Ceramic exchange in the northern UAE during the Late Bronze Age: preliminary results of macroscopic and petrographic analyses
Keywords:
Pottery, Late Bronze Age, south-east Arabia, petrographic analyses, exchangesAbstract
In the case of Late Bronze Age pottery archaeometry is still rare in south-east Arabia. This article presents the results of a study undertaken on pottery assemblages from three Late Bronze Age sites located in the northern United Arab Emirates: Masafi-5, Kalba 4, and Shimal SX. Macroscopic and technological observations of a large set of potsherds were combined with a petrographic analysis of twenty-eight thin sections. Beyond providing a characterization of four petrographic groups, the study demonstrates a close trading connection between the east coast (Kalba 4), the internal region (Masafi-5), and the west coast (Shimal SX) and reveals the regional mobility of people during the Late Bronze Age and early Iron Age.
References
Benoist A. & Méry S. 2012. Initial results from the programme of petrographic analysis of Iron Age pottery from the United Arab Emirates. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 22/1: 70–91.
British Geological Survey. 2006a. Al Rams 1:50 000 series: Solid and drift geology. Abu Dhabi: Ministry of Energy, Petroleum and Minerals Sector, Minerals Department.
British Geological Survey. 2006b. Wadi Haqil 1:25 000 series: Solid and drift geology. Abu Dhabi: Ministry of Energy, Petroleum and Minerals Sector, Minerals Department.
British Geological Survey. 2006c. Dibba 1:50 000 series: Solid and drift geology. Abu Dhabi: Ministry of Energy, Petroleum and Minerals Sector, Minerals Department.
British Geological Survey. 2006d. Khor Fakkan 1:50 000 series: Solid and drift geology. Abu Dhabi: Ministry of Energy, Petroleum and Minerals Sector, Minerals Department.
British Geological Survey. 2006e. Fujairah 1:50 000 series: Solid and drift geology. Abu Dhabi: Ministry of Energy, Petroleum and Minerals Sector, Minerals Department.
British Geological Survey. 2006f. Hatta 1:50 000 series: Solid and drift geology. Abu Dhabi: Ministry of Energy, Petroleum and Minerals Sector, Minerals Department.
Carter R. 1997. Defining the Late Bronze Age in southeast Arabia: Ceramic evolution and settlement during the second millennium BC. PhD thesis, London. [Unpublished.]
Degli Esposti M. & Benoist A. 2015. More on Masafi ancestors: The Late Bronze Age site of Masafi-5. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 45: 57–74.
Echallier C. & Méry S. 1991. L’évolution minéralogique et physico-chimique des pâtes calcaires au cours de la cuisson: Expérimentation en laboratoire et application archéologique. In S. Méry (ed.), Documents et Travaux de l’IGAL 16: 87–120.
Eddisford D. & Phillips C. 2009. Kalbā in the third millennium (Emirate of Sharjah, UAE). Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 39: 99–112.
Franke-Vogt U. 1991. The settlement of central-Shimal. Pages 179–204 in K. Schippmann, A. Herling & J-F. Salles (eds), Golf-Archäologie. (Internationale Archäologie, 6). Buch am Erlbach: Marie Leidorf.
Frifelt K. 1990. A third millennium BC kiln from the Oman peninsula. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 1: 4–15.
Grantham G.H., Goedhart M.L., Wipplinger P.E., Thomas R.J., Eglington B.M., Harmer R.E. & Harzter F.J. 2003. Sheet 2 of 3: Masafi — The surface geology of the Emirate of Fujairah. Department of Industry and Economy, Government of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. [Unpublished circulated report.]
Magee P. 1996. The chronology of the southeast Arabian Iron Age. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 7: 195–213.
Magee P. 2011. Shifts in ceramic production and exchange in late prehistoric southeastern Arabia and the introduction of domesticated Camelus dromedaries. Pages 213–226 in N.J. Conard, P. Drechsler & A. Morales (eds), Between sand and sea: The archaeology and human ecology of southwestern Asia. Festschrift in honor of Hans-Peter Uerpmann. (Tübinger Monographien zur Urgeschichte). Tübingen: Kerns.
Magee P. & Carter R. 1999. Agglomeration and regionalism: Southeastern Arabia from 1400 to 1100 BC. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 10: 161–179.
Magee P., Händel M., Karacic S., Uerpmann M. & Uerpmann H-P. 2017. Tell Abraq during the second and first millennia BC: Site layout, spatial organisation, and economy. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 28: 209–237. https://doi.org/10.1111/aae.12103
Magee P., Grave P., Al-Tikriti W.Y., Barbetti M., Yu Z. & Bailey G. 1998. New evidence for specialized ceramic production and exchange in the southeast Arabian Iron Age. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 9: 236–245.
Méry S. 1991. Wadi Suq fine wares from Shimal and Hili Sites (United Arab Emirates): A technological and provenience analysis. Pages 245–255 in K. Schipmann, A. Herling & J-F. Salles (eds), Golf-Archäologie. Mesopotamien, Iran, Kuwait, Bahrain, Vereinigte Arabische Emirate und Oman. (Internationale Archäologie, 6). Buch am Erlbach: Marie Leidorf.
Méry S. 2000. La céramique d’Oman et ses relations avec l’Asie moyenne. Une archéologie d’échanges à l’Age du Bronze. Paris: CNRS-Editions.
Méry S., Dupont-Delaleuf A. & Van der Leeuw S. 2010. Analyse technologique et expérimentations: La technique de façonnage céramique mettant en jeu la rotation à Hili (Émirats arabes unis) à la fin du IIIe millénaire (âge du Bronze ancien). Pages 52–64 in F. Giligny & S. Méry (eds), Approches de la chaîne opératoire de la céramique. (Les Nouvelles de l’archéologie, 119). Paris: Errance/MSH.
Potts D.T. 1990. A prehistoric mound in the Emirate of Umm al-Quwain, U.A.E. excavations at Tell Abraq 1989. Copenhagen: Munksgaard.
Potts D.T. 1991. Further excavations at Tell Abraq: The 1990 season. Copenhagen: Munksgaard.
Quinn P.S. 2013. Ceramic petrography: The interpretation of archaeological pottery and related artefacts in thin section. Oxford: Archaeopress.
Rice P.M. 1987. Pottery analysis: A sourcebook. Chicago/London: University of Chicago Press.
Velde C. 1992. Die spätbronzezeitliche und früheisenzeitliche Siedlung und ihre Keramik in Shimal/Ras al-Khaimah (Vereinigte Arabische Emirate). MA thesis, Göttingen. [Unpublished.]
Velde C. 1998. The Late Bronze Age pottery of Shimal settlement SX (Ras al-Khaimah). In M. Mouton (ed.), Assemblages céramiques des sites de l’Âge du Fer en péninsule d’Oman. (Documents d’Archéologie de l’Arabie, 1). CD-Rom, Maison de l’Orient, CNRS, Lyon.
Velde C. 2003. Wadi Suq and Late Bronze Age in the Oman peninsula. Pages 101–114 in D.T. Potts, H. al Naboodah & P. Hellyer (eds), Archaeology in the United Arab Emirates. Proceedings of the first international conference on the archaeology of the U.A.E. London: Trident Press.
Velde B. & Druc I.C. 1999. Archaeological ceramic materials: Origin and utilisation. Berlin: Springer.
Published
How to Cite
License
Archaeopress Publishing, Oxford, UK