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Well before metallurgy, Neolithic societies in the Gulf were engaging in a very peculiar form of metal object production, particularly of axes and adzes made from haematite. In the heart of the Neolithic Middle East, this innovation was specific to Arabian shores between the Musandam and Qatar peninsulas. Quite infrequent among Neolithic lithic assemblages from Arabia, axes and adzes were mostly collected on the surface of domestic settlements. One is often dealing with objects to which the most focus has been given, apart from arrowheads and projectile points. Several sites or outcrops are present on the Emirati coastline and Gulf islands. Inland mountain ranges also include some of these. From Ra's al‐Khaimah to Qatar, only 500 km separate the most distant Neolithic domestic settlements which possess haematite axes or hoes, a distance that is quite small when one considers the circulation of polished stone blades in other societies of the same period. Within the Middle East, south‐eastern Arabia during the Neolithic engaged in a very original means of production of metal objects, as the latter did not focus on copper, a very malleable and much more available material, but on haematite, which was much harder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Neolithic period in Eastern Arabia (especially from 5500 to 3100 BC) is better understood due to recent excavations of stratified sites stretching from Kuwait to the Sultanate of Oman. When oasis agriculture developed from the Bronze Age onwards, herding, shellfish gathering, and fishing became the primary modes of subsistence, and despite strong regional aridity, coastal shell middens provide the best preservation conditions in the Persian Gulf. Akab, one of the many Neolithic shell middens of the United Arab Emirates coastline, is situated in the Umm al-Quwain lagoon. This settlement is dated to the second part of the fifth millennium BC and has provided more than 37,000 fish remains, derived from over 50 fish species. Ichthyofaunal analysis underlines the predominance of coastal pelagics, such as kawakawas and trevallies, and the exploitation of several coastal fishes, mostly seabreams and emperors. Inhabitants fished over a wide aquatic territory, which included shallow-water biotopes, situated inside the lagoon, and the open sea. The associated fishing gear, composed of stone sinkers and shell fishhooks, indicates that nets and lines were used. Here, we review the seasonal organization of activities and mobility schemes from an archaeo-ichthyological perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The technology of shell fish-hooks and line fishing is well attested in the coastal areas of the Indian Ocean during the Neolithic period (fifth–fourth millennium BC). Their presence in the coastal area of the Arabian Gulf is now confirmed by new findings from Akab (Umm al-Qaiwain) and Shimal (Ra's al-Khaimah) in the United Arab Emirates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]