Vanessa Heyvaert

Assessing human impact on alluvial fan development: a multidisciplinary case-study from Lower Khuzestan (SW Iran)

This paper presents a multidisciplinary approach for studying the evolution of an alluvial fan system in Lower Khuzestan (SW Iran). The study draws on previously collected data from geological and archaeological field campaigns and new data derived from the interpretation of satellite imagery and historical textual sources. Three alluvial fans were identified, successively deposited by the Jarrahi river in progressively downstream/westward direction. Judging from archaeological and historical evidence, the successive phases appear to coincide with a relocation of settlement and irrigation activities. The distributary system of the present-day fan developed over a period of less than four centuries. It is suggested that management of levee breaks by man played a key role in such rapid fan development and in maintaining extremely low gradients. Judging from the extensive patterns of ancient irrigation canals, human activity also played an important role in the formation of the earlier fans.

Mapping Late Holocene Landscape Evolution and Human Impact – A Case Study from Lower Khuzestan (SW Iran)

Abstract Recent advances in the fields of remote sensing and GIS provide the techniques to establish a firm geomorphological framework to the historical and archaeological studies in the Mesopotamian region. This study presents a practical approach for the mapping of the semi-arid, alluvial landscapes of Lower Khuzestan. As elsewhere in Mesopotamia, the landscapes here are strongly affected by anthropogenic processes, most evidently expressed by widespread irrigation patterns. The image interpretation key and map legend are therefore designed explicitly to reflect these typical alluvial and human-induced landforms. The working procedure is based on easily accessible and inexpensive source material, notably Landsat and CORONA imagery, SRTM elevation data and readily available topographical maps, and was successfully applied in a case study on the evolution of the Jarrahi River. The resulting map, together with information from other disciplines, provided insights into the complex landscape evolution of the study area and a useful base for further research.

Geoarchaeological Research in Lower Khuzestan: State of the Art

This chapter presents an overview of the geoarchaeological research carried out, including new evidence on the Holocene palaeoenvironmental evolution of the plain, in particular the positions of the Persian Gulf coastline and the main rivers. The reconstruction is based on the analysis of the geological and archaeological data collected during the field campaigns in 2004, and new evidence derived from textual sources, maps, satellite images and aerial photographs. It concerns mainly the integration of the results of three recently completed PhD studies and additional remote sensing data. By means of a number of case-studies, the different datasets were integrated with a recently completed geomorphological map. The case-studies provide new insights into the complex human-environmental interactions in the plain, and demonstrate the added value of a multidisciplinary approach in such studies. Keywords:geoarchaeological research; Holocene; human-environmental interaction; Lower Khuzestan; palaeoenvironmental evolution; Persian Gulf coastline