sector. Crucially, the record provides a detailed and well-dated paleoenvironmental template by which to contextualize specific cultural events at the subregional scale, as revealed by recent archaeological research on key sites sharing similar environmental settings, allowing to investigate the role of climatic and environmental changes in shaping different neolithization patterns across the FC.
Subjects
Epipaleolithic
Last Glacial Termination
Neolithic
speleothem
SW Asia
Publisher
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Type
journal article