Pollen analysis of two travertine sections in Baskoy (southwestern Turkey): implications for environmental conditions during the early Holocene

Two travertine sections in the valley of Baskoy, near the archaeological si re of Sagalassos have been palynologically investigated. The base of one of these sections has been dated to 9000 +/- 600 yr B.P. by the U/Th dating t echnique. The pollen diagrams of both sections reveal the importance of dec iduous Quercus and Betula woodlands during deposition of the travertine. Th e development of woodlands in the early Holocene implies an increase in hum idity after the Late Pleistocene. An annual precipitation of at least 500 m m/yr is suggested. A study of the delta(18)O values of the travertines in t he sections indicates a change to higher precipitation temperatures of the travertines and hence a climatic change to higher air temperatures around 9 000 +/- 600 yr B.P. This increase in temperature is not documented in the p ollen diagrams. The evaluation of the local pollen curves provides addition al information on the depositional environment. The facies and pollen analy ses indicate that the travertines were deposited in a fluvial-barrage syste m. High abundances of Cyperaceae pollen suggest a marshy environment and fl uctuating water levels of this early Holocene fluvial-barrage system. High percentages of Poaceae and/or Aster and Mentha-Thymus pollen types point to drier local conditions at the beginning and the end of the travertine accu mulation of both sections. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserv ed.