al‐Khafaji reinterpreted: New insights on Umm an‐Nar monuments and settlement from Bat, Oman

Water played an undeniably significant role in the origins of complex societies across the Near East, but political complexity in regions like Southeast Arabia diverges dramatically from the more well‐known histories of Egypt, the Levant and Mesopotamia. Through quantitative analysis, this paper investigates spatial associations between water availability and Umm an‐Nar towers in Adh Dhahirah Governorate of Oman. We hypothesise that ancient Umm an‐Nar people targeted high water flow accumulation areas for major settlements with towers. Our results lead us to reject the null hypothesis of no spatial association between tower settlements and water and help clarify the role of water in the rise of complex polities.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping spatial patterning of Bronze Age towers in Oman according to water flow accumulation

Nathan,

Harrower

2023

“…These include sites such as Hili (Cleuziou, 1989), Bat (Frifelt, 1976(Frifelt, , 1985), al-Khashbah (al-Jahwari & Kennet, 2010Schmidt & Döpper, 2017), Bisya (Orchard & Orchard, 2007), Salut (Degli Esposti, 2014) and several others. Several Umm an-Nar settlements with or without monumental 'towers' have evidence of domestic activities or architecture associated with them (e.g., al-Jahwari et al, 2018;Azzarà, 2018;Cleuziou, 1989;Cleuziou & Tosi, 2020;Döpper, 2018), while others have evidence of other possible functions: as defensive structures to control access to water; symbolic markers in the landscape; or elite residences (Swerida, 2022;Swerida & Thornton, 2019). Despite a renewed interest in the domestic lifeways of inhabitants of settlements (Swerida, 2022), available information on agricultural practices and the management of animals is limited by the poor preservation of archaeobotanical and faunal material (Uerpmann & Uerpmann, 2008;Willcox & Tengberg, 1995).…”

Section: Umm An-nar Settlements and Domestic Lifewaysmentioning

confidence: 99%

Domestic food practice and vessel‐use at Salūt‐ST1, central Oman, during the Umm an‐Nar period

Suryanarayan,

Degli Esposti,

Méry

et al. 2024

Investigations into everyday food practices during the Umm an‐Nar period (c.2700–2000 bc) in the Oman Peninsula are limited. We studied lipid residues in pottery from Salūt‐ST1, an Umm an‐Nar stone tower in central Oman, to understand domestic practices and vessel use in locally‐produced Sandy Wares, regionally‐produced Fine Red Omani Wares and imported Indus Black‐Slipped Jars between c. 2460–2150 bc. Degraded animal fats were found in a majority of the vessels, and we report the first direct detection of dairy products in Umm an‐Nar vessels. The use of non‐ruminant fats, plants and/or mixtures of different products is also suggested. Variations in lipid concentrations and contents of Fine Red Omani Wares and Sandy Wares suggest different uses for these vessel categories. Finally, the detection of a range of products (ruminant meat, dairy fats, non‐ruminant fats and mixtures) in Indus Black‐Slipped Jars from the site indicates vessel multifunctionality and reuse of the vessels.

“…The Late UAN corresponds to Phase 4 of the chronological sequence of UAN tombs at Hili; this phase represents a significant change in funerary customs at the site with the cessation of UAN tomb construction and the introduction of pit‐burials (McSweeney et al, 2008, p. 10). The inland site of Bat also seems to undergo significant changes in the Late UAN, with towers that had been in use since the Hafit period falling out of use and possibly the Settlement Slope area of the site being occupied more intensely (Swerida, 2018, p. 12; Swerida & Thornton, 2019; Thornton & Ghazal, 2016, p. 200). Explanations of the changes witnessed in the Late UAN have often focused on the degree to which exchange and exogenous forces affected SE Arabia at this time.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exchange networks of the Early Bronze Age Gulf: The imported ceramics from Kalba 4 (United Arab Emirates)

Eddisford

2022

Imported ceramics from Early Bronze Age contexts in southeast Arabia illustrate a complex multidirectional network of material and social interactions at this time. Significant socioeconomic changes that occurred in the Hafit (3200-2800 B.C.) and Umm an-Nar (2800-2000 B.C.) periods have been linked to external demand for copper, which is argued to have stimulated a change in subsistence patterns. Similarly, disruption to long-distance exchange networks by external factors has been cited as driving change at the end of the Umm an-Nar period. Archaeological evidence from the region suggests a shift in the direction of exchange from Mesopotamia to the Indus occurred around the middle of the third millennium B.C. However, a recent analysis of Mesopotamian historical sources has highlighted the scale of state-organised textile production for export to the lower Gulf in the later third millennium B.C. The site of Kalba 4 has a stratified sequence of occupation deposits dating from the Umm an-Nar and Iron Age (1300-300 B.C.). In this study, a typological analysis of imported ceramics is used to locate the Kalba in the chronological framework of the region and discuss the changing networks of long-distance exchange that were operating. The imported pottery at Kalba 4 indicates that the inhabitants of the site were exchanging goods with a range of polities, including southern Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley (Meluhha), southeast Iran (Marhashi) and Bahrain (Dilmun). A significant quantity of Late Akkadian ceramics at the site suggests it became an important location for Mesopotamian trade at this time.