Strontium isotope evidence for a trade network between southeastern Arabia and India during Antiquity

Saskia E Ryan,Vladimir Dabrowski,Michel Mouton,Margareta Tengberg,Antoine Zazzo,Arnaud Dapoigny,Charlène Bouchaud,Eric Douville,Caroline Gauthier,Céline Kerfant,Xavier Desormeau

doi:10.1038/s41598-020-79675-3

Abstract

Cotton (Gossypium sp.), a plant of tropical and sub-tropical origin, appeared at several sites on the Arabian Peninsula at the end of the 1st mill. BCE-beginning of the 1st mill. CE. Its spread into this non-native, arid environment is emblematic of the trade dynamics that took place at this pivotal point in human history. Due to its geographical location, the Arabian Peninsula is connected to both the Indian and African trading spheres, making it complex to reconstruct the trans-continental trajectories of plant diffusion into and across Arabia in Antiquity. Key questions remain pertaining to: (1) provenance, i.e. are plant remains of local or imported origin and (2) the precise timing of cotton arrival and spread. The ancient site of Mleiha, located in modern-day United Arab Emirates, is a rare and significant case where rich archaeobotanical remains dating to the Late Pre-Islamic period (2nd–3rd c. CE), including cotton seeds and fabrics, have been preserved in a burned-down fortified building. To better understand the initial trade and/or production of cotton in this region, strontium isotopes of leached, charred cotton remains are used as a powerful tracer and the results indicate that the earliest cotton finds did not originate from the Oman Peninsula, but were more likely sourced from further afield, with the north-western coast of India being an isotopically compatible provenance. Identifying the presence of such imported cotton textiles and seeds in southeastern Arabia is significant as it is representative of the early diffusion of the crop in the region, later to be grown extensively in local oases.

Highlights

Cotton (Gossypium sp.), a plant of tropical and sub-tropical origin, appeared at several sites on the Arabian Peninsula at the end of the 1st mill
CE, the growing number of seeds, textiles and texts in north-eastern Africa, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent point to several production centres and foci of cotton diffusion. This spread of cotton into arid Arabian environments is a proxy for the trade dynamics that were intensifying during this period and is evidence for interaction between Arabian and external settlements
Strontium isotope values from archaeological cotton seeds from Mleiha exhibit a range in values between 0.7097–0.7128 (Supporting Information, Table S1)

Summary

Introduction

Cotton (Gossypium sp.), a plant of tropical and sub-tropical origin, appeared at several sites on the Arabian Peninsula at the end of the 1st mill. The Arabian Peninsula is situated at the crossroads of several geographic regions: eastern Africa, the Indian subcontinent, the Near East and is well connected to the Mediterranean Owing to this critical position, Arabia, through its inhabitants and traders, has contributed to the diffusion of animal and plant species in the western Indian Ocean bordering regions since prehistoric times[1,2,3]. CE, the growing number of seeds, textiles and texts in north-eastern Africa, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent point to several production centres and foci of cotton diffusion. This spread of cotton into arid Arabian environments is a proxy for the trade dynamics that were intensifying during this period and is evidence for interaction between Arabian and external settlements. Radiogenic strontium analysis of ancient textiles has proven to be a successful tool for determining p rovenance[21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29]

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