Back to Fasad… and the PPNB controversy. Questioning a Levantine origin for Arabian Early Holocene projectile points technology

Abstract

For decades, so‐called Fasad points have been discovered in Oman and the UAE. These lithic projectile points have been until now fossiles directeurs (or defining artefacts) for Early Holocene human occupation prior to the development of the Arabian Neolithic. It appears that many different types of points are described in the literature as Fasad points, but the actual variability of the archaeological discoveries leads to the necessity for reassessment and clarification of the very definition of this type of artefact. We propose here a new definition of the Fasad points with the creation of sub‐types. We also discuss the trend of using this lithic type as a marker for the diffusion of PPNB technology towards the south‐east from the Mediterranean Levantine Neolithic core area.

A quantitative approach to the study of Neolithic projectile points from south‐eastern Arabia

“…New sub-groups, however, tend to emerge across the dendrogram. These subdivisions stress morphological and technological differences among assemblages such as Fasad sensu stricto, Al-Haddah points (as already reported by Charpentier & Crassard, 2013), and Sharbithat points (Maiorano et al, 2018; and other sites in Dhofar, see Zarins, 2001: sites 92:36 and 92:19).…”

“…During the Early Holocene (tenth-eighth millennium BC), projectile weaponry in south-eastern Arabia is characterised by the development of points made on flakes or blade-like blanks retouched to obtain a tang at the base (Charpentier & Crassard, 2013;Charpentier et al, 2016;Crassard & Petraglia, 2014;Cremaschi & Negrino, 2002;Hilbert, 2014;Uerpmann et al, 2013). These arrowheads form three well-defined groups named Fasad, al-Haddah, Natif and Faya points (described in detail by Charpentier & Crassard, 2013;Charpentier et al, 2016). They vary in manufacturing technique and chronological determination.…”

Rock art imagery as a proxy for Holocene environmental change: A view from Shuwaymis, NW Saudi Arabia

“…The narrow species spectrum identified in the rock art and in the scarce faunal records, as well as the absence of caprines, may therefore be a result of an ecological barrier that largely remained in place during the Holocene humid period and restricted the movement of Levantine species. This challenges current Neolithisation models that assume a spread of Levantine herders via Mesopotamia and the Persian Gulf, or via the Red Sea coast and the Hejaz (Drechsler, 2009;Uerpmann et al, 2009) and indicates that the Neolithisation of the Arabian Peninsula may have been more complex (Charpentier and Crassard, 2013;Crassard and Drechsler, 2013). However, lithic evidence from Epipalaeolithic and PPN sites in the oasis of Jubbah Hilbert et al, 2014) suggests that links with the Levant did exist in some form.…”

Beyond the Levant: First Evidence of a Pre-Pottery Neolithic Incursion into the Nefud Desert, Saudi Arabia

“…cores have been recognized. These cultural styles seem to have disappeared in Qatar as quickly as they appeared and apparently suggest a short-term incursion of groups with no long-term impact on local traditions [116]. The Acila example is the only example of its kind in the Arabian Gulf region and JQ-101 represents the only other comparable occurrence of PPN technology south of the Levant.…”