Through a longitudinal ethnographic case study, this research discusses the entanglements between climate change, archaeology, heritage, and local communities. Once a fertile agricultural zone, central Türkiye has been accelerating through “bad year economics” due to ecological drought. Water shortage is a severe problem affecting agricultural practices and yields. The village of Şahmuratlı, located in Yozgat Province, lies next to the famous Iron-Age site of Kerkenes, the biggest pre-Hellenistic archaeological site in Anatolia. The globally known ancient city is located on a mountaintop and surrounded by a 7 km fortification wall. The international archaeological project has been working on the site since 1993. The villagers are primarily small-scale subsistence farmers and practice cash-crop agriculture and pastoralism. Some residents work at the sugar factory, local coal mines, and as laborers at the archaeological site during the summer. Agriculture and pastoralism have been diminishing due to ecological drought and economic poverty, which has resulted in many villagers migrating to urban centers in Türkiye and European countries as economic migrants. The ethnographic case study reveals the villagers’ affective relationship with the land and soil, traditional practices that deal with the lack of rain informed by Islamic beliefs, and the archaeological site’s multiple pasts. The paper argues that the strategies dealing with climate change and injustice should emerge from an in-depth understanding of local perceptions of the past, heritage, environment, and landscape. This research also explains how climate change has caused economic migration and cultural shifts, presenting intergenerational injustices and intersectional challenges. Thus, it illustrates how ecological drought, economic poverty, and heritage preservation intersect, shaping the community’s way of life.