The first evidence of Middle Palaeolithic Nubian technology in north-central Oman

Abstract

Since 2012, the French Mission in Oman has discovered several Palaeolithic sites in the south-eastern foothills of the Sufrat Dishshah (a hill of the Sufrat Valley/Wādī al-Сufrāt), in the Adam region of north-central Oman. These sites are attributed to the Lower through to the Late Palaeolithic (Bonilauri et al. 2015). The 2016 field season was dedicated to further investigation of the previously identified sites of the Sufrat Dishshah area. A number of additional artefacts were located and studied on site; four artefacts—two bifaces and two Nubian cores—were retained for further study. These finds have particular importance for the understanding of Middle Palaeolithic variability and cultural diffusion in Oman, and they represent one of the most significant results of the 2016 Adam expedition.