10.04.2013 Views

Tracing the Source of the Elephant And Hippopotamus Ivory from ...

Tracing the Source of the Elephant And Hippopotamus Ivory from ...

Tracing the Source of the Elephant And Hippopotamus Ivory from ...

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

The Eastern Mediterranean and <strong>the</strong> Nile<br />

The seawater <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> eastern Mediterranean, especially along <strong>the</strong> Levantine coast,<br />

has a 87 Sr/ 86 Sr value directly affected by <strong>the</strong> fluvial strontium input <strong>from</strong> <strong>the</strong> Nile, which<br />

is mirrored by <strong>the</strong> surface sediments as well. Stable oxygen and carbon isotopes <strong>from</strong><br />

two cores <strong>of</strong>f <strong>the</strong> coast <strong>of</strong> sou<strong>the</strong>rn Israel (see Figure 52 for location) were evaluated by<br />

Schilman et al. (2001) to illustrate this process, and in particular <strong>the</strong> effects <strong>of</strong> climatic<br />

and environmental changes in <strong>the</strong> sou<strong>the</strong>ast Mediterranean during <strong>the</strong> Late Holocene (3.6<br />

ka BP). The factors contributing to <strong>the</strong> δ 18 O value <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> seawater and sediment <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

Sou<strong>the</strong>ast Mediterranean are outlined in Figure 53. These factors include water coming<br />

<strong>from</strong> <strong>the</strong> Atlantic Ocean through <strong>the</strong> Strait <strong>of</strong> Gibraltar, sediment <strong>from</strong> Saharan dust<br />

(composed primarily <strong>of</strong> Precambrian rocks), water <strong>from</strong> rainfall over <strong>the</strong> Mediterranean,<br />

Figure 52: Location <strong>of</strong> two cores, indicated by a star (Schilman et al. 2001: 159).<br />

138

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!