Human-Environment Interactions in Ancient Arabia

Day 1 – Monday 6th November 2023

09:00 – Welcome and introductory remarks
Conrad Schmidt, University of Tübingen

09:30 – Fluvial investigations in the context of paleoenvironmental change over the last 330,000 years and its influence on human occupation in SE Arabia
Kira Raith, Oxford Brookes University; Ash Parton, Oxford Brookes University / University of Oxford; Gareth Preston, Oxford Brookes University; Knut Bretzke, University of Tübingen; Adrian Parker, Oxford Brookes University

10:00 – New evidence of Late Pleistocene and Holocene sedimentary processes and eolian dynamics in the northern al-Hajar Range (UAE, Oasis of Masafi)
Louise Purdue, Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS-CEPAM (UMR 7264); Sophie Costa, Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS-CEPAM (UMR 7264); Maël Crépy, University Lumière Lyon 2; Julien Charbonnier, Archaïos

10:30–11:00 – Coffee Break

11:00 – Environmental dynamics in northwestern Arabia during the Holocene: fluvial, wetland and dune archives in the AlUla oasis
Laurent Lespez, Université Paris Est-Créteil (UMR 8591); Louise Purdue, Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS-CEPAM (UMR 7264); Hatem Djerbi, Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS-CEPAM (UMR 7264); Amaury Fernandes, Université Paris Est-Créteil (UMR 8591); Eric Andrieux, Durham University; Jean-François Girard, Université de Strasbourg, Ecole et observatoire des sciences de la terre (EOST); Gourguen Davtian, Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS-CEPAM (UMR 7264); Ségolène Saulnier-Copard Laboratoire de Géographie Physique CNRS UMR 8591; Sophie Costa, Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS-CEPAM (UMR 7264); Alain Carré, Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS-CEPAM (UMR 7264); Claude Rouvier, Independent Researcher, Valentina Villa Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS-CEPAM (UMR 7264)

11:30 – Early- to mid-Holocene lake formation in NW Arabia was driven by the West African Monsoon
Max Engel, Heidelberg University; Samantha Klügl, Heidelberg University; Ina Neugebauer, Helmholtz Centre Potsdam; Michèle Dinies, German Archaeological Institute (DAI), Berlin / Freie Universität Berlin; Anne Dallmeyer, Max Planck Institute for Meteorology (Hamburg); Martin Claussen, Max Planck Institute for Meteorology (Hamburg) / Universität Hamburg; Helmut Brückner, University of Cologne; Peter Frenzel, Friedrich Schiller University Jena; Gerd Gleixner, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry (Jena); Philipp Hoelzmann, Freie Universität Berlin; Anna Pint, Friedrich Schiller University Jena; Rik Tjallingii, Helmholtz Centre Potsdam; Kai Wellbrock, Technische Hochschule Lübeck; Birgit Plessen, Helmholtz Centre Potsdam

12:00 – The Nexus of Cult and Pastoralism in Neolithic Northwest Arabia: Contextualising the Mustatil Phenomenon
Melissa Kennedy, The University of Sydney / The University of Western Australia; Hugh Thomas, The University of Sydney / The University of Western Australia; Laura Strolin, Museum of Natural History of Geneva

12:30–14:00 – Lunch

14:00 – Grass, Water and Sand: Exploring the Environmental Parameters and Practicalities of Cattle Herding in the Neolithic of Northern Arabia
Maria Guagnin, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology

14:30 – Hayl (pl. huyul), a specific landscape form in the Al-Hajar Mts (SE Arabia)
Inna Mateiciucová, Centre of Prehistoric Archaeology of the Near East (PANE); Maximilian Wilding, Centre of Prehistoric Archaeology of the Near East (PANE); Slavomír Nehyba, Masaryk University; Jiří Otava, Czech Geological Survey; Jiří Šindelář, Geo-cz, s.r.o., Mladá Vožice

15:00 – Southeastern Arabia population patterns and intensity of cultural exchanges across the Holocene Humid Period
Maria Pia Maiorano, Goethe University Frankfurt; Eugenio Bortolini, University of Bologna

15:30–16:00 – Break

16:00 – Caprines in prehistoric south-eastern Arabia: Variations in animal exploitation through zooarchaeological data
Elena Maini, Sapienza Università di Rome; Laura Strolin, Museum of Natural History of Geneva

16:30 – An overview of the interactions between human societies and natural hazards in Arabia since the Late Pleistocene
Eric Fouache, Sorbonne University

Starting at 17:30: Icebreaker

Day 2 – Tuesday 7th November 2023

09:00 – First results from the UmWeltWandel project in Al Khashbah (Oman)
Conrad Schmidt, University of Tübingen; Tara Beuzen-Waller, University of Tübingen; Lucas Proctor, Goethe University Frankfurt; Katharina Elena Schmitt, University of Mainz; Julia Unkelbach, University of Göttingen

09:30 – Emergence and evolution of date palm cultivation in Northwestern Arabia
Margot Besseiche, IDR/ University of Montpellier; Vincent Battesti, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle; Muriel Gros-Balthazard, IDR/ University of Montpellier

10:00 – Meat, milk and ‘invisible’ organic products in pottery: results of ceramic lipid residue analysis of vessels from Bronze Age sites in SE Arabia
Akshyeta Suryanarayan, Universitat Pompeu Fabra / Université Côte d’Azur; Sophie Méry, CNRS, UMR 7041; Charlotte Marie Cable, Michigan State University; Eli Dollarhide, New York University Abu Dhabi; Stephanie Döpper, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt / Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg; Daniel Eddisford, Durham University; Michele Degli Esposti, Polish Academy of Science, Warsaw; Arnaud Mazuy, Université Côte d’Azur; Jennifer Swerida, Bryn Mawr College / Penn Museum University of Pennsylvania; Michel de Vreeze, Durham University; Martine Regert, Université Côte d’Azur

10:30–11:00 – Coffee Break

11:00 – Towers and settlement in the Bisya region (ad-Dakhiliyah, Oman) during the Early Bronze Age: adaptation strategy of human occupation in a semi-arid environment
Martin Sauvage, CNRS, VEPMO UMR 7041; Mathilde Jean, CNRS, VEPMO UMR 7041

11:30 – Facing Early Bronze Age climate change in South East Arabia: new data from Salūt-ST1, Central Oman
Mauro Cremaschi, Università degli Studi di Milan; Michele Degli Esposti, Polish Academy of Science, Warsaw; Andrea Zerboni, Università degli Studi di Milan

12:00 – Cultural and environmental resiliency at Bat, Oman: Early Bronze Age and today
Jennifer Swerida, University of Pennsylvania; Eli Dollarhide, New York University Abu Dhabi

12:30–14:00 – Lunch

14:00 – Impossible farming! Spotting and documenting agricultural practices outside oases in Arabia
Maël Crépy, Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale

14:30 – Persistent pastoralism in a dynamic Dhofar landscape: Results from the ASOM Project
Mark Moritz, The Ohio State University; Ian Hamilton, The Ohio State University; Katie Horisk, Penn State University; Madelyn Green, The Ohio State University; Sarah Ivory, Penn State University; Lawrence Ball, Kent Wildlife Trust; Daniel Peart, University Library Newark; Ali Ahmed Al Kathiri, Ministry of Heritage and Tourism of the Sultanate of Oman; Ali Al Mehri, Ministry of Heritage and Tourism of the Sultanate of Oman; Andrea Zerboni, Università degli Studi di Milan; Guido Mariani, Università di Torino; Joy McCorriston, The Ohio State University

15:00 – Millennial-scale transformations of landscapes and land use in the canyon of Southeast Arabia. Insights from the archaeological investigations in Tanuf, North-Central Oman
Taichi Kuronuma, Research Institute for Humanity and Nature; Takehiro Miki, The University of Tokyo; Kantaro Tanabe, The University of Tokyo; Yasuhisa Kondo, Research Institute for Humanity and Nature

15:30–16:00 – Break

16:00 – The plain between the mountains, report of the second season of MASPAG’s survey in the Sultanate of Oman
Guido Antinori, Sapienza Università di Roma; Edoardo Zanetti, Sapienza Università di Roma; Silvia Lischi, Università di Pisa; Marco Ramazzotti, Sapienza Università di Roma

16:30 – Late prehistoric environments and human adaptations at Saruq al-Hadid, Dubai: the archaeobotanical evidence
Claire Newton, Independent Scholar; Lloyd Weeks, University of New England; Adrian Parker, Oxford Brookes University; James Roberts, Independent Scholar; Charlotte Cable, Michigan State University

Day 3 – Wednesday 8th November 2023

09:30 – The second millennium in Southeast Arabia
Derek Kennet, Durham University

10:00 – Between mountains and the sea. Archaeological survey and landscape studies at Al-Tikha/Rustaq, Oman
Rocco Palermo, Bryn Mawr College; Sara Pizzimenti, University of Pisa; Khaled Douglas, Sultan Qaboos University

10:30–11:00 – Coffee Break

11:00 – Reconstructing the history of al-‘Ulā oasis (kingdom of Saudi Arabia): first insights from the al-‘Ulā Cultural Oasis Project (2019-2023)
Julien Charbonnier, Archaïos; Yasmin Kanhoush, Archaïos / UMR 5133 Archéorient; Mathias Haze, Archaïos; Sarra Ben Bader, Archaïos; Sofian Boudia, University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne; Manuela Cascetta, Archaïos; Pascale Clauss-Balty, Archaïos; Arthur Defauconpret, Archaïos; Cassandra Furstos, Archaïos; Gaël Gourret, Archaïos; Julie Gravier, UMR 8557 EHESS; Valentin Koszarek, University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne; Maureen Le Doaré, Archaïos; Anne Leschallier de Lisle, Archaïos; Céline Marquaire, Archaïos; Maria Paola Pellegrino, Archaïos; Ali Othman, Archaïos; Jean-Daniel Ricart, Archaïos; Alexia Rosak, Archaïos / University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne; Salomé Sepeau, University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne; David Serres, University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne; Francelin Tourtet, Archaïos / Freie Universität Berlin; Jessica Giraud, Archaïos

11:30 – How Bone Connects Life’s Past to the Present. Zooarchaeology at Dadan (AlUla, Saudi Arabia)
Hervé Monchot, CNRS UMR 8167

12:00 – Landscape evolution and environmental dynamics of Nafūn (al-Wusṭā Governorate, central Oman)
Roman Garba, Institute of Archaeology of the CAS / Nuclear Physics Institute of the CAS, Prague; Alžběta Danielisová, Institute of Archaeology of the CAS, Prague; David Daněček, Institute of Archaeology of the CAS, Prague; Maria Pia Maiorano, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt; Dominik Chlachula, Masaryk University in Brno; Angelo Eugenio Fossati, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan

12:30–14:00 – Lunch

14:00 – Industrial periodicity of copper smelting: new research in Wadi al-Raki (Oman)
Joseph W. Lehner, The University of Sydney; Amir Zaribaf, The University of Sydney; Abigail Buffington, College of William and Mary; Ioana A. Dumitru, The University of Sydney, Centre for Urban Network Evolutions (UrbNet), Aarhus University; Smiti Nathan, Anthico LLC; Paige Paulsen, Johns Hopkins University; Alexander J. Sivitskis, Teton Science Schools; Eli Dollarhide, New York University Abu Dhabi; Michael J. Harrower, Johns Hopkins University

14:30 – The late development of Central Arabian oases. Al-Kharj as a case study
Elora Chambraud, AASPE – UMR 7209; Hervé Monchot, CNRS UMR 8167; Jérémie Schiettecatte, CNRS UMR 8167; Charlène Bouchaud, AASPE – UMR 7209, Vladimir Dabrowski, AASPE – UMR 7209

15:00 – Malacological assemblages in oases environment, a way to recount human activities through time
Hatem Djerbi, Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS-CEPAM (UMR 7264); Louise Purdue, Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS-CEPAM (UMR 7264); Pauline Garberi, Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS-CEPAM (UMR 7264); Alain Carré, Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS-CEPAM (UMR 7264); Laurent Lespez, Université Paris Est-Créteil (UMR 8591); Valentina Villa, (Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS-CEPAM (UMR 7264); Claude Rouvier, Independent Researcher; Sophie Costa, Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS-CEPAM (UMR 7264); Eric Andrieux, Durham University; Gourguen Davtian, Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS-CEPAM (UMR 7264); Julien Charbonnier, Archaeïos

15:30 – Past vegetation and impact of human activities in Southeast Arabia during the medieval period: First regional charcoal synthesis
Vladimir Dabrowski, AASPE – UMR 7209 / UMR 7264; Margareta Tengberg, AASPE – UMR 7209

16:00 – Closing Remarks