Occupation humaine et environnement au 5e et au 4e millénaire sur la côte Sharjah‐Umm al‐Qaiwain (U.A.E.)

Abstract

Three contributions in this issue are concerned with sites along the west coast of the United Arab Emirates which pre‐date the Bronze Age. In this paper we shall attempt to view these sites in the broader geographical context of the southern Gulf coast; and thereafter to consider (1) the lithic material attested in the Arabian peninsula and dated to between the late 6th and early 4th millennium B.C.; (2) the painted pottery comparable to Mesopotamian Ubaid wares; and (3) a dozen CI4 dates (1) run on shell which all range around 6000‐4500 BR The material utilized here comes from a series of expeditions conducted by the French Missions to Sharjah and Umm al‐Qaiwain between 1985 and 1990 (2). The objectives of our geomorphological and archaeological inquiries were to observe, within a restricted area, the remains and evolution of human occupation in a changing environment.