The investigation of rapid sea-level and climate change is critical to understanding the geologic history of the Black Sea and its effect on ancient civilizations of the region and adjacent areas. The current consensus of western scientists is that only local sea-level curves may be constructed because of local-to-regional changes in sedimentation, tectonics, and other factors. Recently, however, I.P. Balabanov published a synoptic sea-level curve for the entire Black Sea that spans the Pleistocene-Holocene transition and the Holocene based on older radiocarbon dates. This curve has been heavily criticized and is viewed skeptically by western workers for the reasons already...