Work

Human enamel 87Sr/86Sr evidence of migration and land use patterns at Tell Brak, a Late Chalcolithic urban centre in NE Syria

Year: 2020

Type: article

Abstract: During the Late Chalcolithic 3/4 (c. 3900–3200 BCE), Tell Brak in NE Syria became a large urban centre with central administration, craft specialization and a settlement size of at least 130 ha. 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values in enamel of 34 human individuals from Tell Brak representing four temporal subsets were measured and compared against the local background to understand the pattern of migrations and origin of food consumed by inhabitants of the city. The rate of migration from areas with different 87 Sr/ 86 Sr background values was constantly low, and there is no evidence of long-distance mobility. Decrease of average 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values with time was paralleled by their higher dispersal. Finally, in the last subset representing the end of first urbanization period data are again less variable. All this indicates a rise in spatial heterogeneity of resources to feed the growing population of the expanding city, which was likely caused by a gradual extension of land used for food production.

Source: Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences

DOI: 10.1007/s12520-020-01104-3

Author: Arkadiusz Sołtysiak

Institution: University of Warsaw

Language: English

Topic: Archaeology and ancient environmental studies

Subfield: Paleontology

Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,260

Funder: Narodowe Centrum Nauki