ثقافتان من العصر الحجري الحديث في الجزيرة العربية
المعمري, عبد الرزاق بن أحمد راشد . 2000
ملخص: أن أوجه المقارنة التي أجريت بين مواد العصر الحجري الحديث في شرقِي الجزيرة وشمالِيها من جهة، والجنوبية والوسطى من جهة أخرى عزَّزت من الاستنتاجات التي قادتنا في الماضي إلى فرز ثقافتين: الأولى ثقافة الشظايا Flake Culture (لوحة : 5-1) التي نرجح أنها محلية المنشأ وذات علاقة متبادلة مع الجانب الأفريقي، خاصة الجانب الشمالي الشرقي من أفريقيا. ومن خصائصها التقنية في عموم الجزيرة طريقة التشظية وانعدام الفخار. وقد قسِّمت هذه الثقافة إلى العصر الحجري الحديث المبكر والمتأخر. فالعصر الحجري الحديث المبكر انحصر في الهضاب الشرقية من جنوب الجزيرة العربية بما في ذلك هضبة ظفار العمانية، وقد شمل أجزاءً من صحراء الربع الخالي. وتتميز هذه المرحلة بطريقة التهذيب المرقِّق من الجهتين ونمط الصيد. أمَّا المرحلة المتأخرة من العصر الحجري الحديث فتتميز بالانتقال إلى الرعي والزراعة مع الاحتفاظ بالصيد كمصدر ثانوي. وقد ظلَّت أدوات الصيد والتهذيب المرقِّق مستمرة في المنطقة الصحراوية والهضاب الشرقية من جنوب الجزيرة العربية. وتنقسم هذه المرحلة ألى قسمين : متقدم ومتأخر. يتميز القسم المتقدم برؤوس السهام المعنَّقة، بينما يتميز القسم المتأخر برؤوس السهام المعنَّقة ذوات الأكتاف المتدلية والعرجونية وبالجوانب المُزَجْزَجَة (لوحة1: 1- 3، شكل3: 3,2,1) في كثير من الرؤوس الحادة ورؤوس السهام. أمَّا الثقافة الثانية، فهي ثقافة الشطائر التي نرجِّح بأنها تنحدر من العصر الحجري الحديث ما قبل الفخار ب في بلاد الشام. ومن خصائصها طرق التشطير ونمط الصيد وانعدام الفخار. وقد تركزت هذه الثقافة في الأجزاء الشمالية والشرقية، كما وجدت بعض مواقع لها في المناطق الشمالية الغربية وقليلاً منها في الجزء الأوسط من الجزيرة العربية. وتوقَّفت أنشطة الثقافة المذكورة في الجزيرة العربية خاصة في الخليج العربي عندما حلَّ محلّها العصر الحجري الحديث " الصحراوي" من جنوبِي ووسط الجزيرة العربية.
Two Archaeological Cultures of the Neolithic in the Arabian Peninsula
Al-Ma'amary A.R
Department of archaeology
University of Sana'a.
In this paper the two Neolithic cultures of the Arabian Peninsula that were distinguished before by the author of this article (Rashed, 1993b, p.18; 1993c, p. 20-36, 270-298,299,306, FN.1) are compared now with aim of their sorting out and specifying the realms of their spread and the pattern of human life associated with them. The first archaeological culture is represented by flake producing technology spread on the South and Centre of the Peninsula including some part of Omani land. This one has five local cultural variants centered in the South of the Peninsula. For one of them- the desert Neolithic-was made the more detailed argumentation of it’s division on the Early Neolithic and the Late “Desert” Neolithic (Pl. 1: 1- 3, Pl. 2: A, fig. 3). Later this technology appeared in the Peninsula's eastern region and it spread to the North and north-western parts. The main characteristics of Flake Culture are: Debitage (Knapping) of flakes, dominance of flat cores, and abundant presence of hunting tools, which are bifacial retouched, and also the absence of pottery industry. Although pottery is considered as one of the aspects of Neolithic culture, it is not regarded as such in Southern and Central parts of Peninsula. This is because of the economic structure that was based on hunting and food-gathering. The pasturing and farming are mentioned as the share of Bronze Age for Arabian context, and the author of the paper believes that the transformation to the productive economic in the Arabian Peninsula occurred at the late Neolithic age. The flake culture had local origins and kept in touch with northeastern Africa. The second culture is a blade producing culture which also based on the hunting and food-gathering economy. Here again pottery industry is absent. The pottery material which appeared in the eastern part of the Peninsula was ubeidian from south Mesopotamia in look and its wide use approximately coincided with the appearance of Flake Culture. Whereas the Blade Culture is found in the eastern, northern and North-Western parts of the Peninsula, But the homeland of Blade Culture is found in the PPN B in Levant.
On the basis of absolute dating, it is most likely that the appearance of blade industry in the eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula was prior to that of flake industry in this area. The absolute dates are: A date collected from the archaeological site situated in the South-west of Um- Sa'eed and the South-east of Shagra in the land of Qatar Peninsula. It goes back to the sixth millenium (5020 ± 130 B.C.) or to the seventh millenium 6976 ± 130 B. P. (Kapel, 1967,p.17). Another date that was also obtained from the same area goes back to 7520 ± 90 B.P., but the last date shouldn't be depended on (Inizan, 1988, p.124) On the other hand, the absolute dates upon which we can depend on for deciding the period of the introduction of the Flake Culture to the Eastern region of the Peninsula (of which United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain are parts) was taken from the archaeological stratum No.12 at Ain-Qannas, multi-stratum site in Al-Hasa depression. It is 4935 B.C. or 6885 ± 325 B.P. (Masry,1974,p.223). This is based upon what tools were found in that stratum. They were identical with the Southern and Central Arabian tools (Masry,1974, p. 274, fig. 28:1,2,7-10). Examples of which are the arrowheads (Pl. 1: 1 – 3, fig. 3: 1, 6) which are usually found in large quantities in the South-western corner of Rub-Al-Khali desert including the sand dunes of Ramlat as-Sabatayn and Marib regions. Finally, it may be mentioned that each of the two cultures has its historical roots and relations as we have already considered that (Rashed, 1993b, p.188;1993c, p.294-298; Al-Ma'amary, 1995, p. 108).