The Palaeolithic record of Abu Dhabi Emirate in the light of recent discoveries in the Eastern Region

Authors

  • Marc Händel Austrian Academy of Sciences
  • Norbert Buchinger Austrian Academy of Sciences
  • Ali Al Meqbali Historic Environment Department, Department of Culture and Tourism, P.O. Box 94000, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
  • Peter Magee Zayed National Museum, Department of Culture and Tourism, P.O. Box 94000, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Keywords:

Acheulian, Middle Palaeolithic, Upper/Late Palaeolithic, lithic raw material, site formation

Abstract

Since 2019, the intensification of fieldwork in the Eastern Region of Abu Dhabi Emirate, around Jebel Hafit and the al-Jaww plain resulted in the discovery of several Palaeolithic surface sites and findspots. The techno-typological spectrum of the collected lithic artefacts ranges from the Acheulian to the Upper/Late Palaeolithic. Geoarchaeological approaches identified the lithic raw material sources and illuminate local site formation processes. The new sites fundamentally enhance our knowledge of the Palaeolithic record in Abu Dhabi Emirate, and contribute to understanding human dispersal in southeast Arabia. Together with a reassessment of the Middle Palaeolithic industry of Jebel Barakah, the new investigations support a model of recurring occupations throughout a significant part of the Pleistocene, first by archaic hominins and then by anatomically modern humans. The representation of the major Palaeolithic technocomplexes evidenced in adjacent areas of the Arabian Peninsula – Acheulian, Middle Palaeolithic Levallois, and Upper/Late Palaeolithic platform core technology, can now also be attested for the archaeological record of Abu Dhabi Emirate.

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Published

08/01/2023

How to Cite

Händel, M., Buchinger, N., Al Meqbali, A., & Magee, P. (2023). The Palaeolithic record of Abu Dhabi Emirate in the light of recent discoveries in the Eastern Region. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 52, 157–175. Retrieved from https://archaeopresspublishing.com/ojs/index.php/PSAS/article/view/1638

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