A. Pisan., P. Biagi, G. Gasparotto 2013 - The stone and shell beads of the shell-midden settlement of RH-5 (Muscat, Sultanate of Oman) (original) (raw)
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The stone and shell beads of the shell midden settlement of RH-5 (Muscat, Sultanate of Oman)
2013
During the excavations carried out by the Italian Archaeological Mission at the shellmidden site RH-5, Muscat, 374 beads of different shapes and sizes, obtained from both stone and marine shell, were recovered. This paper discusses their chronology, typology, raw material, manufacturing technique and circulation along the southern coast of the Arabian sea during the fifth millennium BP. The authors point out the probable exogenous production of the RH-5 beads, given also the scarce number of these items from the large cemetery excavated at the same site. The existence of production centres, and the specialised role played by some of the coastal (shellmidden) sites of this period are also emphasised.
BEADS, 2018
This paper focuses primarily on ancient stone beads found in Oman at sites dating to the 3rd to 2nd millennium BCE, generally dated to the Umm an-Nar and Wadi Suq periods. Archaeological collections were documented to determine the range of variation in the finished objects and if there is evidence for local production of carnelian and other hard-stone beads. A comparative analysis with published materials from other regions was also undertaken to document the bead types in Oman that might have been obtained through trade networks that linked this region to Mesopotamia, Iran, the Indus Valley region, Afghanistan, Egypt, and Anatolia. The overall outcome of this study is a more comprehensive understanding of the types of interactions that were carried out between communities in Oman and adjacent regions during the prehistoric period.
Carnelian and Agate Beads in the Oman Peninsula during the Third to Second millennia BC
2020
This paper focuses on ancient stone beads found in Oman at sites dating to the 3rd to 2nd millennium BCE, generally dated to the Umm an-Nar and Wadi Suq periods. Archaeological collections were documented to determine the range of variation in the finished objects and if there is evidence for local production of carnelian and other hard-stone beads. A comparative analysis with published materials from other regions was also undertaken to document the bead types in Oman that might have been obtained through trade networks that linked this region to Mesopotamia, Iran, the Indus Valley region, Afghanistan, Egypt, and Anatolia. The overall outcome of this study is a more comprehensive understanding of the types of interactions that were carried out between communities in Oman and adjacent regions during the prehistoric period.
journal of Archaeological Studies University of Tehran, 2024
Sea shells are natural-biological objects. They are embedded in geological layers in the form of fossils, but also, to find in archaeological deposits as a result of human activities. Archaeologists can use the provenance of shells in the functional analysis of ancient sites in terms of social archeology and prehistoric trading activities. Archeological excavations in several sites of the Iranian Plateau have shown that from the 3rd third millennium B.C. onwards, finds of sea shells (e.g. Lambis, Dentalium, etc.) rapidly increased. Such shells were for instance discovered from ritual cemetery contexts such as Shahdad, Tepe Hesar, Kale Nisar cemeteries or Bani Surma. These objects are mainly used as natural or polished shells. In some cases, they served as a raw material for making all kinds of beads, buttons, and other ornamental objects.. The main question is to understand the relationship between the use of seashells and archaeological context, and also, their role in Bronze Age ritual life. In this article, the descriptive, analytical method has been used in the biological recognition of all types of shells. This method is also used based on similar studies on this issue in Mesopotamia's archeology of the Sumerian-Akkadian period. The distribution of recognizable species shows that these objects are concentrated in the settlements from south to southeast of Iran in the coastal strip of the Persian Gulf, and from the Oman Sea to the Zagros intermountain valleys, as well as in the northwest and northeast of Iran. The biological origin can be placed in the northern shores of the Oman Sea to the Gulf of Kutch on the northern coast of the Indian Ocean. It seems that with the growth and development of urbanization in Southwest Asia and especially the development of sea trade, oysters have been traded as valuable goods and other prestige goods. The importance of the shell findings is more than the value of the shells themselves because they were used as sacred goods in religious affairs. Analysis of the fields where the shells were discovered is more related to cemeteries and temples as sacred spaces. Also, the significant presence of Lambis shells for the production of specific ritual bowls, placed together with bronze axes in graves, can be seen as the reflection of a patriarchic tradition in the social-political organization of the third and second millennia B.C. Despite many excavations and the discovery of many samples of these types of shells, no further going investigation on these specific objects was undertaken so far. This desideratum reveals more valuable findings in the archeology of the Iranian plateau. Therefore, one of this article's final goals is to focus more on analyzing the context of the discovery of seashells in futur
The paper presents the preliminary archaeological study of around 200 artefacts related to the production of shell fish-hooks made from Pinctada sp. discovered at the Neolithic coastal site of Ras al-Hadd HD-5 in 2014. The site occupation dates to the fourth millennium BC and finished shell hooks and manufacturing debris were recovered from stratigraphic contexts that included primary floors and workshop dumps. The artefacts include complete shells that were probably collected from the nearby lagoon, hammer stones and rasps made of sandstone, and all stages of the shell-hook manufacturing processes. After comprehensive documentation and study of the artefacts, experimental replications were carried out to gain a better understanding of the stages of production and factors that contributed to breakage and discard. Future studies will include the use of experimental hooks to determine their strength and durability. Excavations were conducted by a team from the University of Bologna under the auspices of the Department of Excavations and Archaeological Studies, Ministry of Heritage and Culture, Sultanate of Oman. This paper presents the preliminary results of the archaeological study of shell fish-hooks and manufacturing debris from the fourth-millennium BC site of Ras al-Hadd HD-5 (RaΜs al-Дadd), Sultanate of Oman. 1 During the 2014 field season, a team from the University of Bologna working under the auspices of the Department of Excavations and Archaeological Studies, Ministry of Heritage and Culture, Sultanate of Oman, discovered about 200 artefacts related to the production of shell fish-hooks made from the mother-of-pearl bivalve shell Pinctada sp. These artefacts document all the different manufacturing stages of the production from chipped, ground, and drilled shell-hook blanks to finished and discarded hooks. In addition, hundreds of fragments of unworked P. margaritifera shell have also been recovered, suggesting that this was the primary species used in the manufacture of the shell hooks. This collection is from well-stratified archaeological deposits that include primary floors in association with domestic activity areas, as well as workshop dumps. The association of shell-hook debris with domestic contexts indicates that the process of shell-hook making was carried out in the context of other domestic activities. The wide range of 1 Place name according to the guidelines provided by the National Survey Authority of the Sultanate of Oman. manufacturing debris provides a unique opportunity for investigating the various stages of production and the use and changes of this technology over time. Based on a preliminary documentation of the shell and the associated stone artefacts, an initial replicative study was carried out using fresh and sub-fossil Pinctada sp. shells obtained from local fishermen, and stone tools made from chert and sandstone that would have been locally available to the ancient fishing community. The results of the experimental study provide insight into the types of tools that might have been used and the time involved in shell-hook production, as well as the association of this production with other domestic and subsistence activities.
Proceedings of the Seminars for Arabian Studies 44: 235-256, 2014
The Ministry of Heritage & Culture of Oman with the technical support of the Italian Archaeological Mission has resumed in 2012 and 2013 the field research at the shell midden of RH-6, in the Qurum Natural Reservation Capital Area in view of the construction near the site of an Information Centre. RH-6 is located about 600 m far from the nearby site of RH-5. The site was first investigated in the 80’s by P. Biagi, whose work outlined the main characteristics of its occupation. It is dated to the sixth and fifth millennia BCE and is one of the earliest sites known along the Eastern littoral of the Arabian Peninsula (ELA). During of the two seasons of fieldwork, four main sectors were investigated. In Sector A, a well-structured settlement, includes postholes directly cut into the bedrock that delimit some oval huts, and two auxiliary structures respectively used for fish and shell processing. In Sector B, several graves were documented allowing new considerations about funerary practices. In Sector C, a thorough stratigraphic excavation was carried out in a 2 x 2 m test trench dug up to a depth of 1,75 m in order to document the whole sequence of occupation as well as in the northern part of the site with the Trench North. The opportunity of conducting new excavations at the Ra’s al-Hamra Neolithic sites is of great importance for scientific research focused on the study of prehistoric fishermen populations that settled along the ELA, and for understanding their earliest mortuary practices and rituals.
Neolithic material cultures of Oman and the Gulf seashores from 5500-4500 BCE
Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy, 2013
The coastal sites of the UAE and the Sultanate of Oman in the sixth-fifth millennia BCE share a number of features in their material culture. In addition to lithic techniques, the populations shared particular technologies, such as architecture using load-bearing pots or the production of specific fishing material and ornaments in shell and mother-of-pearl. This corresponds to populations that were already Neolithic, with domestic animals and practising intensive fishing, which was sometimes specialised. Is it possible at this stage in our understanding, to assert that this assemblage is both well differentiated from those of Qatar and the northern Arabian Gulf and culturally homogeneous? Some answers are provided in this note.
Worked and decorated shell discs from southern Arabia and the wider Near East
Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy, 2019
Recent excavations at the sites of Dibba, Saruq al-Hadid and Sumhuram/Khor Rori have, together, produced a very substantial assemblage of worked shell discs dating to two broad but non-contiguous periods-the early first millennium BCE and the late centuries BCE and early centuries CE. In this article, we present and review the corpus of worked shell discs from these southern Arabian sites and contextualise them through comparison with worked shell discs from controlled excavations in Arabia and neighbouring regions of the ancient Near East, as well as unprovenanced antiquities in international museum collections. This research highlights the long-distance cultural connections and significance of this category of shell artefacts, aspects of their production, exchange and circulation, and their multi-valent ancient uses and modern interpretations. The three key sites present diverse aspects of the archaeological record of late prehistoric and early historic Arabia (Fig. 1). Dibba, located in the Omani area of the port of Dibba on the Gulf of Oman, is a burial complex comprising two large subterranean collective tombs designated LCG-1 and LCG-2 that were in use from the end of the Late Bronze Age to the early Iron Age (ca. 1500-700 BCE). Excavations there by the Ministry of Heritage and Culture of the Sultanate of Oman have recovered the primary and secondary burials of hundreds of individuals of both sexes and different age groups, together with thousands of grave offerings from the tombs and pits dug nearby, including cuts of animal meat, ceramics and softstone vessels, beads of semi-precious stones, and particularly