Evaluating the impact of Black Sea flooding on the Neolithic of northern Turkey

Abstract

Originally formulated based on marine geological research concerned with the timing and tempo of the Black Sea infilling, the Black Sea flood Hypothesis (BSfH) argues that this process was a catastrophic event ~7150 BP that greatly impacted the prehistoric peoples who lived along the ancient shoreline. The resulting mass migration of peoples led to great transformations across Europe and southwest Asia. Continued research in the region has challenged the timing and impact of the event, arguing instead that it was neither sudden nor catastrophic. However, the BSfH continues to be invoked as a plausible explanation for the lack of early Holocene or Neolithic period sites in northern Turkey. Results from spatial modelling along the Turkish coast suggest that the explanatory power of the BSfH to explain this absence is exaggerated. Rather, other environmental and social factors must be considered in explaining the complete lack of early Holocene sites across the region.