Karstic Aquifers and Climate Refugia
A Preliminary Outline History of Water-Management Strategy in Bronze and Iron Age Southeast Arabia
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6095678 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Michel De Vreeze (0000-0002-0001-2525), Derek Kennet (0000-0002-4179-3516), William M Deadman (0000-0002-5860-9551) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 10 |
| Publication date | 2024-09-27 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Open Quaternary (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2055-298X • E-ISSN: 2055-298X |
| Publisher | Ubiquity Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.5334/oq.144 |
| OpenAlex | W4402927299 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 37 |
This paper attempts to set out a preliminary narrative of changing water exploitation and settlement in Southeast Arabia from the Umm an-Nar period to the Iron Age, with a particular focus on the 4.2ka event. It argues for long-term cultural and adaptive trends that are only now becoming apparent and are relevant to understanding local adaptation strategies to climatic events such as the 4.2ka event. In setting out this narrative, we also aim to show the value of Southeast Arabian data to regional discussions relating to human adaptation to climate change. We argue that lower ground water availability related to aquifer structures would have been a problem for Bronze Age (Umm an-Nar) communities, in particular those living in Central Oman around the Hajar Mountains and would have affected settlement viability in certain climatic conditions, leading to decline in the number and size of settlements after c. 2000BC. We suggest that late Umm an-Nar (2200–2000BC) settlement and agricultural activity over-extended in this area, a development paralleled in Harappan and Mesopotamian communities. These changes would have affected already ancient traditions, for example in relation to the communal ritual monuments. By contrast, for the Northern Emirates karstic aquifers were a crucial factor supporting settlement continuity after the 4.2ka event, in particular in the western coastal areas of Ras al-Khaimah and the area around Dibba on the east coast. It is argued that the distribution of these aquifers is key to understanding the cultural and economic changes associated with the ensuing Wadi Suq period (2000–1600BC). Other processes strengthened the pattern, such as changing interregional exchange patterns and associated overland and maritime routes. By the Iron Age (starting c 1300 BC), it appears that rainfall patterns changed again and settlement density in Central Oman began once again to exceed that of the Northern Emirates. We suggest that this is at least partly linked to the resilience of local communities in dealing with another climate event (3.2ka event) that potentially necessitated the management of climatic patterns that may have included periods of higher and lower rainfall including irregular flooding. Whilst some of the ideas set out here are still quite speculative, they are set out in the belief that further understanding of these changing patterns is crucial for our understanding of long-term adaptation to climate change in this region
Aquifer · Archaeology · Bronze · Bronze Age · Earth science · Geography · Geotechnical engineering · Groundwater · Karst · Water resource management · Environmental Science · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · Marine and environmental studies · Maritime and Coastal Archaeology · Geology
Raincheck
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Drought stress variability in ancient Near Eastern agricultural systems evidenced by δ 13 C in barley grain
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Third and early second‐millennium occupation at Nud Ziba, Khatt (U.A.E.)
Archaeobotanical evidence for the interrelationship of agricultural decision-making and climate change in the ancient Near East
The nature of third‐millennium settlement
Vegetation, land, and wood use at the sites of Bat and Al‐Khashbah in Oman (fourth–third millennium BC )
Al‐Khafaji reinterpreted
Mapping spatial patterning of Bronze Age towers in Oman according to water flow accumulation
The agricultural basis of Umm an‐Nar society in the northern Oman peninsula (2500–2000 BC)
Development of the Bronze Age landscape in the southeastern Arabian Gulf
Grave‐goods from the long chamber tomb “Dibba 76/1” (Fujairah, UAE)
The Middle and Late Bronze Age in Central Oman
Impacts of long term climate change during the collapse of the Akkadian Empire
Human Response to Climate Change during the Umm an‐Nar/Wadi Suq Transition in the United Arab Emirates
Adaptation to Variable Environments, Resilience to Climate Change
Towers and ditches in third millennium BC Eastern Arabia
Much ado about nothing
Kalba
Ritual, Labor Mobilization, and Monumental Construction in Small-Scale Societies
Multi-centric, Marsh-based Urbanism at the early Mesopotamian city of Lagash (Tell al-Hiba, Iraq)
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |