The course will illuminate the different methods which can be used to reconstruct past climate and environmental conditions of an archaeological site within its near vicinity as well as in a regional perspective: isotopic analysis (conducted on faunal and botanical remains from the site, on cave formation and on material extracted from lakes, deep sea and ice cores); Sea and lake level reconstruction and past glacial distribution; Palynology (the reconstruction of past vegetation and climate based on the identification of fossil pollen grains); Ancient DNA etc. In addition to the scientific methods other approches which can shed light on past environment will be discussed: 1). Visual evidence (rock and cave paintings, engravings, sculptures, wall paintings and other art objects); 2). Textual evidence (e.g. ancient letters, ancient scholar’s inquiries such as Theophrastus); 3). Site-environment relationships (e.g. archaeological facilities which mark ancient lake shore or sea shore environment).
Moreover, the carrying capacity of several Levantine key sites will be determined (Site Catchment Analysis): economical opportunities, ecological approaches in sites’ design, landscape archaeology, waste and recycling, as well as options of site conservation. During the course the student will study which type of the paleoclimate methods are possible to conduct within the site or in its vicinity (including relevant sampling techniques) and which methods can be used in a vast geographical area.