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Prehistoric Human Ecodynamics in the Rub Al-Khali Desert: Results of Remote Sensing and Excavations in Dubai, United Arab Emirates" (2012)

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Prehistoric Human Ecodynamics in the Rub Al-Khali Desert: Results of Remote Sensing and Excavations in Dubai, United Arab Emirates University of Arkansas, Fayetteville ScholarWorks@UARK Theses and Dissertations 12-2012 Prehistoric Human Ecodynamics in the Rub Al- Khali Desert: Results of Remote Sensing and Excavations in Dubai, United Arab Emirates Jason T. Herrmann University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd Part of the Archaeological Anthropology Commons, Climate Commons, and the Remote Sensing Commons Recommended Citation Herrmann, Jason T., "Prehistoric Human Ecodynamics in the Rub Al-Khali Desert: Results of Remote Sensing and Excavations in Dubai, United Arab Emirates" (2012). Theses and Dissertations. 602. http://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/602 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. PREHISTORIC HUMAN ECODYNAMICS IN THE RUB AL-KHALI DESERT: RESULTS OF REMOTE SENSING AND EXCAVATIONS IN DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES PREHISTORIC HUMAN ECODYNAMICS IN THE RUB AL-KHALI DESERT: RESULTS OF REMOTE SENSING AND EXCAVATIONS IN DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Dynamics By Jason T. Herrmann University of Cincinnati Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology, 1999 University of Arkansas Master of Arts in Anthropology, 2004 December 2012 University of Arkansas ABSTRACT Archaeological investigations in the Emirate of Dubai, UAE conducted by the Dubai Department of Archaeology and the University of Arkansas demonstrate that the desert inland of the Oman Peninsula was occupied not only during the Arabian Neolithic (8000-4400 BC), when the region experienced a moist period referred to as the Holocene Climatic Optimum (HCO), but also during the more arid millennia following the decline of the HCO into the Christian Era. During this period, desert settlement clustered near a band of oases, in contrast to the more widespread spatial distribution of remains of nomadic pastoralists from the Neolithic. Excavations at al- Ashoosh and Saruq al-Hadid, two sites at the southern end of the Emirate of Dubai, coupled with analysis of dune accumulation at Saruq al-Hadid through ground-penetrating radar, and a regional analysis of groundwater availability based on satellite imagery, reveal the varied landscapes that made desert settlement possible and provide a chronology of inland settlement and landscape transformation for a time and place that was not well documented before this study. Evidence presented in this dissertation suggests that these inland oases were dynamic environments that influenced patterns of desert settlement and land use, and in turn were shaped by the varied activities of prehistoric people. Periodic occupation at both sites began with seasonal encampments during a third millennium pluvial and resumed during arid phases in the second and first millennia. Late occupation was likely supported by shallow groundwater that was fed by orographic rainfall in the Oman Mountains, rather than by precipitation on the desert plain. Occupation during the first millennium BC was distinct from earlier periods in that is showed clear integration into a regional political and economic network, first in its incarnation as a cultic site in the Iron Age II period (900-600BC), and following that as a center for metal working at the end of the first millennium. A hiatus in settlement at Saruq al-Hadid following the Iron Age II period and roughly coincident with the Iron Age III (600-300 BC) is marked by significant dune accumulation. The question remains whether this period of active sediment redeposition was a local or regional phenomenon, but the case is made here that it was a regional phenomenon triggered by the destabilization of sand dunes as natural vegetative cover was removed by growing herds of grazing animals and an expansion of agriculture in the Iron Age II period. These findings fill gaps in the histories of climate and settlement of southeast Arabia and more broadly, help to move us closer to understanding the complex exchanges between changes in climate, landscapes, and human activities in arid regions through time and worldwide. This dissertation is approved for Recommendation to the Graduate Council Dissertation Director: _______________________________________ Dr. Jesse Casana Dissertation Committee: _______________________________________ Dr. Marvin Kay _______________________________________ Dr. Kenneth L. Kvamme ©2012 by Jason T. Herrmann All Rights Reserved DISSERTATION DUPLICATION RELEASE I hereby authorize the University of Arkansas Libraries to duplicate this dissertation when needed for research and/or scholarship. Agreed __________________________________________ Jason T. Herrmann Refused __________________________________________ ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Environmental Dynamics Program (ENDY) at the University of Arkansas provides an open format that well-advised students can tailor to fit their career goals and research needs. I must thank director Dr. Steve Boss and administrator JoAnn Kvamme for their guidance and assistance as I forged the framework for my career during my post-graduate education. I was supported by the University of Arkansas Doctoral Academy Fellowship during my first four years as a PhD student, and this includes the period of time when the dissertation research was developed and the beginning of field work, as well as a number of other field projects that advanced me professionally. I must also thank the King Fahd Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Arkansas who provided funds that helped me to participate in various archaeological projects in the Middle East, including my dissertation research. Fieldwork would have been impossible without financial and professional support from Dr. Hussein Qandil, director of the Dubai Department of Archaeology, His Excellency Khalid bin Sulayem, Director General of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, and the generous support and encouragement of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai and Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates. By their grace, this research could not have been possible by support that came through the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM). I must thank the DTCM for their ongoing support of the Dubai Desert Survey mission, and I owe much to the Department of Archaeology staff, including Hasan Zein, for their support, guidance in Dubai and the field, and for their hard work. Many people volunteered their time and expertise to contribute to the Dubai Desert Survey research projects and intentionally or unintentionally, to my dissertation research. I am grateful to Dr. Katie Adlesberger, Dr. Sabrina Billings, Dr. Leslie Frame, Eric Jensen, Carlos Ochoa, and Dr. Jennifer Smith their work and companionship in the field during the 2007 expedition. My dissertation fieldwork in 2008 and 2009 benefitted from the help and expertise of Dr. Jenifer Smith and Dr. Jeffrey Szuchmann who assisted with excavation, survey and mapping in 2008 and Dr. Virginia Herrmann and Michael Fisher who excavated at Saruq al-Hadid in 2009. There were many sources of financial support for this project. Initial support came from the Robert L. Stigler Jr. Scholarship through the Department of Anthropology and the Middle East Studies Program at the University of Arkansas. A Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant (#0820211) from the National Science Foundation, administered by Dr John Yellen, helped to cover a large part of the 2008-2009 field season and the processing of specimens collected in the field. The proposal process was guided by the helpful and patient people of Research Support and Sponsored Programs at the University of Arkansas. Optically-stimulated luminescence dating services was made possible by the Chicago Luminescence Award for graduate students granted by the University of Illinois at Chicago Luminescence Dating Research Laboratory directed by Dr. Steve Forman, who also provided me with guidance for collecting samples and interpreting the results. Former director Fred Limp and current director Jackson Cothren of the Center for Advanced Spatial Technology (CAST) at the University of Arkansas graciously provided access to field equipment and computing resources through the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies at the University of Arkansas, and have supported the advancement of my career in tangible and intangible ways. Many other CAST employees served as sounding boards for ideas, and provided technical at various stages of this research, most notably Malcolm Willimason, John Wilson and Brian Culpepper who provided technical and logistical assistance. Research that relies on technical applications necessarily draw upon the support of many specialists, and for me this extends outside of CAST: I am very grateful to Dean Goodman of Geophysical Research Laboratory for his ‘on-call’ accessibility when I have questions while using GPR-Slice software. Many friends along the way have been there to debate the issues, critique my approach, or offer a sympathetic ear when I needed to unload. For this I must thank Brian Culpepper, Dr. Eileen Ernenwein, Kate Grossman, Jason King, Tuna Kalayci, Brian Larsen, Duncan McKinnon, Katie Simon, and Tate Paulette. I was fortunate to have had assistance from a
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