The Stone Age of Qatar: new investigations, new finds; interim report (original) (raw)
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Sediment-filled karst depressions and riyad – key archaeological environments of south Qatar
E&G Quaternary Science Journal
Systematic archaeological exploration of southern Qatar started in the 1950s. However, detailed local and regional data on climatic fluctuations and landscape changes during the Holocene, pivotal for understanding and reconstructing human-environment interactions, are still lacking. This contribution provides an overview on the variability of geomorphic environments of southern Qatar with a focus on depression landforms, which reveal a rich archaeological heritage ranging from Palaeolithic(?) and Early Neolithic times to the Modern era. Based on a detailed geomorphic mapping campaign, sediment cores and optically stimulated luminescence data, the dynamics of riyad (singular rawdha; shallow, small-scale, sediment-filled karst depressions clustering in the central southern peninsula) and the larger-scale Asaila depression near the western coast are studied in order to put archaeological discoveries into a wider environmental context. Geomorphic mapping of the Asaila basin shows a much greater geomorphic variability than documented in literature so far with relict signs of surface runoff. An 8 m long sediment core taken in the sabkha-type sand flats of the western basin reveals a continuous dominance of aeolian morphodynamics during the early to mid-Holocene. Mounds preserved by evaporite horizons representing capillarites originally grown in the vadose zone are a clear sign of groundwater-level drop after the sea-level highstand ca. 6000-4500 years ago. Deflation followed the lowering of the Stokes surface, leaving mounds where the relict capillarites were able to fixate and preserve the palaeo-surface. Abundant archaeological evidence of Early and Middle Neolithic occupation-the latter with a clear focus inside the central Asaila basin-indicate more favourable Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the Deutsche Quartärvereinigung (DEUQUA) e.V. 216 M. Engel et al.: Archaeological environments of south Qatar living conditions than today. In contrast, the sediment record of the investigated riyad in the south is very shallow, younger and controlled by surface discharge, deflation and the constantly diminishing barchan dune cover in Qatar over the Middle and Late Holocene. The young age of the infill (ca. 1500 to 2000 years) explains the absence of findings older than the Late Islamic period. Indicators of current net deflation may relate to a decrease in surface runoff and sediment supply only in recent decades to centuries. In the future, geophysical prospection of the riyad may help to locate thicker sedimentary archives and the analysis of grain size distribution, micromorphology, phytoliths or even pollen spectra may enhance our understanding of the interplay of regional environmental changes and cultural history. Kurzfassung: Die systematische archäologische Erkundung des Südens der katarischen Halbinsel begann in den 1950er Jahren. Lokale und regionale Daten zu den die regionale Kulturentwicklung begleitenden klimatischen Schwankungen und Landschaftsveränderungen im Holozän fehlen allerdings weitgehend. Dieser Beitrag liefert einen Überblick über die geomorphologische Variabilität des südlichen Teils von Katar mit einem Schwerpunkt auf karstbürtigen Hohlformen, deren verhältnismäßig reiches archäologisches Erbe bis in das Paläolithikum(?)/Frühe Neolithikum zurückreicht. Basierend auf einer detaillierten geomorphologischen Kartierkampagne, Sedimentkernen und Altersdatierung mit Hilfe optisch stimulierter Lumineszenz erfolgt eine Rekonstruktion der Sedimentationsgeschichte der räumlich bedeutenden Riyad (Singular: Rawdha; flache, kleinskalige, sedimentgefüllte Karsthohlformen) und des größeren Beckens von Asaila in der Nähe der Westküste, um die während der vergangenen Dekaden getätigten archäologischen Funde und Erkenntnisse in einen erweiterten Umweltkontext einzuordnen. Die geomorphologische Kartierung des Asaila-Beckens zeigt eine weit größere Variabilität an Oberflächenformen als bisher in der Literatur dokumentiert, darunter auch deutliche Indikatoren für reliktischen Oberflächenabfluss. Während der 8 m lange Sedimentkern aus dem sabkhaähnlichen Bereich des westlichen Beckens eine kontinuierliche Dominanz der äolischen Morphodynamik über das frühe bis mittlere Holozän andeutet, sind die von kleinen hügelartigen Formen dominierten Bereiche durch reliktische, einst in der vadosen Zone gewachsene kapillare Evaporithorizonte fixiert worden. Dies ist ein deutliches Zeichen für vorherrschende Deflation seit dem Hochstand des Meeresspiegels (und des Grundwasserspiegels) vor ca. 6000-4500 Jahren. Zahlreiche früh-und mittelneolithische Streufunde-letztere mit einem klaren Schwerpunkt im zentralen Asaila-Becken-weisen auf günstigere Lebensbedingungen zu dieser Phase hin. Die sedimentäre Füllung der untersuchten Riyad ist deutlich flacher und jünger und wird durch Oberflächenabfluss, Deflation und die sukzessiv abnehmende Barchan-Dünenbedeckung in Katar während des Mittel-und Spätholozäns determiniert. Das junge Alter der Füllung (ca. 1500-2000 Jahre) erklärt das Fehlen archäologischer Funde, die älter als spätislamisch datieren. Indikatoren aktuell dominierender Deflation (lineare Korrasionsrillen, Mikro-Yardangs) sind mögliche Hinweise auf einen Rückgang von Oberflächenabfluss und Sedimenteintrag innerhalb der letzten Jahrzehnte bis wenigen Jahrhunderte. Eine geophysikalische Prospektion der Riyad, die die Lokalisierung möglichst mächtiger Sedimentpakete erlauben würde, in Kombination mit der Analyse von Korngrößenverteilung, Mikromorphologie, Phytolithen oder gar Pollenspektren, könnte in Zukunft Teil einer Strategie sein, hier detailliertere Daten zur Paläo-Umweltdynamik der zentralen Bereiche Katars zu generieren.
Sediment-filled karst depressions and riyad – key archaeological environments of south Qatar
E&G Quaternary Science Journal, 2020
Systematic archaeological exploration of southern Qatar started in the 1950s. However, detailed local and regional data on climatic fluctuations and landscape changes during the Holocene, pivotal for understanding and reconstructing human-environment interactions, are still lacking. This contribution provides an overview on the variability of geomorphic environments of southern Qatar with a focus on depression landforms, which reveal a rich archaeological heritage ranging from Palaeolithic(?) and Early Neolithic times to the Modern era. Based on a detailed geomorphic mapping campaign, sediment cores and optically stimulated luminescence data, the dynamics of riyad (singular rawdha; shallow, small-scale, sediment-filled karst depressions clustering in the central southern peninsula) and the larger-scale Asaila depression near the western coast are studied in order to put archaeological discoveries into a wider environmental context. Geomorphic mapping of the Asaila basin shows a much greater geomorphic variability than documented in literature so far with relict signs of surface runoff. An 8 m long sediment core taken in the sabkha-type sand flats of the western basin reveals a continuous dominance of aeolian morphodynamics during the early to mid-Holocene. Mounds preserved by evaporite horizons representing capillarites originally grown in the vadose zone are a clear sign of groundwater-level drop after the sea-level highstand ca. 6000-4500 years ago. Deflation followed the lowering of the Stokes surface, leaving mounds where the relict capillarites were able to fixate and preserve the palaeo-surface. Abundant archaeological evidence of Early and Middle Neolithic occupation-the latter with a clear focus inside the central Asaila basin-indicate more favourable Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the Deutsche Quartärvereinigung (DEUQUA) e.V. 216 M. Engel et al.: Archaeological environments of south Qatar living conditions than today. In contrast, the sediment record of the investigated riyad in the south is very shallow, younger and controlled by surface discharge, deflation and the constantly diminishing barchan dune cover in Qatar over the Middle and Late Holocene. The young age of the infill (ca. 1500 to 2000 years) explains the absence of findings older than the Late Islamic period. Indicators of current net deflation may relate to a decrease in surface runoff and sediment supply only in recent decades to centuries. In the future, geophysical prospection of the riyad may help to locate thicker sedimentary archives and the analysis of grain size distribution, micromorphology, phytoliths or even pollen spectra may enhance our understanding of the interplay of regional environmental changes and cultural history. Kurzfassung: Die systematische archäologische Erkundung des Südens der katarischen Halbinsel begann in den 1950er Jahren. Lokale und regionale Daten zu den die regionale Kulturentwicklung begleitenden klimatischen Schwankungen und Landschaftsveränderungen im Holozän fehlen allerdings weitgehend. Dieser Beitrag liefert einen Überblick über die geomorphologische Variabilität des südlichen Teils von Katar mit einem Schwerpunkt auf karstbürtigen Hohlformen, deren verhältnismäßig reiches archäologisches Erbe bis in das Paläolithikum(?)/Frühe Neolithikum zurückreicht. Basierend auf einer detaillierten geomorphologischen Kartierkampagne, Sedimentkernen und Altersdatierung mit Hilfe optisch stimulierter Lumineszenz erfolgt eine Rekonstruktion der Sedimentationsgeschichte der räumlich bedeutenden Riyad (Singular: Rawdha; flache, kleinskalige, sedimentgefüllte Karsthohlformen) und des größeren Beckens von Asaila in der Nähe der Westküste, um die während der vergangenen Dekaden getätigten archäologischen Funde und Erkenntnisse in einen erweiterten Umweltkontext einzuordnen. Die geomorphologische Kartierung des Asaila-Beckens zeigt eine weit größere Variabilität an Oberflächenformen als bisher in der Literatur dokumentiert, darunter auch deutliche Indikatoren für reliktischen Oberflächenabfluss. Während der 8 m lange Sedimentkern aus dem sabkhaähnlichen Bereich des westlichen Beckens eine kontinuierliche Dominanz der äolischen Morphodynamik über das frühe bis mittlere Holozän andeutet, sind die von kleinen hügelartigen Formen dominierten Bereiche durch reliktische, einst in der vadosen Zone gewachsene kapillare Evaporithorizonte fixiert worden. Dies ist ein deutliches Zeichen für vorherrschende Deflation seit dem Hochstand des Meeresspiegels (und des Grundwasserspiegels) vor ca. 6000-4500 Jahren. Zahlreiche früh-und mittelneolithische Streufunde-letztere mit einem klaren Schwerpunkt im zentralen Asaila-Becken-weisen auf günstigere Lebensbedingungen zu dieser Phase hin. Die sedimentäre Füllung der untersuchten Riyad ist deutlich flacher und jünger und wird durch Oberflächenabfluss, Deflation und die sukzessiv abnehmende Barchan-Dünenbedeckung in Katar während des Mittel-und Spätholozäns determiniert. Das junge Alter der Füllung (ca. 1500-2000 Jahre) erklärt das Fehlen archäologischer Funde, die älter als spätislamisch datieren. Indikatoren aktuell dominierender Deflation (lineare Korrasionsrillen, Mikro-Yardangs) sind mögliche Hinweise auf einen Rückgang von Oberflächenabfluss und Sedimenteintrag innerhalb der letzten Jahrzehnte bis wenigen Jahrhunderte. Eine geophysikalische Prospektion der Riyad, die die Lokalisierung möglichst mächtiger Sedimentpakete erlauben würde, in Kombination mit der Analyse von Korngrößenverteilung, Mikromorphologie, Phytolithen oder gar Pollenspektren, könnte in Zukunft Teil einer Strategie sein, hier detailliertere Daten zur Paläo-Umweltdynamik der zentralen Bereiche Katars zu generieren.
A geomorphological and hydrological underpinning for archaeological research in northern Qatar
This paper examines occupation and settlement in northern Qatar in terms of a physical (geomorphological and hydrogeological) and temporal (climatic and eustatic) framework. Under the present arid/hyper-arid climate and low relief there is no perennial surface water. Potable water was obtained from groundwater, which occurs as a fresh-water lens overlying saline water; it was accessed by hand-dug wells which were concentrated closer to the coast where the freshwater table is shallowest. There is a close relationship between water table level depth under the Qatar peninsula and sea level, which was mostly lower than at present in Late Quaternary times, being at minus 120-130 m about 18,000 years ago and minus 40 m 10,000 years ago. During the Epipaleolithic, Upper Palaeolithic, and much of the Middle Palaeolithic periods back to the end of the last wet interglacial (Eemian) from 117,000-130,000 years ago, sea levels were low and groundwater was deep and unattainable, making permanent occupation unlikely. The onset of the Indian Ocean Monsoon in the Early Holocene overlapped with high interglacial sea levels in the mid-Holocene, providing a Hydrological Optimum from c.7000 to c.6000 years BP, when sea level reached c.3 m above that at present. Water was readily available with the likelihood of significant coastal spring outflow, at a time before the development of the saline coastal sabkha, where outflowing groundwater is now lost. It corresponds to the period of some of the most important pre-Islamic archaeological sites in Qatar, situated on the high-level shoreline at al-Shagra, al-Khor, and across the Abaruk (al Buriiq) peninsula/Dasah (Da'sah)/Dukkan (Dukhan) area. The retreat of the monsoon at c.6000 years BP ushered in a period of shallow hand-dug wells with settlements concentrated nearer the coast, especially in the north where the freshest groundwater occurs. This phase lasted until c. 1960 when the introduction of large wells and bores with modem pumps greatly reduced the size of the freshwater lens causing up-coning of salt water into the wells and salinization of the coastal aquifers by seawater intrusion.
A Historical Account of the Stratigraphy of Qatar, Middle-East (1816 to 2015)
The document as a whole is an extremely valuable source of historical information for who ever wants to understand the background history behind the stratigraphical units in Qatar as we know them today. Up to now, all this information was scattered throughout several public domain papers and records, or very difficult to access. In addition to gathering all this publicly available information into one complete file, the document contains some unique items such as the transcripts of interviews with Mr. Abdallah Salatt (first Qatari geologist) and Dr. Claude Cavelier (first color geological map of Qatar and still the most extensive geological survey of the country). Several email communications also took place between the author and Mr. Anthony J. Standring (paleontologist who worked on the first Qatar deep well DK-0065 in 1959), the son of Mr. Walter Sugden (geologist in Qatar in the 1950's) and the son and daughter of Dr. Alan H. Smout who published in 1954 an important geological document on Qatar; the latter is provided in its entirety in appendix 3.
Found: the Palaeolithic of Qatar
Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 2015
The seeming lack of evidence for a Palaeolithic presence in Qatar has been enigmatic. This has now changed. Here we report on discoveries made by the PADMAC Unit during 2013/2014 and the far-reaching implications of these findings. Our preliminary analysis of the Qatar lithic assemblages — QSS25, QSS29 (PADMAC Unit collection) and A-group Site I and A-group Site III (Kapel collection) — revealed the presence of large chopping tools and crude ‘Abbevillian’ cores, both indicative of an early stage within the lower Palaeolithic period, while the absence of classic Acheulean hand axes might even suggest a date exceeding one million years. Furthermore, the particular suite of technological traits we identified in Umm Taqa ‘B-group’ Site XXXIV (Kapel collection) lithic assemblage, are characteristic of middle–upper Palaeolithic transitional industries found in the Levant, Nile Valley, and southern Arabia. Hence, we tentatively assign the ‘Taqan’ industry to the upper Palaeolithic. Specific lithics from the QSS32 (PADMAC Unit collection) assemblage, allude to further ‘Taqan’ sites in southern Qatar.
Preliminary results from further survey and a series of test pit excavations at the flint scatter site of Ras Ushayriq (QHNER 141) during the 2010 season has led to a re-assessment of the nature and chronology of the site. Over 1500 lithics were collected including implements of the Arabian Bifacial Tradition (ABT) in the form of barbed and tanged arrowheads, a ‘knife’, and possible bifacial performs. The site has also yielded an axe which exhibits evidence of hafting and a particularly high number of scraper tools. A hearth has also been uncovered containing lithics, pottery, and fragments of animal and fish bone. Furthermore, over fifty pieces of Ubaid pottery were discovered, and most significantly five worked fragments of obsidian. The diversity of technologies combined with the wide variety of different raw material types present suggests successive re-occupation of the site using both local and imported materials. Evidence of interaction between Arabia and Mesopotamia in the form of Ubaid pottery suggests a date of between 6000-3500BC, placing the main occupation of the site within the Neolithic and the early Holocene. The recovery of five worked obsidian pieces represents the largest assemblage of obsidian discovered in Qatar to date and implies that the trade in this commodity is perhaps more significant than previously surmised.
Biosis: Biological Systems, 2021
The author learned first-hand about the surface stratigraphy and geology of Qatar by dedicating most of his weekends at conducting field works and public guided field tours from 2007 to 2020 while employed by Qatar Petroleum. Here, he reviews and updates the surface stratigraphic knowledge of Qatar since the last lexicon was published back in 1975. The geology and macro-paleontology of the Lower Eocene Rus, Middle Eocene Dammam, Lower Miocene Dam and Mio-Pliocene Hofuf formations are described in detail and well illustrated.
Between rocks and a hard place: prehistoric funerary practices at Wādī Ḍebayʿān, northern Qatar
Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy, 2015
Archaeological survey by the Qatar National Historic Environment Record Project (QNHER) in 2009, led to the discovery of a Neolithic flint scatter, settlement and an ancient, raised shoreline associated with higher, mid-Holocene sea levels at Wādī Ḍebayʿān, northwestern Qatar (Al Naimi et al. 2010, 2011, Cuttler et al. 2011). The QNHER project is a collaboration between Qatar Museums and the University of Birmingham, which over the past five years has developed a national geospatial database for the recording of archaeological sites and historic monuments in Qatar. A significant aspect of the project involved archaeological survey and excavation in advance of major construction projects. Between 2012 and 2014 excavations at Wādī Ḍebayʿān revealed a burial of a typology previously unknown in Qatar (Cuttler et al. 2013).
The results of two seasons of extensive survey by the Qatar Museums Authority and the University of Birmingham around Wadi Debayan in northern Qatar have revealed substantial differences in the density and distribution of monuments from the late Stone Age onwards, particularly a high density of pre-Islamic burial cairns. Such a high density must reflect either a sustained population over a long period or significant rise in population over a short period. Given that very minor climate fluctuation can significantly affect resources in a hyper-arid landscape, the analysis of proxy data from regionally relevant environmental sediment traps appear to be a prerequisite for further meaningful research into pre-Islamic population dynamics. However, the identification of sediment traps remains a major problems within a deflated, hyper-arid landscape. Coring within the wadi found evidence for marine sediments during the first half of the seventh millennium BP, followed by sea-level stabilization and encroaching intertidal vegetation during the second half of the seventh millennium BP. These results emphasize the potential for the presence of organic-rich deposits within wadi sequences, particularly in intertidal zones.