Investigating the impacts of 4.2 ka and 3.2 ka BP climatic events on wheat and barley cultivation in the Bronze Age Kingdom of Mukish: Evidence from Tell Atchana and Toprakhisar Höyük (Hatay, Türkiye)

Abstract

This research investigates the impact of 4.2 ka and 3.2 ka BP climatic events on the agricultural practices of the Bronze Age Kingdom of Mukish by evaluating wheat and barley remains in archaeobotanical data sets acquired from two sites, Tell Atchana (Alalakh), a capital city, and Toprakhisar Höyük, a periphery site, both located in the Hatay province of southern Türkiye. The aim of this study is to determine whether, and to what extent, these climatic events affected the local agricultural strategies. Stable carbon isotope analysis on wheat and barley grains was also carried out to examine the water conditions under which the plants were grown. The findings demonstrated a shift toward drought tolerant barley at Toprakhisar at the end of the 3rd millennium BC, and at Tell Atchana between 1350 and 1200 BCE. Isotopic evidence indicated water stress at Toprakhisar from the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC and at Atchana during the latest phases of the LBA. The timing of shifts in crop preferences and the traces of water stress suggest a response to increasing aridity associated with the 4.2 ka BP and 3.2 ka BP climatic events. At Toprakhisar, the occupation seems to flourish in the corresponding period. By contrast, at Atchana, Hittite administrative control may have further influenced agricultural strategies to buffer the impacts of the 3.2 ka BP event by prioritizing barley production and investments in irrigation as mentioned in the textual sources. Overall, the findings highlighted the drought coping mechanisms adopted by the communities, rather than a total collapse of their agricultural systems during times of environmental variability.