New crop stable isotope evidence reveals the impact of the 3.2 ka rapid climate event on arable agricultural production at late Bronze Age – Iron Age Hattuşa, Central Anatolia

Journal article

Investigations into the nature of Bronze Age urban agriculture in Western Eurasia have shown that expanding populations utilized farming regimes that focused on low-input cereal production. These management systems were capable of providing food for daily consumption and long-term storage, but could leave societies vulnerable to climatic fluctuations, with wider implications for the politics and ecology of these ancient states. This paper will present new stable carbon and nitrogen crop isotopic data from the Hittite capital of Hattuşa, Central Anatolia, providing a unique opportunity to consider the city both during its ‘heyday’ and in the aftermath of the Late Bronze Age collapse. The results present evidence for the effects of the 3.2 ka rapid climate event on the Hittite capital and consider how increased regional aridity contributed to the disintegration of the Hittite empire. The results reported also show that incoming Iron Age communities were forced to modify preexisting farming practices to overcome continuing adverse climatic conditions in the region, demonstrating the resilience of these early farmers and the complexity of ancient food production systems.

Authors: Diffey, C; Neef, R; Schachner, A; Seeher, J; Bogaard, A

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Journal: Holocene
• Publication date: 2025-12-08
• Acceptance date: 2025-11-17
• DOI: 10.1177/09596836251396091
• EISSN: 1477-0911
• ISSN: 0959-6836
• Language: English
• Keywords: crop stable isotope analysis; Late Bronze Age – Iron Age Central Anatolia; ancient crop husbandry regimes; 3.2 ka climate change event; Hittites; Late Bronze Age collapse