Preliminary report on the faunal remains from Dalma, an Ubaid settlement in Abu Dhabi Emirate, United Arab EmiratesPaper presented at the fourth International Conference of ASWA (Archaeozoology of South West Asia and Adjacent Areas), held at the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France - 29th June - 3rd July 1998.Mark Beech
ABSTRACT A preliminary analysis is provided of the faunal remains from a newly discovered Ubaid (c. 4000 BC) settlement located on the island of Dalma in the United Arab Emirates. Fishing and hunting were of great importance although animal husbandry was also practised, a small amount of bones of domestic sheep/goat being present at the site. Gazelle were sometimes hunted, and marine turtle, dugong and dolphin only appear to have been occasionally exploited. Other marine resources which were also utilised included crabs and marine mollusca. Fishing seems to have been the most significant activity. Ongoing analysis of the fish remains suggests that a wide range of species are present, including inshore as well as pelagic species. Major groups include the subclass Elasmobranchii (cartilaginous sharks and rays) as well as the following families amongst the Osteichthyes (bony fishes): Belonidae, Serranidae, Sparidae, Lethrinidae, Carangidae and Scombridae. Initial biometric work carried out illustrates how some of these fishes were of a substantial size, e.g. groupers (Serranidae: Epinephelus sp.) up to almost one metre in length. Careful examination and recording of the fishbones during recent excavations at the site in March 1998 revealed important evidence for the systematic processing of fish. The new discovery that the site is in actual fact a multi-period settlement, with a number of well preserved round houses and associated middens, provides a unique opportunity to reconstruct a detailed picture of life during the Ubaid of south-east Arabia.
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