The effects of the 8.2 ka event on the natural environment of Tell Sabi Abyad, Syria: Implications for ecosystem resilience studies

Research on ecosystem resilience and climate–ecosystem interactions is extremely complex due to the large variety of factors that play a role in ecosystem functioning. This study aimes at determining which factors are involved in ecosystem resilience, which methods are needed to investigate this, and how archaeology can contribute to such research. The influence of the 8.2 ka climate event on the natural environment of Tell Sabi Abyad, Syria, serves as a case study for larger-scale ecosystem resilience studies. This study presents some critical notes to the assumption that the changes which took place in Tell Sabi Abyad at the timing of the 8.2 ka event were a direct result of climate change triggered by the event. Though a number of changes in culture and farming methods date back to the timing of the 8.2 ka event, as yet no evidence has been found for wild flora and fauna shifts which could indicate climate deterioration. Other factors that could have influenced the changes observed in the archaeological record, like anthropogenic influences or cultural development, should not be ruled out as determining factors for the changes that took place at Tell Sabi Abyad at the timing of the 8.2 ka event.