The paper presents the preliminary archaeological study of around 200 artefacts related to the production of shell fish-hooks made from Pinctada sp. discovered at the Neolithic coastal site of Ras al-Hadd HD-5 in 2014. The site occupation dates to the fourth millennium BC and finished shell hooks and manufacturing debris were recovered from stratigraphic contexts that included primary floors and workshop dumps. The artefacts include complete shells that were probably collected from the nearby lagoon, hammer stones and rasps made of sandstone, and all stages of the shell-hook manufacturing processes. After comprehensive documentation and study of the artefacts, experimental replications were carried out to gain a better understanding of the stages of production and factors that contributed to breakage and discard. Future studies will include the use of experimental hooks to determine their strength and durability. Excavations were conducted by a team from the University of Bologna under the auspices of the Department of Excavations and Archaeological Studies, Ministry of Heritage and Culture, Sultanate of Oman.

Shell fish-hook production at Ras al-Hadd HD-5, Sultanate of Oman (fourth millennium BC): preliminary archaeological and experimental studies

Elena Maini;
2015

Abstract

The paper presents the preliminary archaeological study of around 200 artefacts related to the production of shell fish-hooks made from Pinctada sp. discovered at the Neolithic coastal site of Ras al-Hadd HD-5 in 2014. The site occupation dates to the fourth millennium BC and finished shell hooks and manufacturing debris were recovered from stratigraphic contexts that included primary floors and workshop dumps. The artefacts include complete shells that were probably collected from the nearby lagoon, hammer stones and rasps made of sandstone, and all stages of the shell-hook manufacturing processes. After comprehensive documentation and study of the artefacts, experimental replications were carried out to gain a better understanding of the stages of production and factors that contributed to breakage and discard. Future studies will include the use of experimental hooks to determine their strength and durability. Excavations were conducted by a team from the University of Bologna under the auspices of the Department of Excavations and Archaeological Studies, Ministry of Heritage and Culture, Sultanate of Oman.
2015
Proceeding of the Seminars for Arabian Studies 45
1
6
Eleonora Bavutti, Federico Borgi, Elena Maini, Jonathan Mark Kenoyer
File in questo prodotto:
Eventuali allegati, non sono esposti

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11585/714983
 Attenzione

Attenzione! I dati visualizzati non sono stati sottoposti a validazione da parte dell'ateneo

Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus ND
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? ND
social impact