Pearl fishing in the ancient world: 7500 BP

Abstract

The oldest pearl in the world was found in the United Arab Emirates and dates from 7500 BP. Gemmologists and jewellers have popularised the idea that the oldest pearl in the world is the 5000‐year‐old Jomon pearl from Japan. Discoveries made on the shores of south‐eastern Arabia show this to be untrue, as the archaeological pearls that have been found are 2500 years older. In this region, pearls still hold an important place. Indeed, today they remain a central, identifying element. The discovery of archaeological pearls demonstrates an ancient fishing tradition that no longer exists today.

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)

“…Nevertheless, one of the individuals (skeleton 4) excavated at UAQ2 had clearly grown up in the interior and moved to the coast later on. Interestingly, this is the individual who was found adorned with a pearl (Charpentier et al., ).…”

“…The availability of well‐dated human and faunal skeletal material from the BHS18 graveyard makes it an ideal subject for testing the respective assumptions with the help of isotope studies. On the coast, the site UAQ2 (Phillips, ; Charpentier, Phillips & Méry, ) is a natural counterpart for comparison with BHS18. Early on Carl S. Phillips contributed bone samples from UAQ2 to the present study.…”

Neolithic material cultures of Oman and the Gulf seashores from 5500–4500 BCE

“…Fishing for pearls is in evidence from the last third of the sixth millennium BCE at UAQ2 (Charpentier, Phillips & Méry ). In the fifth–fourth millennia BCE, pearls occupied a special place in funeral rites.…”

DNA Fingerprinting of Pearls to Determine Their Origins

“…Oyster shells and pearls have been used for human adornment since antiquity [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6]. Today pearls are cultured in domesticated saltwater oysters and freshwater mussels and have become a billion dollar industry [7].…”