The Archaeology of the Yemen High Plains: A preliminary chronology

Wilkinson, T. J.; Edens, Christopher; Gibson, McGuire

doi:10.1111/j.1600-0471.1997.tb00149.x

Cited by 14 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 5 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The recent identification of the Yafa' Ridge as a major source of obsidian in prehistoric highland Yemen (Wilkinson et al . 1997, 122; Khalidi et al .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Provenance of Obsidian Artefacts From the Wādī Ath‐thayyilah 3 Neolithic Site (Eastern Yemen Plateau) by La–icp–ms

2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The geological sources of obsidian in the Red Sea region provide the raw material used for the production of obsidian artefacts found in prehistoric sites on both sides of the Red Sea, as far afield as Egypt, the Persian Gulf and Mesopotamia. This paper presents the chemical characterization of five obsidian geological samples and 20 prehistoric artefacts from a systematically excavated Neolithic settlement in highland Yemen. The major element concentrations were determined by SEM-EDS analysis and the trace element concentrations were analysed by the LA-ICP-MS method, an almost non-destructive technique capable of chemically characterizing the volcanic glass. A comparison of archaeological and geological determinations allows the provenance of the obsidian used for the Neolithic artefacts to be traced to definite sources in the volcanic district of the central Yemen Plateau.exploitation and use has just begun to take shape, not only in the above-mentioned areas but throughout the Red Sea Rift region.Researchers studying obsidian finds from archaeological contexts, and identifying the sources of obsidian employed for artefacts, can develop and test models concerning prehistoric interactions, access to resources, and trade. The considerable number of potential obsidian sources, combined with the scarcity of work aimed at the characterization of outcrops in the Red Sea Rift region, have often made it difficult to determine the provenance of obsidian finds from archaeological sites on both sides of the Red Sea, as far afield as Egypt (e.g., Bavay et al. 2000), the Persian Gulf and Mesopotamia. Previous studies by Zarins (1989) and Francaviglia (1985 1990a,b; demonstrated the geochemical and geological difficulties of establishing the precise provenance of a number of obsidian archaeological finds from this general region (for early reviews, see also Overstreet et al. 1988, 373-91; Overstreet and Grolier 1988, 465-6; Overstreet and Grolier 1996, 350, 386-8). More recently, continuing work by L. Khalidi and colleagues as part of the VAPOR project Lewis et al. 2010) has provided an important contribution to the knowledge of the obsidian sources in the Yemen highlands on the basis of LA-ICP-MS analyses.Among the different analytical techniques, the LA-ICP-MS method is particularly valuable for the compositional characterization of archaeological obsidian, because it combines microdestructivity with the capacity for analysing a great number of trace and rare earth elements with high sensitivity in a very short time. These characteristics make LA-ICP-MS a very powerful tool for the characterization and provenance determination of archaeological specimens (Gratuze 1999;Bavay et al. 2000;Carter et al. 2006;Barca et al. 2007;Giussani et al. 2009;Khalidi et al. 2010).In order to expand the geochemical database of obsidian sources and compositions for the Red Sea region (Francaviglia 1990b;Khalidi et al. 2010), in the present study we report the results of analyses jointly carried out on geological samples and archaeological s...

show abstract

“…The recent identification of the Yafa' Ridge as a major source of obsidian in prehistoric highland Yemen (Wilkinson et al . 1997, 122; Khalidi et al .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Provenance of Obsidian Artefacts From the Wādī Ath‐thayyilah 3 Neolithic Site (Eastern Yemen Plateau) by La–icp–ms

2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…(de Maigret, 1990;Gibson and Wilkinson, 1995;166 -171;Wilkinson et al, 1997). Although no excavated 3rd millennium levels have yet been radiocarbon dated for the Dhamar area, five dated levels from the Wadi Yana'im and six from related cultural horizons at al-Hadabah (Ghaleb 1990: Table 9) fall at the tail end of the distribution and immediately after dated palaeosol, lake, and marsh horizons for southern Arabia (Figure 9).…”

Section: Pedostratigraphy and Correlationsmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…The only traces of human occupation associated with the Jahran soil were occasional small, probably Neolithic, obsidian flakes in the upper palaeosol (Qa Shir'ah and east Qa Jahran), and a lithic scatter of "Upland Neolithic Tradition" within equivalent levels at site DS 167, to the E of Qa Jahran (Wilkinson et al, 1997). Therefore, on the montane plains, habitation must have been limited to oc-casional small camps and other temporary residences.…”

Section: Pedostratigraphy and Correlationsmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Following the accumulation of several layers of horizontally bedded low-energy fluvial and eolian valley floor sediments, 7 -8 m of well-sorted cross-bedded eolian sand (F) formed a major sand body deposited along the northwest edge valley edge in Dhamar ignimbrites. Lithic sites on the dune surface include one (DS 76), tentatively ascribed to the terminal Pleistocene or early Holocene (Wilkinson et al, 1997). The main body of sand lacks palaeosols or evidence of prolonged stability, but towards the top weak soil structure and CaCO 3 filaments indicate stabilization and pedogenesis during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene.…”

Section: The Late Quaternary Succession In the Qa Shir'ah (Figures 2mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Holocene environments of the high plateau, Yemen. Recent geoarchaeological investigations

Wilkinson

1997

Geoarchaeology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Geological and archaeological work along the Yafa' source outcrop included investigation of an extensive obsidian workshop area (DS179), previously documented by the Dhamar Survey Project (DSP) (Wilkinson, Edens & Gibson : 122). This workshop is probably one of a series located along the Yafa' obsidian flows, and for the time being remains unexcavated and undated.…”

Section: The Yafa' Source and Local Highland Obsidian Distributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Considering the Arabian Neolithic through a reconstitution of interregional obsidian distribution patterns in the region

Khalidi

Inizan²,

Gratuze

et al. 2013

Arab Archaeol Epigr

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As a result of a programme devoted to obsidian geochemical analyses for the Red Sea region (VAPOR), the register of analysed obsidian artefacts from Arabia has grown considerably in recent years. A percentage of these correspond to surveyed and excavated Neolithic contexts in Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Oman. This growing database of site to source matches has enabled us to consider the Neolithic of Arabia as more than just a period of sedentism and initial domestication, but as a period where we can begin piecing together the formulation of complex social networks and exchange mechanisms that included, and may even have depended to some extent on, mobile groups. Using obsidian source analyses coupled with spatial mapping, site and lithic data, we use obsidian as a guide to gain a better understanding of the early dynamics of interaction between regions in Arabia and beyond, and to assess what role the socio‐economic networks identified may have had in the process of Arabian Neolithisation, or in certain cases, the lack thereof.

show abstract

The Archaeology of the Yemen High Plains: A preliminary chronology

Abstract: 42 46 1 -3 46 -\ 49

Cited by 14 publications

References 5 publications

The Provenance of Obsidian Artefacts From the Wādī Ath‐thayyilah 3 Neolithic Site (Eastern Yemen Plateau) by La–icp–ms

The Provenance of Obsidian Artefacts From the Wādī Ath‐thayyilah 3 Neolithic Site (Eastern Yemen Plateau) by La–icp–ms

Holocene environments of the high plateau, Yemen. Recent geoarchaeological investigations

Considering the Arabian Neolithic through a reconstitution of interregional obsidian distribution patterns in the region

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About