Structuring the Late Stone Age of Southeastern Arabia

Arab. arch. epig. 3 : 1992: 65-109

Struckulng the Late Stone Age of Southeastern Arabia

MARGARETHE UERPMANN Institut fur Urgeschichte, Universitat Tiibingen, Germany

This paper treats the classification of a number of facies in the Late Stone Age of Southeastern Arabia. The basis for this classification is a selection of substantial find complexes of chipped stone artifacts from sites located along the coast of Oman. Human occupation in the region dates to the beginning of the Holocene, but insufficient material is available for the first quarter of the post-Pleistocene era. At the beginning of the second quarter of the Holocene, we find a relatively undifferentiated stone tool-using facies (Wadi-Wutayya-Facies) which was apparently contemporary with the Qatar B blade-arrowhead horizon in the interior of the Oman peninsula. Early in the 5th millennium BC, the Wadi-Wutayya-Facies was superseded by the Saruq-Facies which can be seen as a local variant of the “Arabian bifacial tradition”. The high point in the Late Stone Age occupation of the coast was reached early in the 4th millennium BC when various local facies can be distinguished. These include the Ra’s-al-Hamra-Facies in the central coastal zone around Muscat and the Bir-Bira-Facies in the area around Sur. This phase, which was characterized particularly by the formation of shell middens, seems to have lasted only about 500 years. An essentially aceramic occupation on the coast of the Gulf of Oman, called the Bandar-Jissa-Facies, represents the final phase in the classification of Late Stone Age occupation outlined here. This facies was characterized by the use of a simple stone tool industry alongside of metal artifacts, and was contemporary with the Early Bronze age occupation of the southern and southwestern flanks of the Oman mountains. Information on categories of finds other than chipped stone, particularly those made of groundstone and shell, as well as observations on the economic and environmental history of the periods discussed, complement the study of the stone tool industries and form the basis for an outline of the history of Southeastern Arabia in the second quarter of the post-glacial era.

* This paper is a shortened and translated version of a report to the “Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft” which provided the funds for a study of Holocene chipped stone industries in Oman by the present author. The sections on economy and ecology have made use of the unpublished results of Hans-Peter Uerpmann. The ms. was completed in September, 1990.

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1. Introduction Archaeological exploration in Southeastern Arabia, i.e. the so-called Oman Peninsula between the Arabian Sea and the Gulf, comprises only a few decades of scientific activity. However, impressive results have already been obtained which reveal the importance of this area during certain periods, particularly in the 3rd millennium BC when Oman was an important link in the network connecting the emerging complex societies of Mesopotamia, on the one hand, and the Indus valley on the other.

From the beginning of archaeological research in this area, the Stone Age substratum of the cultures flourishing here in the 3rd millennium was of interest to some scholars (I). Large surface scatters of flint and chert artifacts were discovered during the early archaeological surveys, particularly in the areas to the south and west of the Hajar chains between the mountains proper and the sands of the Rub al-Khali. It was obvious, therefore, that Oman was in fact populated during at least part of the Stone Age. However, apart from these stone artifacts there were no remains which could help with the interpretation of these sites. A common conclusion found in many publications was to urge for excavations at stratified Stone Age sites in Southeastern Arabia (2). A survey of the history of Stone Age research in Eastern Arabia is given by Edens (3).

The first stratified Stone Age sites to be excavated in Oman were the shell middens of Ra's al-Hamra near Muscat (4). In the beginning there was only negative evidence in support of a Stone Age classification for these sites. There was no pottery to enchant the Near Eastern archaeologist; there was nothing to indicate an Early Islamic date. Thus, they had to be pre-Bronze Age. However, the projectile points and other bifacially worked flint tools known from Stone Age sites in the interior were lacking as well. Only stone and shell jewelry from some burials and the type of the burials themselves gave vague hints of their date. Without radiocarbon dating the archaeologist who had to classify these sites would have been quite helpless. In ferra incognita, even stratified sites - like the shell middens - could not easily be approached as long as the internal structure of the Stone Age in this part of the world was unknown.

2. Remarks on terminology and classification principles In light of knowledge gained along the Atlantic coasts of Europe, it is usual to associate shell middens with the term Mesolithic. Dividing the Stone Age into major periods like the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic is, at least theoretically, based on funda- mental differences in the subsistence of each respective group (5). These differences are well defined for Europe and the Near East.

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STRUCTURING THE LATE STONE AGE OF S.E. ARABIA

However the xerotropical northern shorelands of the Indian Ocean do not provide the same environmental conditions. Thus prehistoric subsistence, to the extent that it is environmentally conditioned, may have evolved according to unknown principles. Therefore, the terms Mesolithic and Neolithic should be avoided in this area. Instead, the term Late Stone Age is used here and is presently meant to incorporate the entire Post-Pleistocene period down to the Bronze Age. In the Sultanate of Oman the term "aceramic" has to some extent been used as a synonym for "Late Stone Age" (6). This should be avoided because finds of Ubaid pottery in Late Stone Age contexts have been reported from the Gulf coast of the Emirates and are well known from Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

The pioneer in dealing with the internal structure of the Stone Age in Eastern Arabia was H. Kapel in his work on Qatar (7). His phasing has also been adopted in descriptions of the Late Stone Age in Oman (8). O n the basis of typological comparisons, Kapel defined four units - Qatar A, B, C, and D - which were thought to succeed each other chronologically. A was considered a Mouster- ian-related Palaeolithic; B was connected to the Early Neolithic of the Levant; C was mainly defined by the lack of typical implements of either A, B, or D; and D comprised a lithic complex characterized by the occurrence of bifacially worked arrowheads with stem and barbs.

To some extent Kapel's phases, which were defined with no stratigraphic evidence to hand, have remained valid to the present day. Only phase A was found to represent nothing but a local facies of the so-called "Arabian Bifacial Tradition", otherwise comprised in phase D (9). Excavations in Eastern Saudi Arabia comfirmed the chronoIogica1 succession of B and D (lo), two units of importance for Southeastern Arabia as well. O n the other hand, it is evident that any approach based on typology alone will always remain unsatisfactory.

As a means of revealing the internal structure of the Late Stone Age in Oman, formal typology was rejected not only because of the Qatar example. The very nature of the lithic industries of the shell middens on the coast of the Gulf of Oman excluded this approach because there were almost no definable types. Implements of recurring form - although always rare - were restricted to certain sites. If only these finds had been selected, very little new information would have been added to the various evaluations of surface materials from the area (11).

Complete quantification of discrete lithic assemblages was seen as one possibility of overcoming the limits of formal typology, and functional morphology as another. The respective methods were developed during studies of Neolithic and Chalcolithic flint complexes from Central and Western Europe (12).

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Meaningful quantification needs defined assemblages. The minimum requirement for assemblages to be considered worthy of quantification is that they must represent meaningful archaeological units. However, standards applied in this respect cannot be very high in Southeast Arabia. Excavated samples defined by the vertical and horizontal boundaries of an excavation unit are rare. Surface collections were included when they were complete within defined horizontal boundaries and when there was evidence of chronological uniformity. It is important that every piece of chipped flint, types, tools, debitage, chips, fragments, etc. be included in a collection. If this is not the case, quantification remains meaningless.

3. Sites used for the study of lithic industries Flint complexes studied in detail came mainly from two areas on the north coast of the Sultanate of Oman, the Capital area and the

Fig. 1. Map of Southeast Arabia with study areas and sites mentioned in the text.

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Quriyat area (Fig. I). Additional sites studied for particular purposes are also indicated on this map.

Within the Capital area, sites are mainly located around the mouth of Wadi Aday to the west of the old cities of Musqat and Mutrah. Wadi Aday is the main aquifer of this region. Where it meets the sea, a mangrove swamp is still preserved today. The flat coast of the Batinah ends west of the mouth of Wadi Aday. Along the coastline to the east are the limestone cliffs of Ra’s al-Hamra. Thus, an outstanding degree of ecological diversity characterizes this part of the Capital area (13). O n the cliffs of Ra’s al-Hamra are the shell middens excavated by the Italian mission, under the direction of Maurizio Tosi. Their lithic industries are still under study but some results were made available to the present author. A group from Tubingen University under the direction of Hans-Peter Uerpmann located further sites in the hinterland of Ra’s al-Hamra, of which Wadi Wutayya and Samq are the most important (14).

Wadi Wutayya is known for its prehistoric rock art (15). During a visit in 1979, H.-P. Uerpmann noted a thin surface scatter of flint artifacts on the wadi bottom. Soundings in 1983 at the southern end of the Wadi revealed a sequence of Stone Age layers over 1 m thick in the wadi gravels. Several fireplaces were found in situ which gave radiocarbon dates of 9615f65, 7250k85, 5725 100, and 3525k65 years BP (16). The youngest fireplace was in a shallow pit which contained two tiny sherds of a painted Umm an-Nar vessel. Shells from the uppermost layer of the gravels surrounding this pit gave a radiocarbon date of 5555k65 yBP, which must be corrected for the reservoir-effect by about 800 years (17). Thus, the youngest flint-containing layers of the Wadi Wutayya sequence must have formed at about 4750 yBP. The entire sequence comprises 8 vertical, stratigraphic units, and yielded a total of 6058 chipped stone artifacts.

The site of Saruq was located on the summit of a limestone hill south of the village of Saruq. Both the site and the village were destroyed when the area was given over to the embassy quarter of the new capital of the Sultanate of Oman. The original surface was covered with a dense scatter of mollusc shells. Among these shells a total of 6892 flints were collected systematically in 1983 in an area little more than 1300 m’. Soundings in two squares, where stone heaps offered some hope for preservation of prehistoric layers, yielded no results. Probably the site was never covered by any sediment. Three samples of shell of the mangrove snail Erebra- lia palustvis from different areas of the site gave dates of 6685f 105, 6445 f 100, and 6275+ 100 yBP, which also must be corrected for the reservoir-effect by 800 years to values between about 5500 and 5900 yBP. Because of the proximity of these dates and because of the uniformity of the lithic industry, it seems likely that, in spite of

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MARGARETHE UERPMANN

the lack of deposits, the finds from this site can be treated as a unit. The kind of flint artifacts found at Saruq and their comparatively high number lend special importance to this site.

Together with the Ra’s al-Hamra shell middens and minor sites not dealt with in this context, the Capital area offers Late Stone Age sites which span the whole period from the very beginning of the Holocene to the 3rd millennium BC.

The second area in which lithic industries were studied is situated around the town of Quriyat about 80 km southeast of Muscat. Several Stone Age sites border the coastal plain formed by three major wadis. Two large shell middens, Khor Milkh 1 and 2 (KM I and 2), are almost in the center of the plain. They were found by Phillips & Wilkinson (18) and studied by the Tubingen group in 1986. The surface scatter of KM 1 covers an old dune in an area of about 300 by 150 m. Systematic collection was carried out in the central 3200 mz. A total of 4522 flint artifacts were collected. Soundings in two square meters revealed shell midden layers about 1 meter thick. There was no indication of marked cultural changes during the occupation of the site. Many pieces of jewelry made of shell or soft stone show parallels to finds from Ra’s al-Hamra in the Capital area. Three dates on oyster shells from the lower, middle and upper layers of both soundings are so close to each other that they can be combined into a single value of 5250k50 yBP. Al- though this has still to be corroborated through control measurements, oyster shells seem to have no reservoir effect in their radiocarbon contents because they grow at the high tide level and are normally exposed to the air.

Khor Milkh 2 is slightly younger than KM 1. It is situated in a dune field about 500 m further south and consists of several shell and artifact scatters, mainly in the valleys between, but also on top of some dunes. Two radiocarbon dates made on oyster shells from widely separated shell concentrations are only 55 years apart and can be combined into a date of 4925k50 yBP. No depositional layers seem to be preserved at this site, although parts of it may still be buried under the dunes. Artifacts from the exposed scatters a-g were completely collected in 1986.

As indicated in Fig. I, finds from a number of other sites along the east coast of the Sultanate were also evaluated for this study. Most of these sites were discovered during the coastal surveys of the Italian mission, particularly by Paolo Biagi since 1983 (19).

Turning now to the interior of northern Oman, Lizq 3 is representative of the many Late Stone Age sites in this area. The site, which is located near Samad, was found by the German Mining Museum of Bochum under the direction of Gerd Weisgerber. According to Dijkmann (20), the site is a mining and knapping area for local cretaceous chert. The chipped stone industry of Lizq 3 could be

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included in our quantitative analysis because it was collected completely within defined borders. However, dating this collection is only possible through typological comparison.

The subdivision of the Late Stone Age in Southeastern Arabia as developed in this article is based mainly on the analysis of the chipped stone industry, which therefore needs to be discussed before other artifacts and some features of the economy can be dealt with.

4. The chipped stone industry 4.1 - Basic quantification By basic quantification we mean the sequentiaI grouping of the chipped stone collections according to the basic steps of the flint- happing process. In this process, flakes and cores are the primary products. "Neither-flake-nor-core" forms the category of 'others' as a necessary by-product. At this level of quantification a bifacially retouched arrowhead will be counted as a flake if such a piece can be deduced objectively as its blank. The principles of this quantification method were described in detail for Neolithic flints from Switzer- land (21). The basic groups are further divided into subgroups. The

Table I. Basic quantification of the complexes studied (in % of the total number of finds per site or unit).

Flakes Others

Cores raw- Total flakes blades chios cores debris mat. other n

Wadi Wutayya I Wadi Wutayya 11 Wadi Wutayya 111 Wadi Wutayya IV Wadi Wutayya V Wadi Wutavva VI-VIII

40.4 0.4 28.2 0.7 43.1 0.5 29.5 0.5 33.8 0.4 38.4 0.4 34.1 0.7 36.7 0.6 43.5 1.3 24.1 2.0 31.3 0.7 38.2 1.4

Djebel Wutayya 1 Diebel Wutavva 2

61.2 0.4 3.6 4.0 59.7 0.0 5.7 1.0

26.7 3.4 0.2 23.0 3.2 0.2 24.1 2.7 0.1 24.8 2.7 0.5 26.4 2.3 0.3 25.0 3.5 0.0

30.4 0.4 0.0 33.6 0.0 0.0

1000 1829 2124

662 299 144

2 73 494

Wutayya Ridge 64.3 0.0 9.6 2.6 20.9 0.9 1.8 115

Qurum North 67.7 0.0 2.2 1.1 26.9 2.2 0.0 93 Ourum South 60.0 0.0 0.0 4.0 36.0 0.0 0.0 25

Saruq (sample) 56.4 1.8 11.2 3.0 26.5 1.0 0.2 672 Saruq (soundings) 51.7 2.6 21.9 1.8 20.2 0.9 0.0 114

Khor Milkh 1 (surf.) 57.1 1.6 4.7 3.3 32.4 0.2 0.5 4522 Khor Milkh 1 (sdg. I) 26.3 1.7 39.9 0.6 31.2 0.0 0.2 634 Khor Milkh 1 (sdg. 2) 39.5 0.6 30.1 0.9 28.9 0.0 0.0 468

Khor Milkh 2 63.8 2.1 3.1 4.2 25.4 0.5 1.0 425

Lizq 3 42.8 1.6 1.5 13.2 39.6 0.9 0.5 1314

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Table 2. Relative frequencies of basic flint categories (without chips).

Flakes Others

Cores raw- flakes blades cores debris mat. other

Wadi Wutayya I 56.3 0.6 1.0 37.2 4.7 0.3 Wadi Wutayya 11 61.1 0.7 0.7 32.6 4.5 0.3 Wadi Wutayya 111 55.0 0.6 0.6 39.1 4.4 0.2 Wadi Wutayya IV 53.9 1.1 0.9 39.2 4.3 0.8 Wadi Wutayya V 57.3 1.7 2.6 34.8 3.0 0.4 Wadi Wutayya VI-VIII 50.6 1.1 2.3 40.5 5.7 0.0

Djebel Wutayya 1 63.5 0.4 4.1 31.5 0.4 0.0 Djebel Wutayya 2 63.3 0.0 1.1 35.6 0.0 0.0

Wutayya Ridge 71.1 0.0 2.9 23.1 1.0 2.0

Qurum North 69.2 0.0 1.1 27.5 2.2 0.0 Qurum South 60.0 0.0 4.0 36.0 0.0 0.0

Saruq (sample) 63.5 2.0 3.4 29.8 1.1 0.2 Saruq (soundings) 66.2 3.3 2.3 25.8 1.2 0.0

Khor Milkh 1 (surf.) 59.9 1.7 3.5 34.0 0.2 0.5 Khor Milkh 1 (sdg. 1) 43.8 2.8 1.0 51.9 0.0 0.3 Khor Milkh 1 (sdg. 2 ) 56.5 0.9 1.3 41.3 0.0 0.0

Khor Milkh 2 65.8 2.2 4.3 26.2 0.5 1.0

Liza 3 43.5 1.6 13.4 40.2 0.9 0.5

result is a hierarchical quantification according to the stages of production represented. For the purpose of this paper only one level of this hierarchy is shown in Table I, where the relative frequencies of some primary classes are listed.

The figures in Table 1 are based on actual counts. There is an obvious and expectable difference between excavated and surface- collected complexes. The much lower frequency of small chips in surface materials is not only due to insufficient recognition of these finds during collection. This is also due to the wind and rain which take small and flat chips away. The surface of shell middens in Oman regularly consists of an accumulation horizon where the larger and heavier pieces of shell and stone are concentrated. Chips and other small finds are blown and washed out together with the matrix, until some sort of veneer is formed on the site by the larger and heavier pieces, which then protect the deeper layers of the midden. To make the figures for surface and excavated materials comparable, they must therefore be normalized with regard to the frequency of chips. The result is shown in Table 2.

Even more than the figures in Table I, the normalized values of Table 2 show the high degree of similarity between all of the chipped stone collections, studied here both through time and

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across all of the northcentral Oman, with regard to the basic flint categories. The most remarkable feature is the low frequency of blades in all complexes. The Late Stone Age industries of Oman were obviously outside the influence of the leptolithic techno-tra- di tions.

However, the apparent basic uniformity of the Oman flint complexes across chronological and geographical boundaries is not con- sistent with the visible differences that strike the observer at first glance. Of course colors and patinations, which depend on local factors, are very important in creating a first impression. Apart from this, the appearance of a flint complex is mainly conditioned by the individual size of the specimens and the nature of their variation, which may again depend to some extent on local availability of raw material.

4.2 Raw maferials The natural occurrences of the main raw materials in the surround- ings of Wadi Wutayya and Saruq were investigated by H. G. Gebel (22). Flint sources can usually be reached on foot in less than two hours from both prehistoric sites. Nevertheless, the frequencies of particular raw materials differ between Wadi Wutayya and Saruq. The major raw materials of both sites consist mainly of small pebbles or nodules which limit the size of flakes from the beginning. Larger flakes were made out of coarse grained materials or limestone. In Wadi Wutayya the frequency of particular raw materials remains remarkably constant throughout the whole sequence. Quartz is very important here, as it is at younger sites like Bandar Jissa. In the area of Quriyat, on the other hand, quartz was rarely used, whereas quartzite is characteristic for the compIexes of both Khor Milkh I and 2. There it was used for the production of larger tools like scrapers and knives, whereas it is only found in the form of unretouched flakes in Wadi Wutayya and Saruq. Quartzite flakes differ in size and their angle of detachment in each area. As in the Capital Area, the raw material used in the Quriyat area comes from nearby sources, and consists mainly of pebbles found in the wadi gravels. Apparently the actual production of flint tools was carried out at the sites themselves.

4.3 Size analysis The easiest way to determine the overall size of objects made of the same material is to weigh them. In order to obtain some insight into the apparent size differences between the flint complexes of Oman, the distribution of individual specimen-weights was analyzed. Basic statistical parameters for some of these distributions are listed in Table 3 . Characterizing these distributions through mean values and deviation measures is problematic because, e.g.

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MARGARETHE UERPMANN

Table 3. Statistical figures for the weight distribution of chipped stone implements from selected sites (all figures except totals and deviations in grams).

Means Standard deviat.

Site: Max.' Median lin. alog.' Total Lizq 3 173.9 4.22 7.73 4.64 0.4315 1314

Saruq (sample) 466.6 0.99 5.49 1.15 0.6257 670

Khor Milkh 1 surface 1143.0 2.84 10.54 3.07 0.6363 4492 sounding I 55.7 0.20 1.14 0.33 0.5670 633 sounding 2 92.0 0.40 1.53 0.52 0.5598 467 total 1143.0 2.11 5.72 2.05 0.7137 5592

Khor Milkh 2 802.6 3.37 18.23 4.27 0.7080 421

Wadi Udayy 4 49.4 1.42 3.56 1.52 0,5539 273

Wadi Wutayya level I 83.0 2.02 3.99 1.57 0.6473 1000 level I1 385.0 2.07 3.87 1.47 0.6149 1829 levels I+I I 355.0 2.04 3.91 1.50 0.6267 2829 level 111 194.0 1.32 3.28 1.15 0.6494 2124 level IV 545.0 1.71 6.28 1.60 0.6949 662 levels III+IV 545.0 1.39 4.09 1.29 0.6627 2756 level V 203.0 2.47 8.22 2.05 0.6855 299 level VI 140.0 0.79 6.68 1.45 0.7269 124 levels VII+VIII 33.8 8.17 15.00 7.57 0.6382 20 levels V-VIII 203.0 2.24 8.44 2.07 0.7110 443 total 545.0 1.71 4.31 1.41 0.6566 6058

' minimum in all complexes below 0.1 g. antilogarithm of the mean value of the logarithmic weight distribution. standard deviation of the dekadic logarithmic weight distribution.

linear analysis of weight frequencies results in figures highly dis- torted by the random occurrence of occasional heavy cores. The median is a better figure for the average size of the specimens represented. However, there is no convenient way to describe the variation around a median value.

Based on general observations on the breakage of solids (23) , the weight distributions were analyzed on a logarithmic scale. Log- normal curves are the expected distributions in cases where solids have fractured randomly. As demonstrated in Fig. 2, 4, and 6 some of the resulting curves come close to normal distributions. Since the flint-knapping process does not usually result in random breakage, characteristic deviations from normality must be expected. These become visible when the vertical (frequency-) axis of the histogram is transformed logarithmically (Fig. 3, 5 , 7). For a truly normal distribution the resulting curve should now be a straight line. This is almost the case for Saruq (Fig. 5), but the other two sites deviate

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70

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90- 80- 70 - 60- 50- 40- 30 - 20 - 10 -

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in a characteristic way. As the steep rises of the curve at the lower and upper ends and the flattening in the middle show, there are too many pieces in the extreme quartiles and not enough in the middle. To some extent, because the happing process usually pro- duces parts of diverging size (and weight), namely a small flake and a large core, this is to be expected.

It is obvious from the weight distributions given for three of the Omani sites in Fig. 2 to 7 that the best measure for size differences

/ i i

,J,, - k M I

i’ 1 0 . 5 4 J

Fig. 2. Cumulative distribution of relative frequencies of individual weights of the flints from Lizq 3 plotted against logarithmic weight scale (x-axis) and linear frequency scale (y-axis). The horizontal line (50%) marks the median of the distribution; the vertical line indicates the position of the mean value which is also marked on the x-axis. Fig. 3. Individual weights of the flints from Lizq 3 as in Fig. 2, but plotted against bi-logarithmic frequency-axis (broken line= curve of Fig. 2). Fig. 4. Individual weights of the flints from Saruq (for explanation, see Fig. 2). Fig. 5. Individual weights of the flints from Saruq plotted against bi- logarithmic frequency-axis (for explanation, see Fig. 2 and 3). Fig. 6. Individual weights of the flints from Khor Milkh 1 (for explanation, see Fig. 2). Fig, 7. Individual weights of the flints from Khor Milkh 1 plotted against bi-logarithmic frequency-axis (for explanation, see Fig. 2 and 3).

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MARGARETHE UERPMANN

between the complexes analyzed is the antilogarithm of the mean of the logarithmic weight curve, and that variability is best ex- pressed by the standard deviation of this same distribution. Table 3 contains the respective figures for the complexes analyzed from Oman.

Three points need to be stressed with regard to the results contained in Table 3: 1. The mining site of Lizq 3 has the highest value for average

weight (=size) of the finds, combined with the lowest variability. 2 . There is no difference in average weightlsize between the sur-

face collected complex of Saruq and the excavated complexes of Wutayya.

3. There is a marked difference in average weight/size between the complexes from the Capital and the Quriyat area, but variability is similar on all living sites.

Access to local raw material may, to some extent, be responsible for the differences between the two areas. However, the quartzite used for the larger tools at the Quriyat sites was also available in the Capital area. It seems, therefore, that the strength of local traditions may have been a more important factor. The early sites in the Capital area are all characterized by low averages of weights/ sizes of the chipped stone industries. In the late levels of Wutayya (I+II), there is only a minor increase over the values of levels III+ Iv which are contemporary to Saruq (see below). No weights are yet available for the sites of Ra’s al-Hamra. The lithic finds from these shell middens might be slightly heavier/larger than the finds from Saruq, but it is easy to see that they will not reach the weights/ sizes of contemporary industries from Khor Milkh in the Quriyat area.

There is insufficient comparative and experimental evidence to permit a more refined interpretation of these differences. However, weight analysis is a useful tool for obtaining objective data on average sizes of large amounts of chipped stone material, and thus for differentiating mining and flint-knapping from living sites or for identifying distinctive techno-traditions, etc.

4.4 Technology The chipped stone industries of the area and period under consideration are characterized by primary flake production (see above). There may be slight increases of leptolithic tendencies during particular phases, but blade technology was never important. There is some evidence for bi-polar flaking, but in general flakes were produced from pebbles or nodules of siliceous raw materials without any core-preparation. Apparently the flint-knappers relied mainly on the direct blows of a hammerstone, which was normally softer than the flint, chert, quartz, or quartzite being worked. The term

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'opportunistic Iithic technology' (24) is rather optimistic with regard to the quality of the result. Poor control of the flaking process, together with the frequent use of low quality raw materials, resulted in a high proportion of finds which are neither flakes nor cores and are thus counted as 'debris'.

The frequency of retouched pieces is quite low for the early sites like Wutayya and Saruq (below 5%). It is higher at Khor Milkh 1 (7%) and Khor Milkh 2 (14%). There may be chronological significance in this, but the nature of the respective sites will also have influenced the relative number of retouched pieces found. If a site - like possibly Khor Milkh 2 - was only visited for a short period, the making of tools may have been more important than primary production. At a living site, on the other hand, basic blank production will have produced greater quantities of mainly unretouched waste.

Another difference between earlier and later sites, which reflects real technological development, is the fact that retouched pieces are not only more numerous at the later sites, but also show a greater degree of retouch. There is also an increase in the frequency of inverse retouch. Burin-blows and the production of large notches with only one blow are other technological features which seem characteristic of the later sites. A rare but characteristic feature of the earlier sites is invasive bifacial retouch, often in the form of pressure flaking.

4.5 Typology Hierarchic quantification of chipped stone industries proceeds after the separation of unretouched from retouched pieces with a classification of the latter according to potential tool functions. The degree of intentional forming is a basic attribute used in this classification. Different functions require more or less forming. In general, piercing tools need more intentional forming because they have to be tipped. Cutting tools, on the other hand, often need no forming at all because the unretouched edges of a flake can to some extent already be used for this purpose. Projectile points can either be seen as the most refined examples of piercing tools or they can be separated from the tools and considered weaponry. In any case, they lead the hierarchy mentioned above because their degree of forming is determined not only by a piercing function but also by ballistic requirements. In other kinds of weaponry aesthetic requirements may replace the ballistic aspect, but in any case the respective specimens will stand out from the types by their degree of intentional forming.

The classification process applied to the retouched finds starts at the top of the hierarchy. First, all highly elaborated elements are sorted out as weaponry or prestige objects. Then, all tipped ele-

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Fig. 8. Ra's-al-Hamran wedges: a 4 Wadi Wutayya (a-c from WW 111, d from WW IV); e-h Khor Milkh 1 (surface).

-

n

a

I n C

b d

e

0

ments are separated from the rest of the finds and classified as piercing tools. The next step is to extract all pieces with a working edge that is strong enough to be used transversely to the direction of the cutting edge, which is the case for scraping tools. Cutting tools form the next group. These have a thin working edge which permits use parallel to the direction of the edge. A thick edge and a low degree of overall forming characterizes the chopping tools, which represent a third group in which the working direction of use is perpendicular to that of the edge. When all these groups are separated, there will remain specimens which owe their actual form to a particular kind of use, but cannot be used any longer. These "attrition tools" are at the base of the hierarchy.

In describing the tools found in the Late Stone Age industries of Southeastern Arabia it is easiest to start at this end of the hierarchy.

4.5.1 Attrition tools. The most common form of attrition tool at all sites is the pith esquillk Usually these are flat with two or - rarely - four straight, parallel edges. Most of them are probably worn out chisels, but the larger pieces could also have been residual per- cussion cores.

The so-called "Hamrian punch', a special form of p i k e esquillke, is particularly abundant on certain sites (25) . It is wedge-shaped (Fig. 8) and was probably used for opening molluscs. Since "punch"

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I

0 25 50 mm - 1:2

is a ferrninus technicus for the indirect flaking device in blade production, and ”Hamrian” is a name already given to a Jordanian industry (26), the name ”Ra’s al-Hamra wedge” will be used instead. This type should not be confused with the “Ra’s al-Hamra drill” (see below) which is a retouched tool of similar shape, but one not formed by attrition.

4.5.2 Chopping tools. Choppers are found in all of the larger collections. Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish them from cores. How- ever, when the edge has been straightened by retouch and when its angle is fairly sharp, then it is likely that the piece had a chopping function. Chopping tools are often made of limestone or quartzite. At some sites one cannot exclude the possibility that some primi- tive-looking pebble tools are much older than the Late Stone Age. However, a good example (Fig. 9) from a Holocene context was found at Wadi Wutayya. The finds from Khor Milkh must aIso be post-Pleistocene because the whole area has only emerged in the Holocene as a result of rising sea-levels. Thus, there is no doubt that pebble tools were still used by the inhabitants of the Omani shell middens.

4.5.3 Cuffing tools. Most of the cutting tools from Late Stone Age sites in Oman are not very refined. Made from flakes, their retouch usually just follows the natural edge of the piece and is often discontinuous. Thus, the resulting forms are varied and formal types can hardly be described. This is particularly true at Wutayya. At Samq there is a little more intentional forming. A few blades even have retouch on both edges. Two tile-knives (Fig. 10) are important because of their similarity to finds from Qatar and Saudi Arabia (2 7).

At the Khor Milkh sites the cutting tools are generally more elaborate. Continuous retouch on one or both edges is more fre-

Fig. 9. Pebble-tool from Wadi Wutayya (WW 11).

79

08


Fig. 11. Heavy-duty scraper from MiIkh 1 (surface).

Khor

denticulates, they are quite important on all of the sites studied, however. Real scrapers are defined by a regular working edge either on the side or at the end of a thick flake or blade. Scraping tools with less regular edges form part of a continuum leading towards the denticulates. Apart from small specimens, which are particularly abundant at Wutayya and Saruq, ”heavy-duty-scrapers” are found on a11 sites (Fig. 11).

The Early Bronze Age sites on the east coast near Ra’s al-Hadd are characterized by a special form of scraper. It is made from thick, blade-like flakes or blades. The edges have steep retouch and are heavily reworked. The distal end is usually retouched as well and shows traces of attrition (splintered edges and/or rounding). This tool was apparently used in the production of jewelry from Conus shells (28).

Denticulates are among the types which generally characterize all of the shell midden industries. Their steep retouch is usually direct. Sometimes it changes from direct to inverse and can also be bifacial. Size, number, and sharpness of the ”dents” varies as well as overall shape. It is sometimes even difficult to separate denticulates from piercing tools.

4.5.5 Piercing tools. Piercers and drills are always important in all of the complexes studied. At Khor Milkh 1 and Saruq they are the most numerous tools, while at Wutayya they are the second most numerous type. A separation of borers (with shoulder) from awls

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MARGARETHE UERPMANN

Fig. 12. Small borers from Saruq

0 0 a nb

Fig.13. RH6-borers: u Saruq; b Khor Milkh 1 (surface).

V

an

b

L 3 Fig. 14. Ra’s-al-Hamra drills: u Khor Milkh 1 (sounding 251-1 level 4); b Bandar Jissa 1.

0 a 0

b

0 C a

d

(without shoulder) is impossible because these types form parts of a single typological continuum. However, there are many different kinds of piercing tools dependent on the degree of forming, the kind of retouch, or the use of special forming techniques.

Particularly at Saruq, but also at Wutayya, there are many tiny borers of quartz with a nose-like tip (Fig. 12). Often the tip is the only retouched part, usually as a result of the function of the tool itself. This type has been called the “Saruq drill”.

Another type, the ”RH6-drill”, is named after the site Ra’s al- Harnra 6 (29). It is made from a flake by steep, lateral retouch, sometimes alternating. Bulb and platform are often preserved at the base of the drill (Fig. 13).

A piercing tool with retouch all around it may best be called the ”Ra’s al-Hamra drill” since it is characteristic for that industry. The retouch found there is very steep, sometimes a real backing retouch,‘ and is characterized by alternation from direct to inverse and back again. Additional retouch on a third dorsal edge is found in rare cases. The tool can be tipped at one or both ends. In the former case the untipped end is rounded. The tip is often not punctuate but formed as a narrow wedge (Fig. 14).

In addition to these fairly small drills, larger piercers are also known, particularly at Khor Milkh I. Some are quite thick and robust both in the body and at the tip (Fig. 15). On several specimens the tip was formed in a special way. A heavy blow on the dorsal side removed a large part of one side, leaving a blunt tip between the notch left by this blow and the opposite, retouched side (Fig. 16). Up to now this technique has only been observed at Khor Milkh 1.

The same site also yielded several burins which fall into the group of piercing tools because their narrow, functional part is a tip rather than a cutting edge. The specimens from Khor Milkh 1 are all multiple burins (Fig. 17) with traces of wear at the edge. What is more, the platform was usually formed by a burin blow. The blanks of some pieces seem to be fragments of scrapers. There are single burins from Wutayya and Saruq which may also be intentional.

82


Fig. 15 Heavy piercer from Khor Milkh 1 (surface).

c

a

ob Fig. 16. Notched piercers from Khor Milkh 1; the arrow points to the centre of impact for the blow which created the notch.

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MARGARETHE UERPMANN

a 0 0'

Multiple burins from Khor Milkh 1 (surface).

4.5.6. Bifacid foliates and related objects. Certain objects with bifacial invasive retouch show the highest degree of forming among the chipped lithic finds from the Omani sites. It is difficult, though, to classify them as weaponry because most of them are too incomplete to deduce their original function. The rare complete specimens are not tipped enough to be called points without some reservation. Whatever the functional interpretation of these objects may be, they are very important for typological comparison.

Typical bifacials were found at Saruq and Wutayya. Their forms and the techniques of their production vary to some extent, but pressure flaking or at least flat soft hammer retouch is a minimum requirement for the assignation of an object to this group. So-called 'simple foliates' are subtriangular in shape. Retouch is characterized by fairly broad negatives which often leaves part of the dorsal and/ or ventral surface of the blank visible (Fig. 18). 'Foliate knives' are larger and their whole surface is covered by flat and broad retouch

84


a

Fig. 18. Simple foliates: a-b Saruq; c Wadi Wutayya (WW I). o c

negatives (Fig. 19). ‘Foliate blades’ are parallel-sided, narrow, and elongated. Their retouch is a rough parallel pressure retouch at right angles or slightly oblique to the edges (Fig. 20).

There are only two fragments - both from Wutayya - which might be reconstructed as arrowheads (Fig. 21). One seems to be part of a small lancet-shaped point, the other is a fragment of a ‘trihedral rod. Although this last specimen is trifacial rather than bifacial it is best dealt with in this context, because Wutayya is not the only site where these forms were found together.

Fig. 19. Foliate knife (fragment) from Bandar Jissa 3.

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MARGARETHE UERPMANN

Fig. 20. Foliate blades: a Saruq; b Wadi Wutayya (WW 111).

0 a

b Fig. 21. Fragments of a lancet-shaped foliate and b trihedral rod from Wadi Wutayya (WW IV).

O a b

Bifacials of the above-mentioned kinds are lacking at the Khor Milkh sites. At Ra’s al-Hamra they are known both in the lowest levels and in surface contexts. It seems that these objects are typical of a particular facies of the Late Stone Age on the Omani coast. The available dates corroborate this view.

5. Chronology of the Late Stone Age industries in Oman Several radiocarbon dates have already been mentioned above in connection with the description of the individual sites. A large series of dates also exists from the Italian excavations at Ra’s al- Hamra, and from some of the coastal sites. Therefore, a basic skel- eton for the Late Stone Age chronology of Oman is available, although the archaeological significance of these dates requires further discussion.

As shown above, the basic traits of the chipped stone industry of Oman persisted throughout the Late Stone Age. Therefore a classification into independent industries is not applicable. At the present time of research the units discernible must be regarded as chronological facies of an unbroken continuum. Fig. 22 represents the radiocarbon chronology of the major units into which the Late Stone Age of northern Oman can be divided according to the development of the chipped stone industry. The figure contains histograms of radiocarbon dates for five archaeological facies found on the coastal shell middens. The histograms have a vertical time axis and are drawn bi-directionally to emulate a ”battle-ship” rep- resentation of the dates. Individual dates are included in the histograms as Gaussian distributions with three standard deviations. The total area between the curves thus represents 99% of the dating probability of the radiocarbon measurements (30).

The number of dates available for the various facies varies widely. The best dated facies are the Saruq-Facies, with 19 dates, and the Ra’s-al-Hamra-Facies, with 26 dates. In the remainder of this paper we will concentrate on the description of these two facies, for they constitute the main subunits of the Late Stone Age in the area.

86


Before doing so, however, some remarks on the other units must be made.

The Bir-Bir’a-Facies is a local development of the shell midden industries in the eastern corner of the Arabian Peninsula. Chrono- logically it parallels the Ra’s-al-Hamra-Facies. With increasing exploration and excavations, further local facies for this time horizon will become discernible. The chipped stone industry of this facies cannot be dealt with until the results of the recent excavations at Ra’s al-Hadd and Ra’s al-Junayz are available.

The Bandar-Jissa-Facies is transitional between the Late Stone and Early Bronze Age. It is aceramic but metal-using. Shell middens once assigned to this facies in the Ra’s al-Hamra area (RH I, RH 2 / 3 , surface of RH 10) have since been destroyed. The facies was named after a site near the ancient town of Bandar Jissa to the east of Muscat where bits of copper or bronze were found eroding from the upper layers of unexcavated, aceramic, shell midden deposits. This ’aceramic Bronze Age‘ is a most interesting archaeological problem, but there is, as yet, too little evidence to discuss it compre- hensively.

. . . ~

Fig. 22. Histograms of radiocarbon dates for the major units of the Late Stone Age of Southeast Arabia (WWF= Wadi-Wutayya-Facies; SQF=Saruq-Facies; RHF=Ra’s- al-Harnra-Facies; BBF=Bir-Bira-Facies; BJF= Bandar-Jissa-Facies; lower line: number of included dates).

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MARGARETHE UERPMANN

The same lack of data applies to the Wadi-Wutayya-Facies which stands at the beginning of our sequence. The deeper levels of the Wutayya sequence (V-VIII) were too poor in retouched flints to permit a characterization of the chipped stone industry of this early period, beyond the simple statement that it depended heavily on the use of quartz as raw material. No bifacial foliates were found in these levels, but given the rarity of these objects in later industries it is questionable whether this is significant. It is obvious, however, that this industry is not leptolithic, although there is a minor increase in the blade/flake ratio from the upper to the lower levels of the site (see Table 1). This is important in view of the fact that the horizon of the blade arrowheads (”Qatar B”) extends as far south and east as Dhofar and the Wahiba Sands (31). The waste materials at sites of this horizon are leptolithic as well (32). Some of the inhabitants of the Omani coast, however, apparently remained untouched by this influence.

The chronological diagram (Fig. 22) for the Wadi-Wutayya-Fa- cies also includes the earliest date for a fireplace at Wutayya of 9615 yBP. However, there is no evidence yet for real continuity of settlement or techno-traditions during the first quarter of the Holocene.

5.1 The Saruq-Facies Bifacial foliates are characteristic of sites or strata belonging to this facies. This group of artifacts is well known on many sites all over the Arabian Peninsula. The term ”Arabian bifacial tradition” (33) has been used as a common denominator for the respective industries, although this term was first defined mainly on the basis of the complexes of the ”Rub al-Khali Neolithic” with tanged and barbed arrowheads. Although these arrowheads are absent in coastal Oman, most of the other bifacially retouched types are present.

The chronological position of these industries is usually considered quite broad: Copeland & Bergne (34) date their finds from Jabal Huwaya (Buraimi) to the 4th or 5th millennium BC. Edens puts ”the Arabian bifacial tradition between 8000 BP and 5000 or even 4000 BP in different parts of Arabia” (35). Contrary to this, the radiocarbon dates for the Saruq-Facies are much more concentrated. The dates for levels I11 and IV at Wadi Wutayya and for the eponymic site of Saruq are all between 6000 and 5500 yBP (reservoir-corrected) which can be calibrated to a period in the first half of the 5th millennium BC.

There are additional dates from other sites where objects of the Arabian bifacial tradition have been found. However, the association between dated material and bifacial flints is often not as close as at Wutayya or Saruq. The dates used in Fig. 22 to compile the radiocarbon histogram for the Saruq-Facies are shown separately, site by

88


c i

U 7 a, r+ m

., - - - - 6000 - - - -

I - T- - -- r - - - - l----- _ _ - _ _ _

m m 0 7000 -- - - __ - C - __ - ’

i;, . Q . 8 . w - bl - I,.] . f..~

Fig. 23. Histograms of radiocarbon dates from the Oman Peninsula which can be related to the Samq-Facies (W.W.=Wadi Wutayya; RH=Ra’s al-Harnra (+site number); SAQAL=Ra’s Saqalla; WALID=Nad al-Walid uazirat al-Hamra, Ra’s al- Khairnah).

site, in Fig. 23. For Ra’s al-Hamra 5 (RH5), where a small Iancet- shaped foliate was found in the lowest deposits (36), the early dates have been considered representative of the Saruq-Facies. In a histogram of all radiocarbon measurements for RH5 these values are separated from the rest of the dates by a constriction. A foliate blade from RHlO does not seem to have been found in a primary context. The early dates from this very shallow midden coincide with the Saruq-Facies, however. There also seem to be no stratified foliates yet from RH6, but there are other finds which indicate that RH6 belongs, at least partly, to the Saruq-Facies. At Ra’s Saqallah (SAQAL), one of the sites found by P. Biagi on the southeast coast of Oman, there are several good examples of small lancet-shaped foliates (Fig. 24) and two radiocarbon dates (37) which fall in very well with the Samq-Facies. The site called Nad al-Walid on the Gulf coast of Ra’s al-Khaimah is one of a number of shell middens near the town of Jazirat al-Hamra. In 1983, Walid Yasin al-Tikriti showed it to H. G. Gebel and H.-P. Uerprnann, who collected two radiocarbon samples along with finds related to the Saruq-Facies (38). A

89

MARGARETHE UERPMANN

Fig. 24. Lancet-shaped foliates from Ra’s Saqalla (from Biagi & Mag- gi, Archaeological Surveys: in press).

0 0

whole range of bifacial foliates, an arrowhead with a trihedral cross- section, the typical net-sinkers of the Saruq-Facies, and a few sherds of ’Ubaid pottery from sites near Jazirat al-Hamra are now in the National Museum of Ra’s al-Khaimah. There is no strict association between these finds and the two radiocarbon samples collected earlier, but there is no doubt that both the finds and the dates relate to the Samq-Facies.

The sites at Jazirat al-Hamra, as well as similar shell middens in Umm al-Qaiwain and Sharjah (39) are important because of the presence of ’Ubaid pottery on them. Pottery was the major dating evidence at sites of the same type in eastern Saudi Arabia (40). The radiocarbon dates from Masry’s excavations are less useful, both because of their large standard deviations and because of the possibility that some of them originated in the deeper layers characterized by blade arrowheads of the Qatar-B type. Fig. 25 compares a histogram of Masry’s dates with one of the Saruq-Facies of Oman. The latter begins almost a thousand years later than the first peak of the Saudi histogram. The same is true when the Omani dates are compared with the radiocarbon dates published for sites in Qatar which are also thought to belong to the bifacial tradition (41). Another problem with the early dates from Qatar and Saudi Arabia is the fact that they do not compare very well with the dating of the ’Ubaid period in Mesopotamia. This suggests that the early dates from Saudi Arabia and Qatar come from Qatar-B contexts. On the other hand, it is also possible that the Samq-Facies is a late manifestation of the Arabian bifacial tradition, which was, as we know, quite varied in its appearance, as pointed out by Edens (42).

The barbed and tanged arrowheads of the so-called Rub al-Khali Neolithic or the Qatar-D phase, which are also related to the Arabi-

90


an bifacial tradition, are also typical of other sub-units of this techno-tradition. A single date from the Rub al-Khali (43) and two dates from South Yemen (44) for contexts with bifacially retouched arrowheads are separated from the end of the Saruq-Facies by about 500 years (Fig. 25) . At this time industries without bifacial foliates predominated in the coastlands of Southeastern Arabia. This may be the reason why barbed and tanged arrowheads have not been found in the coastal areas of Oman.

5.2 The Ra’s-al-Hamra-Facies The Ra’s-al-Hamra-Facies represents the major phase of shell midden deposition in the central part of the northern coast of the Sultanate of Oman. To the southeast, there were other local contemporary facies. As Fig. 22 shows, radiocarbon dating puts the beginning of this phase just above 5000 yBP or around 4000 calBC. Apparently it lasted only slightly more than half a millennium.

It is quite difficult to characterize the Ra’s-al-Hamra-Facies solely on the basis of the chipped stone industry. The absence of bifacial foliates and arrowheads is a negative attribute only. Diagnostic types will probably be found to exist among the piercing tools.

Fig. 25. Histograms of radiocarbon dates from eastem Arabia which are connected to the ”Arabian bifacial tradition” (for explanation, see text).

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MARGARETHE UERPMANN

Drills with steep to vertical alternating retouch all around the edge (Fig. 14) and burins seem to be particularly characteristic for this facies. The publication of the large complex of lithic finds from Ra’s al-Hamra itself will certainly bring to light more attributes characteristic of this industry.

The complexes from the upper levels of Wutayya and the shell middens of Khor Milkh, which are representative of this facies in the materials studied by the present author, are remarkably ’form- less’. There are almost no recurring tool-forms. This is, moreover, an interesting phenomenon of wider significance. There seems, at the end of the Stone Age, to be a widespread tendency towards formlessness in the simple household kit of flint objects. In most other areas of the Old World this tendency coincides with the appearance of pottery during the Neolithic. Flint objects may simply have lost their importance as a formal expression of group identity as pottery gained in importance at that time. However, this tendency is also strong in the Ra’s-al-Hamra-Facies where pottery was not yet in use. There are several other categories of finds from the Omani shell middens, though, which seem to have been accorded more formal importance than chipped stone tools.

6. Ground stone and shell artifacts Apart from some rare potsherds, most of which probably derive from imported vessels, the Late Stone Age of Southeastern Arabia was aceramic. Important classes of artifacts other than the chipped stone industry include objects made of ground stone and mollusc shell. Some of these artifacts are particularly diagnostic of certain facies, while others occur throughout the entire time and geographical region under consideration. Examples falling into the latter category include pebbles used as hammerstones. These are very common on most sites. A particular type is the ’pitted crushing stone’, a type which does not seem to be limited chronologically to a particular period, but one which appears wherever particular activi- ties were performed. Pitted crushing stones (Fig. 26) are usually flat pebbles of limestone, sandstone, or soft metamorphic rock which have pits of varying depth on both flat sides. In very rare cases, there may be either three or only one pit on the stone if the form of the pebble deviates in a certain way.

This kind of artifact is ubiquitous, not only in Oman but worldwide. The earliest examples are known from the Aurignacian, the latest from sub-recent times in the Pacific Islands (45). They are usually interpreted as nutcrackers or all-purpose crushing stones. However, their use as hammerstones, in conjunction with a flint chisel, is most likely in the Oman peninsula. The flint chisel, transformed into a piice esquillie by this action, causes wear on the

92


hammerstone which results in its pitting. The pit is a form of attrition and therefore occurs on all usable sides of the stone. The flat sides of the hammerstones were used because they provided a larger area of impact and thus preserved the chisel from early splintering as well as preventing one from hitting ones own fingers while holding the chisel. In Southeastern Arabia, the pitted crushing stone is usually linked with the exploitation of the mangrove snail

1:2

i a

Fig. 26. Pitted crushing stones: a Khor Milkh 1 (sounding 25/-1 level I); b Saruq.

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MARGARETHE UERPMANN

1 5 50 mm I

a 1 : 2

C

Fig 27. Net-sinkers with lateral notches: a Qurum (QS 3); b Khor Milkh 2; c Saruq; d Khor Milkh 1 (sounding 0/19 level 4).

Erebralia palusfris, the shells of which seem to have been opened with a flint chisel above the first vault.

Another type which is ubiquitous on coastal sites in Oman is the stone netsinker. However, there are particular types of netsinkers which are not only chronologically diagnostic but part of certain local traditions. Flat oval pebbles, notched roughly in the middle of their long sides (Fig. 27), have no chronological significance. They occur from the Saruq- to the Bandar-Jissa-Facies.

Small and relatively thick pebbles used as netsinkers were found at Saruq. They were prepared for attachment to a net by pecking a shallow groove around the ”waistline” of the pebble (Fig. 28). The same sort of netsinker was found at the sites near Jazirat al- Hamra in Ra’s a1 Khaimah, including the shell midden of Nad al-

94


a b C d 0 25 50 mm

1 :2 Fig. 28. Net-sinkers with pecked (a-g) and sawn-in (h) grooves from Saruq.

Walid which is contemporary with Samq. On the other hand, we have not seen this type on sites of, or contemporary with, the Ra’s- al-Hamra-Facies. A pecked waistline is found, however, in later contexts, but then only on fairly large netsinkers.

At Ra’s al-Hamra 6, which is partly contemporary with Samq, small netsinkers with a sawn-in waist-line were found. There is also one example of this type from Saruq (Fig. 28h).

0 25 50 mm

P 1:2 a

Fig. 29. Retouched net-sinkers with polar notches from Khor Milkh I (sounding 0/19: a level 5; b level I).

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MARGARETHE UERPMANN

Fig. 30. Net-sinker with notches and pecked groove from Khor Milkh 2.

25 50 rnrn

1:2

The major type of netsinker at Ra’s al-Hamra 5 seems to be the simple notched pebble (46). This form is, however, quite rare at the contemporary site of Khor Milkh 1 where the netsinkers are almost ornamental. They are usually ’retouched’ along their outline, flaked on one side, and have carefully made notches at each end (Fig. 29). A number of other types of netsinkers are found along the east coast of the Sultanate on the shell middens discovered by the coastal surveys of Paolo Biagi. Apparently these objects, which are part of the equipment used in the most important subsistence activity along the coast, i.e. fishing, received much more attention, re- flecting the materialized expression of group identity, than did the chipped stone industry there (see above).

The site of Khor Milkh 2, which is only about 300 years later than KMI, lacks the retouched netsinkers. Only the simple form, and a fairly large specimen with a pecked waistline and additional notches at the ends, occur (Fig. 30).

In addition to formal variation related to the expression of group identity, changing net sinker form may also show a degree of technological evolution. All of the specimens from sites of the Saruq-Facies are fairly small, and are best explained as weights used on casting nets. On the other hand, most of the netsinkers of the Ra’s-al-Hamra-Facies and contemporary sites are too heavy to have been used to cast nets by hand from the shore. They must have been sinkers for nets put out from boats or whatever vessels were in use at that time. This evolution seems to continue into the Bronze Age.

Fishing was, however, not restricted to netting. There are indications in the fish remains that line-fishing was also important

96


(47). Once again, development through time is obvious when one considers the artifacts related to this activity. At Wutayya and Saruq, for example, no fish-hooks were found. In both cases this may be due to the general lack of bone finds because of poor preservation. At the partly contemporary site of Ra’s al-Hamra 6 there are, however, several bone gorges and, in the upper levels, many shell-hooks. The latter are also found in varying forms in the Ra’s-al-Hamra-Facies at both RH 5 and Khor Milkh 1 (Fig. 31). At Ra’s al-Hamra 5, gorges become more numerous in the upper levels (48). In the following Bandar-Jissa-Facies we already see the appearance of copper fish-hooks. It is noteworthy that metal, when it first appears, is immediately used for tools rather than ornamental objects, as was the case in most parts of Europe at the same time.

Though not very common on the sites studied here, ornamental objects seem most characteristic of the late phases of the period under consideration. Most of the finds of adornment from Wadi

a

i e 20 30 10 50mm

b

Fig. 31. Fish-hooks made out of shell of pearl oyster from Khor Milkh 1 (a-b surface; c sounding 0119 level 5; d sounding 25/-1 level 4; e-f surface).

97

MARGARETHE UERPMANN

Fig. 32 Ornamental objects from Wadi Wutayya: a-b worked and per- - - forated pieces of shell (WW 111); c 'retouched piece of gas tropod shell (WW I); d dentalium (WW 111); e-h disc-beads of I 1 I

shell (WW 111); I-l small beads of shell or white limestone (I

WW III,], 1 WW k WW V/

steatite (7) (WW 11); n-v pierced gastropod shells ( 0 - p WW I, r WW 11, s-f WW I, ~l-v WW

- - b - a

0 10 20 30 40 50mm VI); m small cylindrical bead of I 1 Q

d 1 : l

111). -a- - e

-a- - h

-@- - f

-@-

P

-@- -@-

m3 i

En i

-a- W

k

-@- aa I

-@- 0

m

8

t V

Wutayya (Fig. 32) come from the upper units of the sequence. At Saruq and in contemporary levels at Wutayya we find mainly tiny beads of shell or white limestone (Fig. 32e-I). The Saruq-Facies cannot be identified by particular forms of jewelry because the same beads are found at later sites as well. The Ra's-al-Hamra-Facies, however, is rich in different forms of beads and pendants. Earrings and bracelets are very typical of this phase. It is beyond the scope of this paper to deal extensively with this material, particularly

Fig. 33. Ornamental objects from Khor Milkh I: a segment of bracelet (surface); b-c decorated pieces of shell ( b surface, c sounding 25/-1 level 7); d-e Oliva-shells with pierced vertex (d sounding 0/19 level 8, e sounding 25/-1 level 8); f disc- bead of shell (sounding 0/19 level 3) g bead of shell vertex (sounding 25/-1 level 2); h pebble pendant (surface); i cylindrical bead of steatite (sounding 251- 1 level 7); j-m tubular beads of steatite (j sounding 0/19 level 7 , k-m surface); n-p ear-rings of steatite (surface).

98


e

1 f 9

i

I

@ i

0 10 20 30 40 50mm t 1

1 : l @ m

/

I m e)

0

u Q

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MARGARETHE UERPMANN

because it is distributed so unevenly over time during the Late Stone Age. A selection of ornamental objects from Khor Milkh I is, however, shown in Fig. 33. SimiIar forms are also known at Ra's al-Hamra 5.

At Khor Milkh 2, only the small, round beads of shell resemble those of earlier sites. The use of very soft, light green chlorite is

a 10 10 30 40 SOmm t I 0

1 : l

-

i - i k

Fig 34.

Milkh 2. a-c pierced gastropod Ornamental objects from Khor -a - -a - -@ - - - -@- -@- - @ - - @ -

U I

o m V 1 2

shells; d-g beads of shell ver- Q D m - - chlorite; l-v square beads of -@- -@- -0- - @ - - @ - - @ - - @ - - @ -

of shell; y-z, 1-11 small beads Q g m a ~ m a D - ~ 0

z t U X Y tex; h dentalium; i-j worked and perforated fragments of shell; k worked piece of green -0- green chlorite; x frag. disc-bead

of different soft stones. 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

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characteristic of KM2. There are also a number of square beads (Fig. 341-v) of this material, which were probably locally produced.

7. Remarks on Late Stone Age economy in Southeast Arabia In spite of its aridity, the climate of Arabia is not favorable for the preservation of organic materials on archaeological sites. Thus, information on the economy of the former inhabitants of the extensive flint sites in the interior is lacking. The shell middens on the east coast have, of course, shells as indicators of part of the marine sector of the economy. Three groups of molluscs were important for subsistence during the Late Stone Age: the mangrove snail Terebralia palustris, the oyster Ostrea cucullata, and the arc shells of the genus Anadarm. In some cases certain Venus clams (Family I/'eneri- dae) replace one or the other of these molluscs. There are great differences in the importance of individual species from site to site, but there seems to be no general pattern in these differences. Apparently, local availability and changes in particular biotopes through time were the most important factors influencing the "choice" of the shell midden inhabitants.

There were no animal bones preserved at Wadi Wutayya. The economy of the people living there in the early Holocene will remain unknown until a site with good organic preservation is found. Saruq, which is a surface site, had no bone finds at all. Ra's al-Hamra 6 is the only site yielding some evidence for the economy of the Saruq facies. The bone remains from this site are still under study. They indicate, however, that the switch from a completely predatory to a partly productive economy may have occurred at this site (49). The scarcity of identifiable bones in the early levels of the deep sounding there, of course, limits the reliability of any statement on this matter. However, remains of domestic animals are present from the middle of the sequence onward. Although goat is attested, dog is more important throughout the later part of the RH6 sequence. This is of general interest because it is comparable to observations made at Lepenski Vir in Yugoslavia and at other early fishing communities (50). Whereas the goat seems to appear as early as the dog, sheep and cattle were only found in later levels at RH6.

A larger sample of animal bones is available from RH5, but at the moment no quantitative statements can be made beyond the observation that fish bones constitute by far the most important category of animal remains. Turtles seem to follow in economic importance. If one adds the whales and dolphins, let alone the molluscs, then marine resources account for almost all of the subsistence base. The terrestrial environment was exploited through some hunting of gazelles (Gazella gazella), wild asses (Equus africanus),

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and thars (Hernitragus jayakari). The same domestic animals were present as at RH6, namely goat, sheep, cattle, and dog. In view of the obvious availability of protein-rich food in the form of fish, dogs were never economically important at RH5. The soundings at Khor Milkh 1 yielded a small sample of animal bones which gives much the same information.

Although the presence of domestic animals might be evidence enough to call these sites ”Neolithic”, their importance, quantita- tively speaking, was so minute that it argues against their inclusion in the scheme of Neolithisation in the Near East. Nevertheless, the appearance of goat, sheep, and cattle is an important indicator of outside influences in the Late Stone Age of the area, because none of these species has a local wild ancestor (51). They must have come to Southeast Arabia from the Northwest and it would be interesting to have more information about the carriers of this innovation.

The exploitation of plants is even more difficult to evaluate. There is evidence from RH5 (52), where sorghum remains are in- dicative of some agriculture. Interestingly enough, the origin of this cultivated plant points towards relations along the coast of the Indian Ocean.

Although, in the present state of research, this can only be a rough generalisation, the economic development of Late Stone Age Oman can be outlined as follows. A hunter/gatherer economy is assumed to have existed during the Wadi-Wutayya-Facies. During the Saruq-Facies, mollusc gathering and coastal fishing with casting- nets and lines bearing simple gorges gained importance. At the same time, domestic animals appeared in the area. There may already have existed a division between a predominantly fishing population on the coast and a herding population in the interior. During the Ra’s-al-Hamra-Facies, fishing with refined equipment, including boats, became dominant, supplemented by hunting, herding and agriculture. An apparent abundance of ornamental objects indicates the existence of a certain surplus in the basic economy. Some of the adornments seem to have been distributed from a few centres of production over larger areas. Nothing is known, however, about contemporary settlements in the hinterland.

Very little is known about the economy of the Bandar-Jissa-Facies in the Capital area, the final phase of the Stone Age. The sites are generally small and ephemeral, perhaps only the fishing camps of a nomadic population. The copper or bronze hooks and needles found do not seem to have been locally produced. They may have been obtained through exchange with the early Bronze Age population of the interior.

3 0’2


8. Environmental history and cultural development Information on the environmental history of the Arabian Peninsula is very limited. As in other parts of the arid world, however, it seems likely that relatively small climatic shifts exerted great influence on the economy of Arabia’s early inhabitants. Minor changes in precipitation, for instance, can have remarkable effects on the feeding habits of herbivores because of the immense size of the areas affected. Fluctuation in the density of the herbivore population will directly influence the well-being of their hunters or herders. Relatively small shifts in the vegetation cover of the interior of Arabia will have had dramatic effects, particularly after the introduction of herding and the related increase in the population densities of both man and animals.

If we compare the Late Stone Age sequence in Eastern Arabia with the sequence of climatic development now available in some detail for North Africa, certain correlations begin to emerge. The first so-called climatic optimum of the Holocene (53) is dated from about 7000 to 6500 yBP. According to the available evidence, this seems to coincide with the period of the blade-arrowheads (Qatar- B-phase) on the Gulf coast and in the interior of Oman and Dhofar, and with the Wadi-Wutayya-Facies on the northern coast of Oman.

The second climatic optimum from about 5700 to 5200 yBP, is, at least in part, coeval with the Saruq-Facies. Again, there is a widespread distribution of related artifacts of the “Arabian bifacial tradition” in the interior of Arabia that might be correlated with this climatic optimum.

Around the middle of the Holocene, at c. 5000 yBP, there seems to be a general shift of the climate towards present-day conditions. In the Sahara there are indications of increasing dryness from this time onward. On the Omani coast this coincides with the beginning of a dominantly marine adaptation. There is as yet no good evidence from contemporary sites in the interior. The tendency for locally distinctive facies of the chipped stone industry to develop along the coast is another indication of a reduced hinterland population resulting in a decrease of communication over larger distances. The long stretches of extremely hostile coastline in the area east of Muscat were, in any case, unfavorable for extensive marine contacts, at least before boats capable of carrying water and food for journeys of several days became available. Thus, the coastal population of this period seems to have been fairly isolated, living in the ecological niches created around the mouths of the larger wadis (54). These coastal niches served as population reservoirs from which the re- population of the interior was possible during climatically more favorable periods.

It is still difficult to understand the developments which took place between the Ra’s-al-Hamra-Facies, the Bandar-Jissa-Facies, and

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the Early Bronze Age. Radiocarbon dates from the Capital Area of Oman suggest a hiatus between the shell middens of the Ra’s-al- Hamra and Bandar-Jissa Facies (55). Our present understanding of the region’s climatic history, does not, however, offer an explanation for this (perhaps local) phenomenon. One should not forget, though, that the productivity of the sea may also have fluctuated through time. It seems plausible that just after the rise in sea-level during the first half of the Holocene, a peak in coastal marine productivity was experienced because of the additional nutrients which entered the system from the newly flooded areas. Shell midden deposition during this period flourished worldwide and may be the archaeological expression of such a peak in coastal productivity. Human exploitation, a change in the climatic regime around 5000 yBP, and the end of the post-glacial transgression may have brought about the culmination of this process. A subsequent decrease in the productivity of coastal environments may be reflected in the decline in the number of coastal settlements around 4500 yBP. This recon- struction is still completely hypothetical but it might provide a working hypothesis for continuing research into this phase of transition.

Whether the relatively massive re-population of the Oman Penin- sula at the beginning of the Bronze Age had a background in environmental developments is unknown. There is a minor increase in indicators of moister conditions at this time in the Sahara. I t seems possible, therefore, that a slight change in climatic conditions favored a revival of Late Stone Age subsistence strategies on the north coast of Oman parallel to the immigration of new populations from the northwest and/or north via the Gulf into areas along the southwest slope of the Hajar mountains. This is the region where the waters from large catchment areas in the mountains enter more open and potentially fertile lands concentrated within the ground- water streams of a few large wadis. The ability to exploit these water resources seems to have arrived with the new settlers.

It is obvious, and does not need to be stressed, that events in environmental history cannot account for cultural development but can only trigger changes through economic adaptation to the new conditions. The socio-economic background of the populations in- volved determines the direction of possible changes (56).

9. Concluding remarks It has been demonstrated that the basic archaeological structure of the Late Stone Age of Southeastern Arabia can now be derived from a study of the finds, from radiocarbon dating, and through observations on economy and ecology. During most of the Holo- cene, there is evidence for man’s presence in Oman, although the

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first quarter of the Holocene remains an archaeological blank. Dur- ing the second quarter there is, at first, evidence of a coastal population on the Gulf of Oman with a chipped stone industry called the Wadi-Wutayya-Facies, which differs from that of the contemporary Qatar-B groups in the interior and on the southwest coast of the Arabian Gulf. Later, during this period, the Arabian bifacial tradition expands into the coastal part of the entire Oman Peninsula where it is represented by the Saruq-Facies. After the middle of the Holo- cene, the population in the interior of Oman seems to have been very small. On the coast, there were shell midden settlements in areas with a good supply of ground water. Subsistence was based mainly on the exploitation of marine biotopes. In the Capital Area of Oman the chipped stone industry of this period is called Ra’s- al-Hamra-Facies. There is evidence of other, local facies on the east coast as well as of rapid change in cultural traits during the 3rd quarter of the Holocene. The Bandar-Jissa-Facies of the Late Stone Age existed parallel to the Early Bronze Age and the respective groups exchanged goods with each other.

Several questions stand in the forefront of scientific interest for future research in the area. The economic basis of the Arabian bifacial tradition, which so successfully spread over the whole of the Peninsula, remains to be clarified. Once the sites belonging to this tradition on the Gulf coast of the Emirates have been explored, new evidence of the climatic background, the history of marine adaptation, the extent and mode of exploitation of the terrestrial environment, and - last but not least - the technology of the carriers of this tradition, will no doubt emerge. Another question of interest concerns the nature of relations between the indigenous populations of the shell middens and the intrusive Bronze Age settlers. The sites around Bandar Jissa, east of Muscat, seem particularly to promise new insights into this phenomenon, which has traditionally interested archaeologists. A third major task for future research is to illuminate the “empty” first quarter of Oman’s Holo- cene history, but this will have to wait until suitable sites are discovered.

It must be pointed out once more that Oman played a particular role in the early history of the Gulf area because of its geographical situation. The combination of high mountain ranges with habitable coastlands provides ecological niches not found in other parts of Arabia. From the first ’colonization’ of the peninsula by modern man after the end of the final, hyperarid phase of the Last Glacial onward, Oman was a reservoir area where survival was possible even during times of climatic deterioration. The stability through time of many traits in the lithic industries is an archaeological expression of this tendency. Particular adaptations to environmental conditions could develop there, and spread whenever climatic

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changes provided a chance for colonizing the less favorable parts of the interior. The development of oasis farming and the domestic- ation of the camel are among the most interesting palaeo-economic problems in this context.

10. Acknowledgements Studies of the Holocene chipped stone industries of Oman were made possible by grants received from the ”Deutsche Forschungs- gemeinschaft”, Bonn, both directly and through the Special Re- search Project “Tiibingen Atlas of the Middle East”. Special thanks are due to Wolfgang Rollig, the head of this research project. In Oman our work was sponsored by H. H. Sayyid Faisal bin Ali bin Faisal a1 Said, the Minister of National Heritage and Culture, and supported by the Department of Antiquities of this same ministry under the directorship of Dr. Ali Ahmed Bakhit al-Shanfari, who has been most helpful during our work in the Sultanate. Many thanks are also due to the friends and colleagues who have contrib- uted to this study by providing access to materials and information. In particular, I wish to mention Paolo Biagi who has supported my work in many respects. I wish to thank him for his generous sharing of information and access to his unpublished findings. Many thanks are also due to Gerd Weisgerber who provided the lithics from Lizq 3 and Maysar for study, and to Roberto Maggi and Hans Georg Gebel for insight into the finds from the Ra’s al-Hamra sites. Last but not least, Dan Potts must be mentioned for many hints and in particular for his skillful improvements to the readability of this paper.

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in relation to possible environmental conditions. In: Bintliff J & von Zeist W, eds. Paleoclimafe, paleoenvironments and human communifies in the Easfern Mediterranean Region in later prehistory. Oxford: BAR Int. Ser., 133: 1982: 359-398 (with earlier literature). 41. Tixier, Bilan et perspectives. 42. Edens, The Rub al-Khali Neolithic revisited. 43. Field H. Carbon-14 date for a ‘neolithic’ site in the Rub’ al- Khali. Man 60: 1960: 172. 44. Inizan ML & Ortlieb L. Prkhistoire dans la rkgion de Shabwa au Yemen du Sud (R.D.P. Yemen). Paliovient 13: 1987: 18. 45. e.g. Spennemann DR. Vorgeschichtliche Nussknacker. Archiiolo- gisches Kowespondenzblaft 15: 1985: 9-11. 46. Durante & Tosi, The aceramic shell middens. 47. Torke, pers. comm. 48. Biagi P & Nisbet R. Excavation at the RH5 Settlement, Qurm, Winter 1984-1985. EW NS 34: 1984: 461f. 49. Uerpmann H-P & Biagi P, pers. comm. 50. Uerpmann, Probleme der Neolithisierung: 3 7. 51. Uerpmann H-P. The ancient distribution of ungulate mammals in the Middle East. Wiesbaden: Beiheffe zum TAVO, Reihe A Nr. 27: 1987. 52. Nisbet R. Evidence of sorghum at Site RH5, Qurm, Muscat. EW NS 35 1985: 415-417. 53. Neumann K. Zur Vegetationsgeschichte der Ostsahara im HoIo- zan - Holzkohlen aus prahistorischen Fundstellen. In: Kuper R ed. Forschungen zur Umwelfgeschichte der Ostsahara. Koln: Africa Praehi- storica, 2: 1989: 13-181. 54. see Coppa et al., The prehistoric graveyard of Ra’s al-Hamra, for palaeoanthropological observations on endogamic traits in the population of Ra’s al-Hamra. 55. Uerpmann, Radiocarbon dating of shell middens. 56. Cf. Tosi M. The emerging picture of prehistoric Arabia. Ann. Rev. Anthropol. 15: 1986: 461-490.

Address: Margarethe Uerpmann hstitut fur Urgeschichte Schloss Universitat Tubingen 7400 Tubingen 1 Federal Republic of Germany

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Structuring the Late Stone Age of Southeastern Arabia