Lithic technology and spatial distribution of artefacts at the Early Bronze Age site HD-6 (Sharqiyya Region, Sultanate of Oman)

Abstract

The Early Bronze Age site HD-6, located close to the coastal village of Ra’s al-Hadd on the eastern Omani coast, has been the focus of archaeological investigations for over fifteen years. This paper presents a description and definition of its lithic assemblage by means of technological analyses of both blank production sequences and retouched tools. A sample of lithic artefacts recovered from the excavated buildings is analysed for this study. Fourteen rooms within seven of the houses uncovered on site were chosen for this purpose. Mainly multi-platform and bipolar (anvil) cores made of poor-quality, local raw materials were used to manufacture stout flakes. Perforating implements constitute a large part of the tool inventory, and functional comparison with the assemblages of Holocene sites excavated along the Omani coast has been attempted. Furthermore, HD-6 provides the possibility of segregating activity areas delimited by the excavated rooms. In sum, the analysis of the lithic assemblage presented here adds to the data needed to understand social organisation and economic activity at the site.