A dugong bone mound: the Neolithic ritual site on Akab in Umm al-Quwain, United Arab Emirates

Abstract

The authors present a remarkable site with a remarkable interpretation: a structured platform of dugong bones, containing skulls laid in parallel and ribs in sets, together with artefacts of the Neolithic period. They propose that the bones have been symbolically arranged and the mound as a whole had a ritual purpose – an interpretation endorsed by analogy with dugong platforms noted in the Torres Strait in recent times.

Understanding the evolution of the Holocene Pluvial Phase and its impact on Neolithic populations in south‐east Arabia

“…yr BP (Parker & Goudie ; Méry et al . ), suggesting that the period of abandonment along the coast was somewhat shorter when compared to interior sites (Preston ). The relationship between this trend and the peak in aridity between c .5400 and 5100 yr BP is unclear, particularly since the Omani coast is suggested to have acted as a refugium for the region's Neolithic inhabitants at the onset of the ‘dark millennium’.…”

From nomadic herder-hunters to sedentary farmers: The relationship between climate change and ancient subsistence strategies in south-eastern Arabia

“…Indeed, it is possible that the re-occupation of the Arabian Gulf coast towards the end of the "Dark Millennium" was driven by migration from a larger core population inhabiting the Omani coast. A growing number of shell middens along the Arabian Gulf coast, including those on Akab Island, UAE, (Méry et al, 2009) have yielded radiocarbon ages between w5400 and 5000 cal yr BP (Parker and Goudie, 2007). Cultural affinities between the finds on Akab Island and those from Ra's al-Hamra (Méry et al, 2009) suggest that populations inhabiting the two coasts may have been linked at this time.…”

“…A growing number of shell middens along the Arabian Gulf coast, including those on Akab Island, UAE, (Méry et al, 2009) have yielded radiocarbon ages between w5400 and 5000 cal yr BP (Parker and Goudie, 2007). Cultural affinities between the finds on Akab Island and those from Ra's al-Hamra (Méry et al, 2009) suggest that populations inhabiting the two coasts may have been linked at this time. Whether these sites were inhabited on a seasonal or more permanent basis remains unclear although it is apparent that humans had begun to reoccupy parts of the Arabian Gulf coast during the last few centuries of the "Dark Millennium".…”

“…This dynamic environmental setting provided the backdrop for human occupation during the Neolithic through to the onset of the Bronze Age (w5100 cal yr BP). The presence of small quantities of copper-bronze objects in collective burial tombs belonging to the Hafit Period (5100e4500 cal yr BP) (Méry et al, 2009) is generally linked to the onset of the Bronze Age in the region (Parker et al, 2006a). The Neolithic and Bronze Age witnessed a number of key developments in human society, including the appearance of domesticated flora and fauna, the emergence of maritime exchange networks, and the development of sedentary, oasis-fed agricultural settlements (Boivin et al, 2009;Potts, 2001;Uerpmann et al, 2009).…”

Pearl fishing in the ancient world: 7500 BP

“…Saliège, CNRS, UMR 7159, Laboratoire LOCEAN, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris. As Umm al‐Quwain is located near the straits of Hormuz, the ΔR should be situated between 210 and 163 (see Méry et al for more details about the calculation of the regional marine reservoir effect).…”