Wood exploitation and vegetation dynamics in the middle Euphrates during the Chalcolithic and the Bronze Age: Initial results from Zeytinli Bahçe, Türkiye

This study presents and discusses the first results of an analysis of charcoal remains recovered from the rural tell site of Zeytinli Bahçe (southeastern Türkiye), in the middle part of the valley of the Euphrates River. The anthracological record from the site provides valuable insights into resource acquisition and vegetation dynamics from the Chalcolithic to the Bronze Age, and this paper is the first to include Late Chalcolithic vegetation data from the middle Euphrates region. The results indicate that the exploitation of oak woodland characterizes the Chalcolithic phases, whereas predominant exploitation of the floodplain vegetation characterizes the Bronze Age phases. At first glance, these findings appear to be in contradiction with the superregional trend toward drier conditions in the Fertile Crescent. However, a comparison with other tell sites in southeastern Türkiye and northern Syria suggests that the data reflect a shift in wood acquisition strategies rather than a change in vegetation in the surroundings of the site. Although changes in vegetation cannot be excluded, clear indications of vegetation change are lacking in the anthracological data. The incorporation of faunal remains into the interpretation helps elucidate the documented change in woodland exploitation strategies: The archaeozoological data from Zeytinli Bahçe and other sites of the same time period in the middle Euphrates indicate a growing exploitation of pig despite a decreasing exploitation of oak woodland, supporting our conclusion that this decrease resulted from cultural choice rather than environmental change.