Author/Authors :
MORANDI BONACOSSI, Daniele University of Udine - Department of History and Preservation of Cultural Heritage, Italy , IAMONI, Marco University of Udine - Department of History and Preservation of Cultural Heritage, Italy
Title Of Article :
THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE WESTERN PALMYRA DESERT REGION. THE CHANGE IN THE SETTLEMENT PATTERNS AND THE ADAPTATION OF SUBSISTENCE STRATEGIES TO ENCROACHING ARIDITY: A FIRST ASSESSMENT OF THE DESERT-KITE AND TUMULUS CULTURAL HORIZONS
Abstract :
Palaeoenvironmental proxies from geoarchaeological survey work conducted by a Syrian-Italianmission in the Palmyra oasis and the desert areas to the south and west of it indicate a discontinuity between a wet Lateglacial/Early Holocene and a later dry period. The latter, which is presumed to have started during the final PPNB-early Pottery Neolithic, resulted in the progressive nucleation of the Palmyra oasis and in a major change in settlement patterns and the exploitation of natural resources on a regional scale. The paper explores this major adaptive shift in settlement patterns and economic strategies in the region, which is paralleled by the emergence of a distinctive archaeological landscape characterized by desert-kites and cairns
NaturalLanguageKeyword :
Palmyrena , environmental change , adaptive responses , desert , kites , tumuli
