Late Holocene dune mobilizations in the northwestern Negev dunefield, Israel: A response to combined anthropogenic activity and short-term intensified windiness Joel Roskin * , Itzhak Katra, Dan G. Blumberg Department of Geographyand Environmental Development, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel article info Article history: Available online xxx abstract The study of the effects of past climates on ancient cultures is usually based on geologic records per- taining to rainfall and temperature fluctuations and shifts. This study proposes a paradigm of anthro- pogenic activity and windiness fluctuations to explain aeolian sedimentation and dune mobilization in the northwestern (NW) Negev Desert dunefield (Israel). The proposed paradigm contributes a different approach to estimating the effect of climate changes on the unprecedented agricultural and urban settlement expansion during the late Roman to Early Islamic period in the northern and central Negev Desert. This study builds upon the late Holocene cluster of luminescence ages, coupled with analysis of archaeological finds and historical texts. Whereas the NW Negev dunefield was generally stable during the Holocene, intermittent dune mobilization during the late Holocene, at w1.8 ka and mostly 1.4e1.1 ka (w600e900 CE), are linked to periods of human occupation. The idea that the last glacial dune encroachments alone that formed the NW Negev dunefield is connected to cold-event windy climates that may have intensified East Mediterranean cyclonic winter storms, cannot explain the late Holocene dune mobilizations. A conceptual model indicates a connection between late Holocene dune mobiliza- tion, widespread anthropogenic occupation and activity, and windiness. Historic grazing and uprooting shrubs for fuel in the past by nomads and sedentary populations led to decimation of dune stabilizers, biogenic soil crusts and vegetation, causing dune erodibility and low-grade activity. Short-term events of amplified wind power in conjunction with periods of augmented anthropogenic activity that triggered major events of dune mobilization (elongation) and accretion have been preserved in the dune chro- nostratigraphy. Because they were short-lived, the dune mobilization events, corresponding windiness, and probable dustiness which were examined affected the northern Negev landscape differentially. However, they cannot be shown to have affected the environment sufficiently to influence the decline of the late Byzantine and Early Islam agricultural establishment. This study demonstrates the sensitivity of dunes in arid and semi-arid regions to a combination of local and short-term fluctuations in windiness at times of widespread grazing (anthropogenic activity). The results indicate that in similar future scenarios, sand mobilization may be similarly retriggered to varying degrees. Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The late Holocene is the period when landscape and vegetation were profoundly transformed from a generally unmanaged state to a state reflecting both the ideology and economies of growing populations in a given area (Wilkinson, 2003). Interpretations of the rise and fall of societies and archaeological cultures generally include some reference to climatic events (Rambeau, 2010), although the extent of this influence is under debate. Palaleocli- matic interpretations in the Levant mainly focus on wet-dry and cold-hot paradigms (Rambeau 2010, and references within) and not windiness and dustiness. The rise and fall of the Byzantine Empire in the Mediterranean basin has been attributed by some researchers to increase and decrease in rainfall, respectively, using palaeoclimatic interpretation and the relevance of geographic determinism. Fluvial deposits especially have attracted the atten- tion of researchers in this regard. The “historical fill” from the Byzantine era which is found throughout the Mediterranean region has been explained with reference to the influence of human activities on the landscape or to climate change, mostly wetter * Corresponding author. E-mail address: yoelr@bgu.ac.il (J. Roskin). Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Quaternary International journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/quaint 1040-6182/$ e see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2012.10.034 Quaternary International xxx (2012) 1e14 Please cite this article in press as: Roskin, J., et al., Late Holocene dune mobilizations in the northwestern Negev dunefield, Israel: A response to combined anthropogenic activity and short-term intensified windiness, Quaternary International (2012), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.quaint.2012.10.034