Résumé
Our study suggests that the history of civilisations
in the Eastern Mediterranean has been partially
affected by climate by contributing to social unrest
and migration. Five important cold periods have been
identified in the Hala Sultan Tekke palaeoclimate
reconstruction at 5250±20, 4215±40, 3200±90, 1400±70
and 620±20 years BP. Each cold period is consistent
with a significant instability in precipitation, mainly
for winter and spring seasons. The 3.2ka BP event
is not an isolated event and is part of the 1000-year
cycles between the main cold and dry episodes at 5200,
4200 and 3200 BP. When occurring coevally, climate
and socio-economic factors were probably important
drivers of major crises, which appears to have been
the case at Hala Sultan Tekke during the final period
of the Late Bronze Age.