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Maritime adaptation is a key component of the Neolithization process in Eastern Arabia. It is expressed by the development of diversified fishing techniques, the exploitation of hard marine animal materials (e.g., seashells, shark teeth, stingray's barbs, etc.) for both tools and personal adornments production, advanced seafaring, and colonization of offshore islands. Although a diet based mainly on the consumption of marine fish and mollusks, the importance of other seafood has been greatly underestimated in previous zooarchaeological studies. Large quantities of marine crabs (NISP = 10,619) and sea urchins (NISP = 2454) have been retrieved from newly excavated Neolithic sites in the United Arab Emirates. These data highlight local developments of interest for specific seafood and their intensive exploitation over several centuries of human occupation. This study focuses on methods for identifying the main edible marine crab and sea urchin species retrieved from archaeological sites in Eastern Arabia. Results from the Neolithic sites of Delma Island and the Umm al-Quwain lagoon are discussed. [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]

For decades, so-called Fasad points have been discovered in Oman and the UAE. These lithic projectile points have been until now fossiles directeurs (or defining artefacts) for Early Holocene human occupation prior to the development of the Arabian Neolithic. It appears that many different types of points are described in the literature as Fasad points, but the actual variability of the archaeological discoveries leads to the necessity for reassessment and clarification of the very definition of this type of artefact. We propose here a new definition of the Fasad points with the creation of sub-types. We also discuss the trend of using this lithic type as a marker for the diffusion of PPNB technology towards the south-east from the Mediterranean Levantine Neolithic core area. [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]

An early-to mid-Holocene humid phase has been identified in various Arabian geo-archives, although significant regional heterogeneity has been reported in the onset, duration and stability of this period. A multi-proxy lake and dune record from Wahalah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) documents significant variations in hydrology, biological productivity and landscape stability during the first half of the Holocene. These data reveal that post-Last Glacial Maximum dune emplacement continued into the earliest part of the Holocene, with the onset of permanent lacustrine sedimentation at the site commencing ∼8.5 ka cal. BP. A long-term shift towards more arid conditions is inferred between ∼7.8 and 5.9 ka cal. BP, with intermittent flooding of the basin and distinct phases of instability throughout the catchment area. This transition is linked to the southwards migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and associated weakening of monsoon rains. A peak in landscape instability is recorded between ∼5.9 and 5.3 ka cal. BP and is marked by a pronounced increase in regional dune emplacement. These variations are considered alongside the record of human settlement raising important questions about the interactions between population demographics, climate and environment in southeast Arabia during the Neolithic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]