Browsing by Author "Mouralis, D."

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Identification and Characterization of Two New Obsidian Sub-Sources in the Nemrut Volcano (Eastern Anatolia, Turkey): the Sicaksu and Kayacik Obsidian
(Elsevier, 2016) Robin, A. K.; Mouralis, D.; Akkopru, E.; Gratuze, B.; Kuzucuoglu, C.; Nomade, S.; Khalidi, L.
In the framework of the GeObs project (http://geobs.univ-rouen.fr), we performed an exhaustive field study of obsidian lava out cropping of the Nemrut volcano (Eastern Anatolia, Turkey). The macroscopic facies and the chemical characteristics of all sub-sources are presented and compared to each other. The Nemrut sub-sources are distinguishable using microscopic facies and geochemistry (LA-ICP-MS) data. We identify and characterize two previously unknown outcrops (Sicaksu and Kayacik) both located in the western part of the volcano. Only one of these two sub-sources, which is located near the Sicaksu village, provides good quality obsidian for knapping. 40Ar/39Ar dating of this sub-source reveals an age of 203 +/- 18 ka. It thus belongs to the early pre-caldera stage of the Nemrut volcano. Chemical analyses and comparison of datasets composed of results from (i) all Nemrut sub-sources sampled, and (ii) various artefacts presented in Khalidi et al. (this volume) and attributed to the Nemrut volcano, clearly match these artefacts to the Sicaksu outcrop. The data obtained from a combination of fieldwork and geochemical analyses demonstrates that the Sicaksu obsidian outcrop was exceptionally important as a source of obsidian raw material for the production of tools and artefacts by prehistoric populations across the Near East. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. In the framework of the GeObs project (http://geobs.univ-rouen.fr), we performed an exhaustive field study of obsidian lava out cropping of the Nemrut volcano (Eastern Anatolia, Turkey). The macroscopic facies and the chemical characteristics of all sub-sources are presented and compared to each other. The Nemrut sub-sources are distinguishable using microscopic facies and geochemistry (LA-ICP-MS) data. We identify and characterize two previously unknown outcrops (Sicaksu and Kayacik) both located in the western part of the volcano. Only one of these two sub-sources, which is located near the Sicaksu village, provides good quality obsidian for knapping. 40Ar/39Ar dating of this sub-source reveals an age of 203 +/- 18 ka. It thus belongs to the early pre-caldera stage of the Nemrut volcano. Chemical analyses and comparison of datasets composed of results from (i) all Nemrut sub-sources sampled, and (ii) various artefacts presented in Khalidi et al. (this volume) and attributed to the Nemrut volcano, clearly match these artefacts to the Sicaksu outcrop. The data obtained from a combination of fieldwork and geochemical analyses demonstrates that the Sicaksu obsidian outcrop was exceptionally important as a source of obsidian raw material for the production of tools and artefacts by prehistoric populations across the Near East. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Morphosedimentary Evidences of Lake Level Variations in the Terraces of Lake Van (Turkey)
(Association Francaise pour l'Etude du Quaternaire, 2010) Christol, A.; Kuzucuoglu, C.; Fort, M.; Mouralis, D.; Dogu, A.F.; Akköprü, E.; Zorer, H.
In the eastern Anatolian Mountains, the relatively high-magnitude variations exhibited by the level of Lake Van in recent years indicate, as the lake has no outlet, that this level can be considered as a sensitive indicator of climate if these variations respond to changes in water input/output. Until now, previous palaeoclimatic research has focused mainly on deep sediments in the lake, which provided an environmental sequence which is today a reference for the Late Glacial and the Holocene in the Middle East. In spite of many landforms and deposits around the lake pointing out to the occurrence of very high levels in the past, studies on the lacustrine sediments preserved in terrace records around the lake have remained quite rare since a first exhaustive overview realized in the 1970's. We here present the first results of a field work coupled with sedimentology studies (stratigraphy, facies analyses), DGPS elevation measurements, spatialized reconstructions. Chronostratigraphy takes advantage of the presence of interstratified tephras layers dated by 39Ar/40Ar, of travertines dated by U-Th series, as well as of organic deposits and shells dated by 14C. Results evidence the occurrence of two major and rapid transgressions, the first one happening at the beginning of the Last Glacial, the second one in the millennia preceding the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Each identified lacustrine cycle started with a very rapid transgression followed by slower regressions with intermediate oscillations. Regressions started immediately after the highest stand was reached (+80 m and +55 m). Regressions lasted long, with some stand-by during the descent, allowing erosion surfaces to truncate the surface of the emerging lake deposits. During Upper Pleistocene, tectonic and volcanic activities interfered with the climatic record of lake levels, both by deforming deposits locally (uplift, faulting) and by modifying the drainage area and river network of the lake basin (closure by damming, captures, isolation). Our preliminary results thus enlighten the complexity of the processes triggering the high magnitude transgressions of the Upper Pleistocene Van Lake, as well as the difficulty to establish correspondences between climatic changes and water volume changes as evidenced by past shoreline deposits preserved in the terrace sedimentary records.
The Procurement of Obsidian at Arslantepe (Eastern Anatolia) During the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age: Connections With Anatolia and Caucasus
(Pergamon-elsevier Science Ltd, 2018) Mouralis, D.; Massussi, M.; Palumbi, G.; Akkopru, E.; Restelli, F. Balossi; Brunstein, D.; Robin, A. -K.
Arslantepe is a hoyuk (= tell) located within the fertile Malatya Plain, near the right bank of the Euphrates River. The site is excavated since more than 55 years by the Italian Sapienza University archaeologists and reveals periods from at least the sixth millennium BCE until the final destruction of the Neo-Hittite town. This long sequence records the changing relations and connections with various civilizations and regions of the Near East. Using the chemical characterization of a large group of artefacts (388 analysed), we propose, in this paper, a new sourcing of the obsidian used by the inhabitants of Arslantepe from the beginning of the Late Chalcolithic to the end of the Early Bronze Age. The method is based on the portable XRF analyse of the artefacts and their attribution to a geological source using our database collected within the ongoing "GeObs" project (resp. D. Mouralis) in the Eastern Anatolia as well as previous published data in Central Anatolia and Caucasus. Moreover, the chemical characterization is coupled with the techno-functional determination of the artefacts. The present study conducted by an interdisciplinary research group allows to precise the procurement of obsidian in Arslantepe and to better understand the external relations of the site over time. This research also questions and discusses the preferential choice of the obsidian sources through time, in relation with various factors such as distance, quality and abundance of the raw material as well as sociocultural influences. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.