An illustrated prehistory of the Jubbah oasis: Reconstructing Holocene occupation patterns in north‐western Saudi Arabia from rock art and inscriptions

Abstract

A systematic survey of rock art and associated archaeological features in the Jubbah oasis provides evidence of Holocene occupation from the early Holocene to the present. In total 1249 panels with rock art and inscriptions, and 159 archaeological sites, were recorded on twelve different jebels. Analyses of rock art content and engraving stratigraphy indicate that the iconic Jubbah style had a long tradition among pre-pastoral hunters and continued to be used by early herders.We also identify a distinct body of rock art that pre-dates the Jubbah style and may be associated with a nearby Epipalaeolithic site. Our systematic dataset identifies a body of Bronze Age rock art that is further supported by the material culture and radiocarbon dates obtained from the remains of disturbed cairns. The wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/aae Arab Arch Epig. 2017;28:138-152.

Rock art provides new evidence on the biogeography of kudu (Tragelaphus imberbis), wild dromedary, aurochs (Bos primigenius) and African wild ass (Equus africanus) in the early and middle Holocene of north‐western Arabia

“…While the engravers and painters of Shuwaymis and Jubbah have so far been shown to depict local species (Guagnin et al., ), we cannot exclude the possibility that the African wild ass was seen somewhere else and then depicted in Jubbah. The archaeological record suggests wider reaching contacts (Crassard et al., ; Guagnin, Shipton, Martin, et al., ; Hilbert et al., ) and at least some of the occupants of Jubbah would have been highly mobile.…”

“…Top: Darker shading represents more intensive rock art production. Representations of curvaceous women and of Bronze Age rock art were only identified in Jubbah (Guagnin, Shipton, al-Rashid, et al, 2017). Middle: Approximate timing of engraved species discussed in the text.…”

“…Early dates for the presence of domestic camel and horse were documented in eastern Arabia (Magee, 2014;Uerpmann & Uerpmann, 2012), and we assume similar timing in Jubbah and Shuwaymis palaeolakes. Although settlement sites dating to the Bronze Age (c. 3,500/3,200 BC) are not yet known from Jubbah, recent surveys have identified a body of Bronze Age rock art that is distinct from Neolithic and Iron Age imagery in stratigraphy, style and motif, and includes occasional representations of classic Bronze Age weaponry such as a double-convex bow and a lunate pommel sword ( Figure 2; Guagnin, Shipton, al-Rashid et al, 2017; see also Anati, 1968;Newton & Zarins, 2000). Bronze Age occupation at Jubbah was also confirmed through artefacts recovered from disturbed burial cairns, which include a perforated shell pendant radiocarbon dated to 2,850 AE 80 cal BC (Guagnin, Shipton, al-Rashid, et al, 2017).…”

“…Although settlement sites dating to the Bronze Age (c. 3,500/3,200 BC) are not yet known from Jubbah, recent surveys have identified a body of Bronze Age rock art that is distinct from Neolithic and Iron Age imagery in stratigraphy, style and motif, and includes occasional representations of classic Bronze Age weaponry such as a double-convex bow and a lunate pommel sword ( Figure 2; Guagnin, Shipton, al-Rashid et al, 2017; see also Anati, 1968;Newton & Zarins, 2000). Bronze Age occupation at Jubbah was also confirmed through artefacts recovered from disturbed burial cairns, which include a perforated shell pendant radiocarbon dated to 2,850 AE 80 cal BC (Guagnin, Shipton, al-Rashid, et al, 2017). Although Iron Age settlements have yet to be identified in Jubbah, the rock art from this period is easily identifiable through the widespread use of so-called Thamudic inscriptions, which accompany many figurative panels, and in the frequent depiction of domestic horse and camel ( Figure 2; for a more detailed discussion of the rock art chronology, see Guagnin, Shipton, al-Rashid, et al, 2017).…”

“…9,700–6,250 bc ) assemblages in the Levant (Crassard et al., ), and a large open‐air site with artefacts relating to the Levantine Pottery Neolithic ( c . 6,250–5,300 bc ) (Guagnin, Shipton, Martin, et al., ) were discovered on the edges of two smaller palaeolakes. Although settlement sites dating to the Bronze Age ( c .…”