MICRO-XRF GEOCHEMICAL RECORD OF CHANGING COASTAL ENVIRONMENTS AT PREHISTORIC LIMAN TEPE, TURKEY

Liman Tepe was an important maritime trade center during the Bronze Age and Classical Period. Pottery finds have suggested an earlier Neolithic occupation; however a settlement of this age has not yet been discovered. Previous geomorphological studies indicate that a combination of post-LGM sea-level rise and coastal tectonic subsidence have significantly altered the coastal environments and shoreline configuration at Liman Tepe over the last 8,000 years. During the Early Bronze Age, sea level was more than 5-6 m below present. A digital bathymetric model completed in 2010 shows submerged wadi channels and paleoshoreline features (10-12 m water depth) that have been interpreted as prehistoric (Neolithic-Chalcolithic) age shorelines. The objective of this study is to reconstruct the prehistoric shoreline configuration at Liman Tepe to guide future exploration of submerged sites. In 2017, seven marine sediment cores (1-3 m length) were collected in the shallow inshore area north of Liman Tepe for sedimentological and geochemical analysis. Geochemical analysis was conducted on split cores using an ITRAX micro-XRF (X-ray fluorescence) core scanner. Preliminary data show distinct downcore trends in Si, Ti, K, Fe and other elements, indicating changes in terrigenous sediment inputs to the marine environment, and possibly linked prehistoric land use changes (e.g. agriculture, settlement construction and onset of metal working). Future work will involve integration of sediment geochemical profiles and other sedimentary proxies with the digital bathymetric model to reconstruct the sites paleogeography and shoreline evolution.