1. Cilt - Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı

geographical and archaeological features. These data points were then referenced geographicallywith available published 1:100000 and 1:25000 topographical maps. Primarybase maps are currently under construction to depict the observed distribution ofthe fluvial, lacustrine, and soil deposits based upon cross-cutting relationships, as wellas differences in spectral signatures due to sediment type, drainage characteristicsand veçetattve cover.Along its reach near Ziyaret Tepe, the Upper Tigris river valley preserves a recordof changing climatic conditions over a Iate Quaternary time scale. Its variation inbase flow, flood magnitude/frequency, and sediment transport can be discerned in thechannel and floodplain morphology and in the sediments that form terraces along theriver and its tributaries. To reconstruct the magnitude and timing of these changes, weare interpreting the local stratigraphic record and its proxy paleoenvironmental data(e.g. pollen and phytoliths). .Figure 4 depicts a subset of our study area in the region of Ziyaret Tepe and areasin which we conducted detailed stratigraphic descriptions and systematically sampledsediments for further laboratory analyses. Figure 5 presents the transect lines ofgeomorphic cross-section as shown in the previous illustration; the modern floodplainis annotated as T-O (Terrace O), with subsequently older terraces annotated as T-1, T­2, and so on. Some of these terraces are as much as 7m above the modern floodplain(Le. the T-Osurface); these are massively thick gravel sequences attesting to formerperiods of base flow that far exceed the modern discharge of theriver.As of May 2003, we are stili conducting various laboratory analyses of our collectedsamples. The main analytical techniques we plan to employ include: (1) mineralogicalassessment of sediments via thin section microscopy, chemical techniques, andx-ray determination; (2) absolute age determination via radiocarbon analyses and opticallystimulated luminescence (OSL); and (3) determination of paleoecological contextvia soil description and micromorphology, and botanical microfossil analyses (l.e.,pollen and phytolith). The objectives of these analyses are to: establish a working chronologyof the Upper Tigris River watershed during the Iate Quaternary period; providethe empirical basis for understanding the frequency, magnitude, and thresholds forchanges in the fluvial system; and characterize the fluvial record so as we can thenevaluate climatic changes through time, and in the context of local archaeological developments.Our ongoing studies will help reconstruct the former veqetative habitat in the ZiyaretTepe region, and provide another context through which we can decipher the paleoenvironmentalcontext of the Upper Tigris region as it relates to cultural activityalong Assyria's northern frontier (sensu Parker 2002). Forthcoming results will help placethe local culture within a clear geographical, environmental and ecological setting,enabling us to document the diachronic evolution of the social and natural environmentsduring a documented period of rapid urbanization (Matney 1998; Matney et aL.2002). The records from this reach of the Tigris will provide a valuable basis for comparisonto other geoarchaeological studiesavailable from the well-documented EuphratesRiver basin, further deepening our window into antiquity (e.g. see Wilkinson1978; Roberts 1991; Miller Rosen 1997; Roberts et aL. 1997; Wilkinson 1999).WORKSCITEDMATNEY, T.1998 "Preliminary Report on the First Season of Work at Ziyaret Tepe in theDiyarbakir Province" Anatalica 24: 7-30.101