Since its inception, geoarchaeology has proved to be essential to the discipline of archaeology. Traditional geoarchaeology, a research field closely linked to geomorphology and pedology, contributed important insights regarding societal resilience, collapse, and adaptation, primarily through studies of regional environmental changes. The aim of this paper is to present a conceptual framework in which micro-geoarchaeology, the field of research that focuses on the study of anthropogenic material culture remains from a microscopic perspective, plays a pivotal role in addressing societal resilience, collapse, and adaptation. The dialogue between macro- and microscopic archaeological evidence used to address these broad subjects is discussed, along with three case study examples from the Mediterranean region.

Shallow marine, atmosphere, and land systems converge at the coastal zone, acting as agents that modify its morphological and lithostratigraphic characteristics through time. This interface is also known to be rich with archaeological remains and ancient constructions, remnants of prehistoric and historic civilizations whose population was drawn to the moderate temperatures and abundance of resources. Thus, a systematic surface/subsurface mapping and assessment of proxies embedded in the shallow marine and terrestrial parts of the coast are critical for reconstructing paleolandscape changes and can serve as the basis for examining environment-human interactions through time. Here, a workflow is proposed for reconstructing the land-sea interface in four dimensions (X, Y, Z, t). The proposed workflow builds on an ongoing project conducted along the Carmel Coast in northern Israel by establishing an onshore-offshore chronostratigraphic correlation through an amalgamation of elevation raster grids and subsurface data collected by remote sensing techniques, as well as lithological datasets, all acquired by surveying the shallow shelf and terrestrial parts of the coast. The applied methodology and spatiotemporal integration discussed here could be of use in other multidisciplinary investigations conducted in similar high-energy coastal settings aimed at evaluating past environmental changes and targeting the location of prehistoric archaeological sites. Furthermore, this protocol can be utilized for assessing human reaction, adaptation, and resilience to environmental changes.

In eastern Mediterranean prehistory the earliest known exploitation of marine resources dates to the Paleolithic, while the emergence of distinct maritime adaptation and intensified use of marine resources corresponds with the development of sedentary lifeways and agricultural economies in the Neolithic. However, the extent of maritime adaptation and its role throughout the Neolithic requires further investigation. The aim of this paper is to address this issue by presenting a synthesis of published archaeological sites ranging from the Epipaleolithic to the Late Neolithic to analyze variation in prehistoric marine adaptation from across the eastern Mediterranean, including the southern and northern Levant, Cyprus, and Anatolia. This allows us to conceptualize the “maritime Neolithic” on a regional scale. Through analysis of the material cultural indicators of maritime adaptation identified in prehistoric contexts, it is possible to move toward the characterization of the use of marine resources at different sites, ranging from limited use of aquatic resources to intensive fishing economies. The analysis of these sites in a broader context indicates variation in the role of marine resources in subsistence economies on a regional scale and highlights the potential for further investigation.

Settlement patterns along Israel’s Mediterranean coast during the Chalcolithic period and Early Bronze Age (EB) I have been heavily debated over the years. The collapse that ended the Chalcolithic period is evidenced by the abandonment of settlements in the central Coastal Plain, followed by resettlement of the southern coast during EB I. The new settlement pattern was largely attributed to the rise of Predynastic Egypt that emerged during this time. This work examines a contrasting hypothesis, that settlement patterns along the entire Israeli coast from the Early Chalcolithic to EB IB represent a long-lasting phenomenon of resilient coastal villages. In order to examine this hypothesis, we created a database documenting every site within 10 km inland from the coast, from the Gaza Strip in the south to Rosh Ha-Niqra in the north, that was surveyed and/or excavated (between 1972 and 2020), looking into presence (or lack thereof) of Chalcolithic and EB I phases, occupation intensity (where possible), and types of remains. The results reveal a continuous settlement along the entire Coastal Plain rather than a breakage and a subsequent new pattern. They portray a long-lasting coastal village tradition rather than the emergence of new coastal settlements in EB I, testifying to the resilience of coastal villages and their ability to adapt to changes in the region.

Mediterranean connectivity, including trade, is an adaptation to the local conditions. Temporal changes in pottery imports reflect adaptation of maritime trade systems to economic, social, political, and environmental changes. In this paper I investigate the connection between diachronic changes in Cypriot imports to the southern Levant throughout the Middle Bronze Age and contemporary political and social processes. The eighteenth century BCE saw a paradigm shift within ancient Near Eastern connectivity networks, as networks formerly dominated by the powers in Mesopotamia and Anatolia turned their attention toward the Mediterranean. In the Middle Cypriot period Cypriot imports were integrated into the Levantine littoral systems, which suggests the rise of maritime trade as adaptive behavior both in Cyprus and within the emerging Levantine urban systems. Trade was further expanded during the sixteenth century BCE and in the transition from the Middle to Late Bronze Age, with an increase in the amount as well as the types of Cypriot ceramic imports to the southern Levant. This change is contemporary with the rise of (proto-)urbanism in Cyprus and the last phase of Hyksos rule, coinciding with the rise of the Eighteenth Dynasty in Egypt. This study includes the first results of an integrated analysis of Cypriot imported pottery found at Levantine maritime gateways, including Akhziv and Kabri, as well as inland hubs like Megiddo.

For a long time, 13th century in the Aegean has been considered as a peaceful period marked by rather stable, local communities and the large-scale exchange of commodities most emblematically materialised by the Mycenaean palaces of the Argolid. In contrast to that, the 12th century seemed to be characterised not only by the end of the palaces and all connected societal institutions but also by human mobility together with a rather neglectable scale of the exchange of commodities. The year 1200 BC was considered as the peak of the crisis which has been taken as an explanation for the assumed ground-breaking shifts between the two centuries. In my contribution, I want to go beyond simplifying narratives and take a more differentiated view on what transformations took place at the end of the 13th century or already during its course. I want to show that major changes already seem to have taken place in the second half of the 13th century and continued into the 12th century and thereby relativise the year 1200 BC as a hallmark of the developments. I will demonstrate the shifts of the Mediterranean network of mobility of humans and objects during the 13th century and in the early 12th century with a strong focus on the archaeological evidence from Tiryns. This will lead to a revaluation of the historical developments in the 13th century and show that the breakdown of the palatial system is the result of socio-political transformations over ca. 50 years.

A shipwreck assemblage from the Neve-Yam bay is described, reevaluated, and discussed in relation to the associated artifacts recovered at its site, including copper ingots, stone anchors, hematite weights, bronze artifacts, and pottery. Taking into consideration the site formation and postdepositional processes and the possible dating of the various finds, based on their typology, a radiocarbon date, and the suggested provenance of the copper ingots in the ‘Araba Valley, the cargo is dated to the transition period between the Late Bronze Age and the Iron Age (twelfth century BCE) known as the “crisis years.” The maritime activity and trading routes of metal in the eastern Mediterranean during these years are discussed, suggesting that the Neve-Yam shipwreck provides direct evidence for inland and maritime transport of copper during this time, when evidence for international maritime activity along the Syro-Canaanite-Anatolian coast is scarce. A holistic view from the Middle Bronze Age till Iron Age II is provided, indicating the oscillations of Mediterranean maritime activities, based on the underwater and inland finds from the southern Levant.

In order to put some of the other papers within this workshop into context, this paper presents a brief and rapid overview of the events that took place at the end of the Late Bronze Age in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean. However, in an effort to bring things up to date, it also includes a summation of some of the additional work that has been done recently, including new scientific work involving ancient pollen in Syria, Israel, Egypt, and Cyprus; isotopic signatures and other indicators from lake sediments in Turkey, Syria, and possibly Iran; oxygen isotope studies from stalagmites and mineral deposits within caves in Greece and Israel; and other relevant studies. It concludes with a brief look at several questions about the human element to the Collapse that still remain to be answered, including whether they were aware that the entire world system as they knew it was coming to an end.

The problem of soil erosion due to human activities such as deforestation, pastoralism, and agriculture has long been recognized. Greece, like much of the of the Mediterranean world, is particularly susceptible to soil loss, due to the arid climate and steep, rocky terrain, and previous studies have sought to date this soil aggradation and to attribute it to human activity, climatic changes, or a combination of the two. This study uses near-shore sediment cores from Antikyra Bay, in the Gulf of Corinth, to understand the sources and timing of erosional events in the study area of the Kastrouli-Antikyra Bay Land and Sea Project. Sedimentological analysis and radiocarbon dating of foraminifera and twigs show that there are two major periods of soil aggradation in this record: the first occurred in the Hellenistic and/or Roman period (ca. 1900–2100 BP), and the second started in the Ottoman period (ca. 350 BP) and persists today. In addition to documentation of soil aggradation, two paleo-shorelines were identified during the geophysical survey. A local relative sea level curve constructed for this study suggests the shallower of the two is between ~7.7 and 8.7 thousand years old, while the deeper feature formed around 8.9 to 9.7 thousand years ago.

Throughout antiquity, coastal Mediterranean societies frequently adapted their cultural constructs in response to challenges in their routine and changes in their environment. Most of the crises portrayed in this volume and the modes of adaptability devised to meet them would have found representation in the cultural aspects of gradually changing societies. In the Hellenistic Levant, when influential Hellenism followed Hellenistic conquest, two complementary strategies were adopted for securing the resilience of both state and identity. Aimed mostly outwardly, symbols and motifs participating in the universal language of power—such as language, coinage, and official deities—were quickly adopted by elite groups and the administration, aimed to encourage international recognition. Internally, however, traditional elements preceding Hellenism were preserved, and the adoption of change occurred gradually, often resulting in syncretistic creations combining old and new. It is the purpose of this article to analyze this phenomenon through perspectives relevant to adaptation and resilience, focusing on the coastal cities of the Hellenistic southern Levant—namely, Ptolemais-Ake, Dora, Joppa, and Ascalon, as well as on the Hasmonean dynasty.

The prosperity of the southeastern coast of the Mediterranean and its hinterland during the Byzantine period is well attested in literary and material sources. Much of the evidence for this prosperity comes from commercial activities that would have relied, more or less heavily, on the maritime medium. The intense connectivity that emerged at one point between the Negev settlements and Mediterranean networks generated knowledge, influence, and wealth in both directions and played a significant part in nurturing a rapidly growing desert economy, which declined and collapsed no less rapidly some two centuries later. This article offers an initial evaluation of the involvement of the Negev routine within widely regional networks, ultimately seeking to demonstrate the extent to which its resilience was determined by, and dependent upon, Mediterranean dynamics and market forces.

The Classic Maya Collapse of AD 800 is a subject of great speculation as well as research. What is not widely appreciated is that this was but one of several cyclical collapses and cultural rebirths that took place in the rainforests of Mexico and Central America over a 2,600-year time span. Following Bárta’s “laws,” I argue that dramatic collapses—which are triggered very rapidly (perhaps by climate instability) and seem like punctuated events—are the result of long-term cultural processes. Moreover, the cyclical nature of growth, stability, and collapse appear to be inherent to ancient civilizations, and perhaps to our own.