Long-Term Urban and Population Trends in the Southern Mesopotamian Floodplains
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6432963 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Nicolo''Marchetti (0000-0003-0040-5115, University of Bologna), Eugenio Bortolini (0000-0001-6751-5680, Institución Milá y Fontanals de Investigación en Humanidades), Jessica C Menghi Sartorio (0000-0001-9920-8378, University of Rome Tor Vergata), Valentina Orrù (0000-0001-8554-0644, University of Bologna), Federico Zaina (0000-0003-1525-1462, Museo Egizio) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 33 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 117-158 |
| Publication date | 2024-02-14 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Archaeological Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1059-0161 • E-ISSN: 1573-7756 |
| Publisher | Springer Nature (PUBLISHER • SG) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s10814-024-09197-3 |
| OpenAlex | W4391822358 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 148 |
The processes of long-term urbanization in southern Mesopotamia are still insufficiently investigated, even though recent studies using large datasets and focusing on neighboring regions have paved the way to understanding the critical role of multiple variables in the shaping of settlement strategies by ancient human societies, among which climate change played an important role. In this paper, we tackle these issues by analyzing, within the new FloodPlains Web GIS project, a conspicuous amount of archaeological evidence collected over the past decades at approximately 5000 sites in southern Mesopotamia. We have measured modifications over time in a variety of demographic proxies generated through probabilistic approaches: our results show that the rapid climate changes, especially those that occurred around 5.2, 4.2, and 3.2 ka BP, may have contributed—in addition to other socioeconomic factors—to triggering the main urban and demographic cycles in southern Mesopotamia and that each cycle is characterized by specific settlement strategies in terms of the distribution and the dimension of the urban centers
Cartography · Floodplain · Geography · Population · Sociology · Term (time · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Demography · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · History · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
Pre-Classical Activity in the Basalt Landscape of the Homs Region, Syria
The end of the 3rd millennium BC in the Levant
Late second–early first millennium BC abrupt climate changes in coastal Syria and their possible significance for the history of the Eastern Mediterranean
Early Channels and Landscape Development around Abu Salabikh, a Preliminary Report
Prehistoric Investigations near Mandali, Iraq
The 1986 Survey Season at Sāmarrā'
The City and Landscape of Ur
New Insights on the Role of Environmental Dynamics Shaping Southern Mesopotamia
Man, Settlement and Urbanism
Ancient Mesopotamia at the Dawn of Civilization
The Quality of the Archaeological Record
Satellite Remote Sensing for Archaeology
Archaeological Survey
Archaeological Landscapes of the Near East
Old World megadroughts and pluvials during the Common Era
Abrupt weakening of the summer monsoon in northwest India 4100 yr ago
Mapping patterns of long-term settlement in Northern Mesopotamia at a large scale
Climatic changes and social transformations in the Near East and North Africa during the ‘long’ 4th millennium BC
Environmental Roots of the Late Bronze Age Crisis
Timing of Atmospheric Precipitation in the Zagros Mountains Inferred from a Multi-Proxy Record from Lake Mirabad, Iran
The Eastern Mediterranean paleoclimate as a reflection of regional events
Early Holocene climate oscillations recorded in three Greenland ice cores
Double-slit photoelectron interference in strong-field ionization of the neon dimer
Holocene Climate and Cultural Evolution in Late Prehistoric–Early Historic West Asia
Automated detection of archaeological mounds using machine-learning classification of multisensor and multitemporal satellite data
The demographic response to Holocene climate change in the Sahara
Unprecedented 21st century drought risk in the American Southwest and Central Plains
Regional population collapse followed initial agriculture booms in mid-Holocene Europe
Stable isotope records of Late Quaternary climate and hydrology from Mediterranean lakes
The Hyde 3.1 spatially explicit database of human‐induced global land‐use change over the past 12,000 years
Diversity and Evenness
The 4.2 ka BP Event in the Mediterranean region
The Genesis and Collapse of Third Millennium North Mesopotamian Civilization
A Record of Holocene Climate Change from Lake Geochemical Analyses in Southeastern Arabia
The Uruk countryside
Mediterranean Studies (Mediterranean Studies Journal)
A Risk Assessment for Cultural Heritage in Southern Iraq
The Rise of Urbanized Landscapes in Mesopotamia
Population, Culture History, and the Dynamics of Culture Change
Wandering through Early Urbanized Landscapes in Syro-Mesopotamia
A Concise History of World Population
Searching for Ancient Remains in Lower 'Iraq
Climate change and early urbanism in Southwest Asia
Local Holocene environmental indicators in Upper Mesopotamia
Holocene fluvial and anthropogenic processes in the region of Uruk in southern Mesopotamia
A multi-proxy analysis of the Holocene humid phase from the United Arab Emirates and its implications for southeast Arabia's Neolithic populations
A review of Holocene avulsions of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and possible effects on the evolution of civilizations in lower Mesopotamia
The Drones Are Coming. What to Choose? Low and Medium Altitude Aerial Archaeology on Limes Transalutanus
Hydraulic landscapes and imperial power in the Near East
Hydraulic landscapes in Mesopotamia
Early State Formation in Southern Mesopotamia
Quality Assurance in Archaeological Survey
Modelling Temporal Uncertainty in Archaeological Analysis
Survey Archaeology in the Mediterranean World
The Later Phases of Southern Mesopotamian Urbanism
Holocene landscape dynamics and long-term population trends in the Levant
Long-term trends of land use and demography in Greece
Prehistoric palaeodemographics and regional land cover change in eastern Iberia
Holocene land cover and population dynamics in Southern France
Holocene Avulsions of the Euphrates River in the Najaf Area of Western Mesopotamia
Geospatial Big Data and archaeology
The economic and institutional determinants of trade expansion in Bronze Age Greater Mesopotamia
Woodland modification in Bronze and Iron Age central Anatolia
The environmental history of the near and middle east since the last ice age
Reconstructing regional population fluctuations in the European Neolithic using radiocarbon dates
Comparing archaeological proxies for long-term population patterns
Macromammal and bird assemblages across the late Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in Italy
Journal of Contemporary Archaeology
Change and continuity in the long-distance exchange networks between western/central Anatolia, northern Levant and northern Mesopotamia, c.3200–1600 BCE
Tracing Settlement Patterns and Channel Systems in Southern Mesopotamia Using Remote Sensing
Systematic Versus Random Sampling in Approaches to Landscape Archaeology
Archaeological Surveys in the “Eastern Corridor”, South-Western Iran
Archaeological Research in the Mianab Plain of Lowland Susiana, South-Western Iran
Cooperation and Private Enterprise in Water Management in Iraq
Upper Palaeolithic population histories of Southwestern France
Mid-Holocene Dates for Organic-Rich Sediment, Palustrine Shell, and Charcoal from Southern Iraq
Inference From Large Sets of Radiocarbon Dates
Settlement Surveys and Documentary Evidence
Measuring Chronological Uncertainty in Intensive Survey Finds
Rediscovering the Heartland of Cities
Size, Complexity, and Organizational Variation
Long-Term Demographic Trends in Prehistoric Italy
Considérations sur l'évolution de la Basse Mésopotamie au cours des derniers millénaires
Catch Per Unit Research Effort
How Many Sumerians per Hectare? — Probing the Anatomy of an Early City
Demography and Cultural Innovation
Air Photography in Archaeology
Satellite Images and Near Eastern Landscapes
The data deluge
Corona satellite photography
Declassified satellite photographs and archaeology in the Middle East
Cultic resilience and inter-city engagement at the dawn of urban history
Anthropological Studies of Cities
Grand Challenges for Archaeology
Paleoanthropological Traces of a Neolithic Demographic Transition
Climate change? Archaeology and Anthropocene
Modeling post-depositional mixing of archaeological deposits
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2025 (2) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |