In the land of the Ichthyophagi: Modelling fish exploitation in the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman from the 5th millennium BC to the Late Islamic period

Paper presented at the Seminar for Arabian Studies, Royal Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh - 19-21 July 2001


Mark J. Beech

Department of Archaeology, University of York, The King's Manor, York YO1 7EP, U.K. ( E-mail: mjb117@york.ac.uk )

ABSTRACT

This paper will summarise the conclusions of my recently completed doctoral thesis concerning ancient marine resource exploitation in SE Arabia. The primary data for this study are 23 archaeological fish bone assemblages from sites located in the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, with a particular focus on the southern Gulf region and the present day coastline of the United Arab Emirates. Various techniques were used to model the regional variability in archaeological fish bone assemblages. These include standard zooarchaeological quantification techniques as well as various biological modelling tools. The significance of the overall results will be discussed along with their importance for understanding prehistoric and historic subsistence strategies in SE Arabia.
 


[ HOME - WHATS NEW - RESEARCH - PUBLICATIONS - PROFILE - USEFUL LINKS - FUN ]