Fig 1.
Location map of Kharaneh IV and the other sites mentioned.
Fig 2.
Plan view of key excavation units and profiles at Kharaneh IV.
Sampled loci highlighted in red.
Fig 3.
Schematic illustrating the effect of precipitation on a) steppe and b) wetland environments.
Fig 4.
Schematic model illustrating the effect of precipitation on lower risk foraging and higher risk foraging potentials in wetland versus the steppe/parkland zones.
Table 1.
Sample list with loci descriptions, contexts and lab numbers.
Fig 5.
Modern phytolith microfossil comparative examples (scale 50 μm).
a. Arundo donax (leaf), cross short cell (circled); b. A. donax (leaf), bulliform (arrow), bilobe short cell (circled); c. Phragmites australis (leaf), stacked keystone bulliforms (inset, single cell in plan view); d. Quercus pubesence (leaf), Polyhedrons (multi-cell); e. Cyperus rotundus (leaf), sedge cones; f. P. australis (culm), narrow ‘pinched’ short cell (circled), echinate long cell (arrow); g. P. australis (leaf), ‘hamburger’ stoma (circled); h. Hordeum spontaneum (husk), rondel short cell (circled), dendritic long cell (arrow a), papillae (arrow b).
Table 2.
Phytolith microfossil identification criteria and reference.
Fig 6.
a. wild grass husk; b. panicoid grass; c. scalloped dicot leaf; d. Phragmites sp. culm; e. sedge cones.
Fig 7.
Histogram of Grass Short-cell Comparison Ratios.
Pooid to pooid, panicoid and chloridoid grass ratio is a proxy for temperature (higher ratio indicates cooler conditions). Chloridoid to chloridoid and panicoid grass ratio is a proxy for precipitation (higher ratio indicates drier conditions).
Fig 8.
Histogram of ecozone-type phytoliths.
Table 3.
Phytolith microfossils categorized according to ecozone-type.
Fig 9.
Histogram of psilate (stem) and dendritic (husk) single-cell phytoliths.
Percentage scale is 75–100%.
Fig 10.
Histogram of dicot leaves and dicot wood phytoliths.