Итог: | <p>Archaeobotanical investigation of Neolithic-Bronze Age sites in the northern Fertile Crescent has
mostly focussed on the Neolithic-Chalcolithic and also on the Euphrates valley. The aim of this study
is instead the Bronze Age, especially the later Bronze Age of the second millennium BC. The three
sites studied, Tell Mohammed ‘Arab, Tell Brak and Tell Atchana, are distributed across the northern
Fertile Crescent, in the Tigris, Khabur and Orontes valleys, respectively, and offer assemblages
mostly dating to the Late Bronze Age. In conjunction with synthesis of previously published
archaeobotanical data from the second millennium BC, this study contributes to a comprehensive
overview of agriculture across the region, including its relationship with social complexity and
climate change. The new data on crop spectra and associated arable weed/wild taxa is analysed using
multivariate statistical approaches, ethnoarchaeological models, functional weed ecology and crop
stable isotope analysis. The results reveal the major crop types used at each site, as well as
pronounced regional variation in staple taxa; crop processing activities; and arable land management
strategies. Overall, a strong correlation is observed among these different dimensions of agricultural
activity, urbanisation cycles and scales and environmental settings.
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