Imperial systems and local landscapes of Buldan Yayla in Western Anatolia (Türkiye) during the last 4000 years: An integrated palynological, historical, and archaeological approach
Journal of Quaternary Science, cilt.40, sa.7, ss.1285-1304, 2025 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 40 Sayı: 7
- Basım Tarihi: 2025
- Doi Numarası: 10.1002/jqs.70008
- Dergi Adı: Journal of Quaternary Science
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Aerospace Database, Aquatic Science & Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA), Artic & Antarctic Regions, CAB Abstracts, Communication Abstracts, Environment Index, Geobase, INSPEC, Metadex, Civil Engineering Abstracts
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.1285-1304
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Byzantine Empire, environmental history, Hittite Empire, imperial ecology, land use intensification, Ottoman Empire, palynology, Roman Empire, socio-ecological systems, western Anatolia
- Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
This study investigates long-term impacts of empires on local socio-ecosystems in western Anatolia (modern western Türkiye) over the past four millennia. We focus on Buldan Yayla Lake, located in a small mountain basin north of the Büyük Menderes (Great Meander) River valley. By examining palynological data alongside historical and archaeological records, we show how four major empires—Hittite, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman—shaped land use, vegetation, and resource management practices in a specific locality within a wider regional and transregional economic network. The ebb and flow of empire resulted in cycles of land use intensification and rewilding, resembling broader patterns of regional integration and fragmentation. The different administrative and economic structures of each empire, however, left distinct ecological imprints, with evidence of shifts from extensive pastoralism to specialised crop cultivation, or from olive-focused agriculture to one dominated by mixed agriculture. These shifts underscore both the variation and the adaptability of local socio-ecological systems within broader imperial networks and highlight the interplay of transregional and local factors in landscape transformation.