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Isotope Study Finds Ancient Levantine Farmers Prioritized Wine, Irrigating Vineyards in Dry Times

Stable carbon isotope readings from 1,514 charred grape and olive remains link water stress to precipitation patterns, pointing to deliberate irrigation.

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Research into how Bronze Age people preserved their grape crops shows the importance of wine to them, both socially and economically
A bunch of grapes sitting on top of a metal table.

Overview

  • The peer-reviewed analysis in PLOS One measured Δ13C in 1,514 grape and olive seeds and woods from sites across the Levant and northern Mesopotamia.
  • Grapevine samples averaged about 3.7‰ higher Δ13C than olive, reflecting species differences in water-use efficiency under stress.
  • Mean Δ13C values track reconstructed average precipitation and regional gradients, revealing a gradual drying trend over the study period.
  • Signals align with known Holocene events at approximately 4.2 and 3.2 kyr BP and with drought at the end of the e BronzBronze Age, supporting episodes of irrigation, including of olive trees.
  • The dataset indicates sustained investment in viticulture, including irrigation in marginal zones, and an Iron Age concentration of sites in wetter areas above roughly 500 mm RAP.