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The French mission “Arabian Seashores” has been exploring the Omani coast of the Arabian Sea since 2010. The team has prospected, surveyed various sites, and conducted excavations at Khuwaymah, Masirah Island, Hallaniyat Archipelago, Sharbithat, Hasik as well as other sites along the coast. Additionally, they have explored the Jebel Qara and several rock art sites. The mission’s research focuses on the chronology of the Final Paleolithic to the Early Bronze Age, spanning the period between 10,000 and 2000 BCE. Specifically, their attention is on the transition from the Paleolithic to the Neolithic era, marking the shift from predatory societies to the first productive communities. The mission has made significant discoveries, including the Final Paleolithic cave of Natif and the Neolithic sites of Ad-Dahariz (Salalah), Hasik, and Sharbithat. Simultaneously, a project in the Rub’ Al Khali desert was carried out in collaboration with a team of geologists and paleontologists. During the latest mission in December 2022, particular emphasis was placed on research in this area, confirming the extraordinary potential of these sites. The campaign played a critical role in enhancing our understanding of cultural transfer, settling patterns, and technological innovation in Southern Arabia during the Neolithic period. Overall, the project has expanded our current knowledge of Neolithic cultures in desert locations by conducting an integrated study of the paleoenvironment and a techno-quantitative examination of the lithic industries. This work lays the foundation for future research in this field.
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Découverte en 2013, dans le Dhofar-province méridionale du sultanat d'Oman-la grotte de Natif 2 est actuellement l'unique témoin de communautés maritimes du Paléolithique final, en péninsule Arabique. La fouille d'une partie du porche révèle une importante activité humaine entre le début du IX e et le milieu du VIII e millénaire avant notre ère, notamment en termes de production halieutique, d'écologie ou de technologie lithique. Ainsi la pêche pratiquée dans des eaux peu profondes et à quelques centaines de mètres de la grotte, s'oriente vers de petites espèces pélagiques (anchois et sardinelles), mais aussi d'un petit poisson-chat marin. En parallèle, la capture de raies et de squales (ces derniers pouvant dépasser plus de 2 m de long), est confirmée. Cet article présente les industries lithiques datées de la première moitié du VIII e millénaire avant notre ère (env. 7950-7600 cal. BCE). L'étude vise à caractériser les techniques et méthodes de débitage, afin de compléter nos faibles connaissances sur les technocomplexes dits « à pointe de Fasad ». L'analyse typologique et technologique de l'industrie lithique de Natif 2 montre une grande homogénéité dans l'en-semble de la stratigraphie. Les armatures de Fasad sont surtout très homogènes dans leurs principes techniques. La production de lamelles à profil longitudinal peu convexe-voire rectiligne-et à extrémité distale pointue constitue un objectif de débitage original, qui a, de facto, valeur de marqueur culturel. Les autres outils aménagés les plus caracté-ristiques se composent de troncatures obliques sur lames ou éclats, de perçoirs et d'éclats denticulés. Pour de tels outils assez courts, les méthodes de production observées sont très simples, avec une production intégrée de lames courtes, de lamelles épaisses et d'éclats non corticaux.
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Research conducted along the Omani coastline of the Arabian Sea has revealed a new chapter in the history of early maritime communities. Globally, most coastal habitats from the early Holocene have been submerged by rising sea levels. The caves in the cliffs of Natif (Hasik, Dhofar) are an exception in Arabia: they are currently the only evidence of maritime communities from the Late Paleolithic period on the peninsula. Between the early 9th and 8th millennia BCE, these early Arabian fishermen focused on catching small pelagic species (anchovies and sardinella), as well as rays and sharks. Around 6000 BCE, the shores of the Arabian Peninsula were covered with Neolithic settlements, sometimes consisting of large shell middens. The mission discovered a large number of these along the Arabian Sea and explored several, notably at Suwayh, Ruwayz, Khuwaymah, Masirah Island, Sharbithat, Hasik, Ad Dahariz, Hallaniyah Island, etc. Among these, the Suwayh SWY-1 settlement is particularly noteworthy, as its inhabitants specialized in shark fishing between 5800 and 4400 BCE. This Neolithic period also saw the conquest of island environments, including the large island of Masirah and the Hallaniyat archipelago. While Masirah was occupied early on (5900-5600 BCE), Hallaniyah was settled much later (around 4400 BCE). By this time, the entire territory of Oman had been conquered by Neolithic communities. At the same time, the mission worked to establish a chronology for these periods. In Sharbithat Bay, as in Hasik, it is currently bringing to light a new facies from the very end of the Neolithic period, between 3700 and 3100 BCE.
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