◗ Simultaneous destruction of settlements in the same latitude around the world
◗ Sudden abandonment of settlements ◗ Sudden & inexplicable disturbance of the archaeological chronostratigraphy
◗ Existence of dispersed destroyed architectural items or other objects (mud, wood, tiles, ceramics) / artifacts within the settlement
◗ ‘Selected’ destruction of objects’ groups
◗ Specific arrangement of the destroyed remains within the area
◗ Existence of marine materials within the settlement (sea weeds, mud, malacological material)
◗ Existence of unburied or hastily buried dead bodies
◗ No evidence of life in a previous dense populated areas
◗ Existence of skeletal materials showing evidence of violent death in situ
◗ Palaeopathological data (e.g. data of diseases or symptoms related to radio-activity, rapid increase of specific diseases after an event)
◗ Adaptation Culture (Mastuzawa 1988): a behaviour of adaptation to disaster is reflected in archaeological traces
- Sudden and inexplicable change from sedantism to nomadism
- Gradual reduction of living space within the settlement
- Gradual reduction or absence of community’s ‘investments’ on construction works
- Appearance of ‘crisis’ architecture (e.g. handy constructions, repairs, changes of luxurious rooms into warehouses & stalls, more reconstructions and repairs of ruined areas)
- Increase in the construction of protective walls in parallel with reduction in the ‘escape passages’ (e.g. doors, streets within the settlement)
- Sudden changes in the water supply system
◗ Crisis Cult
- Abandonment of open-air cults in the periphery and preference in indoor or ‘city’ cults
- Sudden crisis in ancient religious beliefs and traditions
- Magical behaviours to control a disaster
* Abhorrence for the red colour
* Worship of Earth
* Ceremonies to purify wells
* Obsession with certain ceremonies (e.g. trepanation)
* Universal symbols of disasters & hazardous phenomena (e.g. comets as dragons)
* Celebration of ill-omened days
* Burial of luxurious or religious items in hidden hoards
- H istorical sources & oral traditions (legends, myths)
* Written testimonies for disasters
* Artistic representations of events
* Traditions for the disappearance or appearance of land masses
* Wrath of gods
* Movement of ancestors to other lands, epic journeys & colonizations, heroic deeds
* Divine fires from Heaven, Cataclysms, darkness, plagues, giants, monsters
- Sudden turn into concentralization (economic, social, political levels)
- Sudden signs of central authorities’ disintegration
- Sudden changes in commerce routes
- Sudden preference in local goods and materials
- Sudden technological changes
- Sudden changes in political alliances, or in war’s, conflicts’ and invasions’ rates
- Massive movements of people
