Vast stone monuments constructed in Arabia 7,000 years ago

Date:
August 25, 2020
Source:
Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
Summary:
New archaeological research in Saudi Arabia documents hundreds
of stone structures interpreted as monumental sites where early
pastoralists carried out rituals.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
In a new study published in The Holocene, researchers from the Max Planck Society in Jena together with Saudi and international collaborators,
present the first detailed study of 'mustatil' stone structures in the
Arabian Desert.

These are vast structures made of stone piled into rectangles, which are
some of the oldest large-scale structures in the world. They give insights
into how early pastoralists survived in the challenging landscapes of
semi-arid Arabia.


==========================================================================
The last decade has seen rapid development in the archaeology of Saudi
Arabia.

Recent discoveries range from early hominin sites hundreds of thousands of years old to sites just a few hundred years old. One enigmatic aspect of
the archaeological record of western Arabia is the presence of millions of stone structures, where people have piled rocks to make different kinds
of structures, ranging from burial tombs to hunting traps. One enigmatic
form consists of vast rectangular shapes. Archaeologists working with
the AlUla Royal Commission gave these the name 'mustatils,' which is
Arabic for rectangle.

Mustatils only occur in northwest Saudi Arabia. They had been previously recognized from satellite imagery and as they were often covered by
younger structures, it had been speculated that they might be ancient,
perhaps extending back to the Neolithic.

In this new article led by Dr Huw Groucutt (group leader of the Extreme
Events Research Group which is a Max Planck group spanning the Max
Planck Institutes for Chemical Ecology, the Science of Human History, and Biogeochemistry) an international team of researchers under the auspices
of the Green Arabia Project (a large project headed by Prof. Michael
Petraglia from the Department of Archaeology at the Max Planck Institute
for the Science of Human History and the Saudi Ministry for Tourism as
well as collaborators from multiple Saudi and international institutions) conducted the first every detailed study of mustatils. Through a
mixture of field survey and analyzing satellite imagery, the team have considerably extended knowledge on these enigmatic stone structures.

More than one hundred new mustatils have been identified around the
southern margins of the Nefud Desert, between the cities of Ha'il and
Tayma, joining the hundreds previously identified from studies of Google
Earth imagery, particularly in the Khaybar area. The team found that
these structures typically consist of two large platforms, connected by parallel long walls, sometimes extending over 600 meters in length. The
long walls are very low, had no obvious openings and are located in
diverse landscape settings. It is also interesting that little in the
way of other archaeology -- such as stone tools -- was found around the mustatils. Together these factors suggest that the structures were not
simply utilitarian entities for something like water or animal storage.

At one locality the team were able to date the construction of a mustatil
to 7000 thousand years ago, by radiocarbon dating charcoal from inside
one of the platforms. An assemblage of animal bones was also recovered,
which included both wild animals and possibly domestic cattle, although
it is possible that the latter are wild auroch. At another mustatil the
team found a rock with a geometric pattern painted onto it.

"Our interpretation of mustatils is that they are ritual sites, where
groups of people met to perform some kind of currently unknown social activities," says Groucutt. "Perhaps they were sites of animal sacrifices,
or feasts." The fact that sometimes several of the structures were
built right next to each other may suggest that the very act of their construction was a kind of social bonding exercise. Northern Arabia
7,000 years ago was very different to today.

Rainfall was higher, so much of the area was covered by grassland
and there were scattered lakes. Pastoralist groups thrived in this
environment, yet it would have been a challenging place to live, with
droughts a constant risk.

The team's hypothesis is that mustatils were built as a social mechanism
to live in this challenging landscape. They may not be the oldest
buildings in the world, but they are on a uniquely large scale for
this early period, more than two thousand years before pyramids began
to be constructed in Egypt. Mustatils offer fascinating insights into
how humans have lived in challenging environments and future studies
promise to be extremely useful at understanding these ancient societies.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Max_Planck_Institute_for_the_Science_of_Human_History.

Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Related Multimedia:
* Images_of_mustatil_structures ========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Huw S Groucutt, Paul S Breeze, Maria Guagnin, Mathew Stewart,
Nick Drake,
Ceri Shipton, Badr Zahrani, Abdulaziz Al Omarfi, Abdullah
M Alsharekh, Michael D Petraglia. Monumental landscapes of
the Holocene humid period in Northern Arabia: The mustatil
phenomenon. The Holocene, 2020; 095968362095044 DOI:
10.1177/0959683620950449 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200825113618.htm

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