Archaeopedological analyses around a Neolithic hearth and the beginning of Sabaean irrigation in the oasis of Ma'rib (Ramlat as-Sab'atayn, Yemen)

Kühn, Peter; Pietsch, Dana; Gerlach, Iris

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2009.12.033

Cited by 26 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Against this background a few major statements can be made: all investigated soils outside of the oasis were formed in the wet early Holocene -no mid-Holocene soil has been found to date. In contrast, a buried soil below irrigation sediments within an oasis exists, which began to form at the earliest about 3500 bc and until 2500 bc (Kühn et al, 2010). This supports the results of geoarchaeological and climate-oriented soil and sediment investigations in other regions of Yemen (Brinkmann 1996a;De Maigret et al, 1989;Fedele, 1988;Ghaleb, 1990;Lezine et al, 1998Lezine et al, , 2007Parker et al, 2006b;Wilkinson, 1997).…”

Section: The Importance Of Palaeosols As Archives Of Early-holocene Climate and Early Sabaean Cultures Around Ma'ribsupporting

confidence: 59%

“…In contrast, a buried soil below irrigation sediments within an oasis exists, which began to form at the earliest about 3500 bc and until 2500 bc (Kühn et al, 2010). This supports the results of geoarchaeological and climate-oriented soil and sediment investigations (Brinkmann 1996a;De Maigret et al, 1989;Fedele, 1988;Ghaleb, 1990;Lezine et al, 1998Lezine et al, , 2007Parker et al, 2006b;Wilkinson, 1997).…”

Section: The Importance Of Palaeosols As Archives Of Early-holocene Csupporting

confidence: 59%

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Holocene soils and sediments around Ma’rib Oasis, Yemen: Further Sabaean treasures?

et al. 2010

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The ancient cultures of Southern Arabia are increasingly recognised as playing as major a role in the heritage of mankind as the early cultures of Egypt, Mesopotamia or the Indus Valley. The beginning of the widely known Sabaean culture dates back to the end of the second millennium bc. Whereas, undoubtedly, its wealth came mainly from the trade along the Incense Road, the backbone of its economy was irrigated agriculture. Since agriculture is based on soil and water resources and, hence, land availability, the buried soils and sediments of the area surrounding the Ma'rib Oasis have been investigated, both as an archive of Holocene soil development in Pre-Sabaean times and as 'natural treasures', as, for example, ores or alabaster are defined. The natural buried Holocene soils around Ma'rib are rich in phosphate, organic material and volcanic ashes. In a few places they demonstrate cultivation before the Great Dam of Ma'rib was built in the first millennium bc. Most important are those soils that formed during the Neolithic between 8000 and 3000 bc, a time before the permanent settlement of humans in the Bronze Age, and before the arrival of those of the early Sabaean period at the Ar-Rub' Al-Khali desert margin. Since the area surrounding the oasis shows a huge variety of landscapes, such as dune belts, volcanic fields with archaeological structures and different soils, it is worth accentuating the significance of Holocene soils as an important record or archive of land use. As well as classical soil analysis, AMS-14 C-datings, the results of phytolith analysis and geochemistry, including XRF data, have been taken into consideration.

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Section: The Importance Of Palaeosols As Archives Of Early-holocene Climate and Early Sabaean Cultures Around Ma'ribsupporting

confidence: 59%

Section: The Importance Of Palaeosols As Archives Of Early-holocene Csupporting

confidence: 59%

Holocene soils and sediments around Ma’rib Oasis, Yemen: Further Sabaean treasures?

et al. 2010

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“…The decrease in water availability may have hit also Northern Oman, thus pushing local communities, which were intensively cultivating the area as confirmed by microscopic evidence in buried soils, to introduce some system for water procurement and management (but not yet the falaj technology). The introduction of some kind of irrigation facilities in the Bronze Age is confirmed by field evidence in the area of Salut and recently described also in the Ma'rib oasis of Yemen (Kühn et al, 2010).…”

Section: Palaeoclimatic Significance Of Calcareous Tufa and Comparisomentioning

confidence: 69%

Late Holocene onset of intensive cultivation and introduction of the falaj irrigation system in the Salut oasis (Sultanate of Oman)

Cremaschi

Esposti

Fleitmann

et al. 2018

Quaternary Science Reviews

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This paper discusses the time and steps of the introduction of intensive agriculture and evolution of irrigation systems to sustain crops in the palaeo-oasis of Salut in the northern Sultanate of Oman. Various geoarchaeological methods allow reconstructing the exploitation of the natural resources of the region and technological development of irrigation methods since the Mid-Holocene. Intensive agriculture started during the Bronze Age and continued with some spatial and intensity fluctuations up to the Islamic period. Cultivations were initially sustained by surface irrigation systems and later replaced by a dense net of aflaj, the typical surface/underground system adopted in the Levant, Arabian Peninsula and western Asia to collect water from deep piedmont aquifers and redistribute it to the fields located in the lowlands. Our results indicate that the aflaj were in use for a long period in the palaeo-oasis formed along Wadi Sayfam and surrounding the citadel of Salut. Uranium-Thorium dating of calcareous tufa formed in the underground tunnels of the aflaj suggests that they were used between ~540 BCE and ~1150 CE.After ~1150 CE Wadi Sayfam were abandoned and the size of the oasis shrank substantially.During the late Islamic period, a surface aqueduct descending from the piedmont of Jabal Shams 2 secured water supply. Our work confirms that in arid lands archaeological and historical communities were able to actively modulate their response to climate changes by using a variety of technological strategies.

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“…However, although it is widely accepted that agriculture has been fundamental in the history of local societies, oases themselves have rarely been explored through their soils in this region. In Arabia, geoarchaeology and archaeo‐pedology of agricultural terraces have been developed in Yemen over the past 40 years (Kühn et al, 2010; Pietsch & Kühn, 2017; Pietsch & Mabit, 2012; Pietsch et al, 2010; Wilkinson, 1997, 2005) and in some regions of Oman (Cremaschi et al, 2018; Desruelles et al, 2016; Nagieb et al, 2004; Siebert et al, 2005), whereas only localised studies in the UAE have focussed on ancient agricultural landscapes (Cordoba, 2013) and rarely those interested in the long‐term use of soils (Power & Sheehan, 2011) and their characteristics.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An oasis soil reference collection for the identification and study of ancient cultivated soils in arid environments (Oasis of Masafi, United Arab Emirates)

et al. 2021

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Oasis soils result from the combined action of natural and anthropic processes, and thus constitute valuable systems for the understanding of human–environment trajectories over the millennia. The present research aims to develop the study of ancient oasis soils by identifying proxies to detect past agricultural practices. Ten reference pits were dug in Masafi, in both cultivated plots (irrigated plots with palm trees/fruit trees/cereals; manure/ashes/carbonates) and abandoned ones. Bulk sediment samples were analysed for geochemistry/pedo‐sedimentary studies: inductively coupled plasma‐optical emission spectrometry, loss on ignition, pH, electrical conductivity, grain size and magnetic susceptibility. This multiproxy approach enabled the creation of a soil typology of oasis agricultural modes. Irrigation and liming lead to salinisation, particularly in a B‐horizon. Manure creates a hortic horizon, enriched in P and Zn. Ashes can be detected with a simultaneous increase of magnetic and salinity values. Soils in plots with fruit trees/cereals are not distinguishable from those with palm monoculture. Weathering was identified on the basis of the enrichment in Al, Ti, K Na, Ni, Cr and Fe, whereas proxies of ancient practices seem to be preserved after 15 years of abandonment. As leaching processes appear to be limited to the first 50 cm, the durability of soil signatures depends on how they were buried.

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Archaeopedological analyses around a Neolithic hearth and the beginning of Sabaean irrigation in the oasis of Ma'rib (Ramlat as-Sab'atayn, Yemen)

Cited by 26 publications

References 14 publications

Holocene soils and sediments around Ma’rib Oasis, Yemen: Further Sabaean treasures?

Holocene soils and sediments around Ma’rib Oasis, Yemen: Further Sabaean treasures?

Late Holocene onset of intensive cultivation and introduction of the falaj irrigation system in the Salut oasis (Sultanate of Oman)

An oasis soil reference collection for the identification and study of ancient cultivated soils in arid environments (Oasis of Masafi, United Arab Emirates)

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