A thin section micromorphology photomicrographs dataset of the infilling of the Sennacherib Assyrian canal system (Kurdistan Region of Iraq).

Here we present a compendium of 212 photographs of archaeological soils and sediments thin sections (micrographs) from the backfill of the Sennacherib Assyrian canal system of Northern Mesopotamia. The micrographs were produced using an optical petrographic microscope (Olympus BX41) mounting a digital camera (Olympus E420) for image acquisition. The dataset is composed of two folders containing (1) every micrograph in full resolution JPEG, and (2) a PDF file with scale bars and brief captions for each one.

Neolithic hydroclimatic change and water resources exploitation in the Fertile Crescent.

In the first millennia of the Holocene, human communities in the Fertile Crescent experienced drastic cultural and technological transformations that modified social and human-environments interactions, ultimately leading to the rise of complex societies. The potential influence of climate on this "Neolithic Revolution" has long been debated. Here we present a speleothem record from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, covering from Early Neolithic to Early Chalcolithic periods (~ 11 to 7.