Preliminary report on the vertebrate fauna from site H3, Sabiyah: an Arabian Neolithic/Ubaid site in Kuwaitby:Dr. Mark J. Beech
Paper to be presented at the 6th meeting of the Archaeozoology of South West Asia and Adjacent Areas (ASWA) Working Group conference, due to be held at the Institute of Archaeology (UCL), London from the 29th August - 1st September 2002.
ABSTRACT This paper summarises the preliminary results of an analysis of the mammalian, bird and fish vertebrate fauna from site H3 at Sabiyah in Kuwait. The site is a settlement located on the northern shore of Kuwait Bay. Radiocarbon dating, as well as distinctive pottery found at the site, confirms that the settlement dates to the late 6th/early 5th millennium BC. Domestic livestock exploited include sheep/goat and cattle. Hunting was carried out for gazelle, fox and marine turtle. Birds so far identified include cormorant. The numerous fish remains include requiem sharks, sawfish, sea catfish, groupers, jacks/trevallies, emperors, seabream and tuna. Most fishing was probably carried out in shallow waters adjacent to the site, although some larger jacks and groupers, and particularly the tuna, must have been caught in deeper offshore waters. A large number of sea catfish otoliths were recovered from the site. These are currently being studied in collaboration with a Kuwaiti colleague (Dr. Mohsen Al-Husainy, Fish Ageing Laboratory, Mariculture and Fisheries Division, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research). Preliminary data suggest that the sea catfish were caught during both summer and winter months. Interestingly, some of the otoliths had been utilised as blanks for the manufacture of beads. KEYWORDS site H3, Sabiyah, Kuwait,
late 6th/early 5th mill. BC, mammals, bird, fish, sea catfish, otoliths,
seasonality
[ HOME - WHATS NEW - RESEARCH - PUBLICATIONS - PROFILE - USEFUL LINKS - FUN ] |