Diet and mobility in a late neolithic population of coastal oman inferred from radiocarbon dating and stable isotope analysis

Abstract

In Oman, the presence of highly productive marine environments, coupled with relatively limited land resources, have led to intense exploitation of coastal resources, but the question of the seasonality of occupation of coastal sites remains open. Our aim is to evaluate the contribution of marine resources to the diet of the Neolithic population of Ra's al-Hamra 5 (RH-5) to shed new light on its mobility, using stable isotopes and radiocarbon ((14)C) dating as dietary tracers. Charcoal, shell, human bone and enamel apatite from eight contemporary graves were sampled. Graves are thought to provide the best chance to obtain marine and terrestrial remains that were contemporary with the human remains in order to calculate the marine reservoir effect (MRE) for this period. Inter-individual variation in human bone apatite δ(13)C value is small, suggesting a homogenous diet. Bone apatite (14)C ages are very close to the shell ages while enamel is significantly younger and plots near the charcoal ages. Older enamel ages were obtained when a stronger acetic treatment was used, demonstrating that the young ages are due to diagenetic alteration rather than a diachronic change in diet and that only bone apatite retained in vivo dietary signals. Bone ages indicate a heavy reliance on marine resources and it is therefore unlikely that the individuals analyzed here were leaving the coast seasonally, although mobility along the coast cannot be excluded.

Neolithic nomadism in south‐east Arabia — strontium and oxygen isotope ratios in human tooth enamel from al‐Buhais 18 and Umm al‐Quwain 2 in the Emirates of Sharjah and Umm al‐Quwain (UAE)

“…The bone samples (cortical bone of femora) were decontaminated according to the method applied by Zazzo et al. () when dating skeletons from Ra's al‐Hamra in Oman. The samples from BHS18 were treated with a calcium acetate buffer in order to remove potential diagenetic carbonate.…”

“…The numerous shells and fish bones, found at UAQ2 as debris of human meals, presumably require the correction of a marine reservoir effect, which would lower the skeleton dates to some extent (cf. Zazzo et al., ). In any case there was a long chronological overlap of the occupation periods of BHS18 and UAQ2.…”

“…Zazzo et al. (, ) excluded a longer absence from the coast. The relatively high marine carbon signal in human skeletal material from Ra's al Hamra pointed towards a rather sedentary way of life on the coast.…”

Sharks in the lagoon? Fishing exploitation at the Neolithic site of Suwayh 1 (Ash Sharqiyah region, Arabian Sea, Sultanate of Oman)

“…c Landsat Satellite image of the Suwayh sabkha area with the main Neolithic shell middens and the geological cores and trenches discussed in this study (modified from Berger et al, 2013; GIS simulations performed by G. Davtian, UMR CEPAM Nice, France). [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com] Zazzo et al, 2016;Zazzo, Munoz, & Saliège, 2014), these sites are now considered to be year-long rather than seasonal occupations. Moreover, the data acquired by our studies of fish remains from another Neolithic site (RH-6) on the Omani peninsula do not permit us to highlight seasonal fishing phenomena in the region as well (Marrast, unpublished data).…”

Transition to agriculture in South‐Eastern Arabia: Insights from oral conditions

“…analyses on human remains attest to intensive exploitation of sea, lagoon, and mangrove resources associated with animal husbandry (Beech, 2004;Uerpmann, 2003;Zazzo, Munoz, & Saliège, 2014). The first oasis agrosystems integrating date-palm and other plants cultivation are thought to appear and develop during the Early Bronze Age (EBA, ca.…”