Modelling climate and societal resilience in the Eastern Mediterranean in the last Millennium

Xoplaki, E., Luterbacher, J., Wagner, S., Zorita, E., Fleitmann, D., Preiser-Kappeller, J., Sargent, A. M., White, S., Toreti, A., Haldon, J. F., Mordechai, L., Bozkurt, D., Akçer-Ön, S. and Izdebski, A. (2018) Modelling climate and societal resilience in the Eastern Mediterranean in the last Millennium. Human Ecology, 46 (3). pp. 363-379. ISSN 1572-9915 doi: 10.1007/s10745-018-9995-9

Abstract/Summary

This article analyses high-quality hydroclimate proxy records and spatial reconstructions from the Central and Eastern Mediterranean and compares them with two Earth System Model simulations (CCSM4, MPI-ESM-P) for the Crusader period in the Levant (1095–1290 CE), the Mamluk regime in Transjordan (1260–1516 CE) and the Ottoman crisis and Celâlî Rebellion(1580–1610 CE). During the three time intervals, environmental and climatic stress tested the resilience of complex societies.We find that the multidecadal precipitation and drought variations in the Central and Eastern Mediterranean cannot be explained by external forcings (solar variations, tropical volcanism); rather they were driven by internal climate dynamics. Our research emphasises the challenges, opportunities and limitations of linking proxy records, palaeoreconstructions and model simulations to better understand how climate can affect human history.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/76849
Item Type	Article
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Science > School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science > Scientific Archaeology Science > School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science > Department of Archaeology
Publisher	Springer
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