524 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1963 



used and is the basis of agriculture in the area. Rainfall averages 

 less than 20 centimeters per year. Wheat and dates are the chief 

 agricultural products, but tomatoes, onions, eggplant, and carrots are 

 also grown. The principal livestock are goats and sheep, oxen used 

 in working the fields, and camels used in both transport and agri- 

 cultural activities. Since Wadi Hadliramaut is an inland area, virtu- 

 ally all of its commercial contacts are with the coast at the i)resent 

 time, and although camel caravans still carry commodities they 

 are rapidly being replaced by motortrucks and airplanes. The pres- 

 ent population of the wadi is estimated at 100,000 people, mostly 

 settled in three cities, Tarim, Seiyun, and Shibam, and a host of 

 villages and small towns. The most distinguished feature of Ha- 

 dhramaut is its magnificent mud-brick architecture, in which some 

 buildings attain a height of eight stories and are decorated with 

 elaborate geometric relief. This information on the Hadliramaut 

 today is necessary for an understanding of the area in antiquity. 



The expedition, conducted under the auspices of the Smithsonian 

 Institution with additional financial support from the National 

 Science Foundation, had a staff of one part-time and three full-time 

 scientists. Van Beek was responsible for all ceramic-phase sites 

 from earliest times to the present, but was primarily concerned with 

 sites of the pre-Islamic period, i.e., before the seventh century A.D. ; 

 he also studied the megalithic sites which apparently belong to a pre- 

 ceramic phase. Glen H. Cole investigated prehistoric, i.e., preceramic, 

 lithic sites, and assisted Van Beek with megalithic sites. Albert 

 Jamme recorded ancient South Arabic graffiti and formal inscrip- 

 tions, and also undertook the important task of accurately recording 

 place names for future map additions and corrections. For 1 month, 

 Henry W. Setzer collected modern mammals for the study of the 

 present fauna of the area and to facilitate identification of bones 

 from future archeological excavations. 



During the 3I/2 months of fieldwork, from November 15, 1961, to 

 February 25, 1962, the expedition surveyed approximately 130 kilo- 

 meters of the main wadi and portions of all tributary wadies. From 

 just beyond Tarim to the vicinity of Shibam — a distance of about 

 65 kilometers — the area was intensively investigated for 2i^ months ; 

 during the remaining month, only known sites and certain selected 

 areas in the region from Shibam to Qarn Qaimah were studied. Tliis 

 procedure enabled us to achieve a balance between detailed examina- 

 tion and broad coverage of the terrain. Most of the survey was con- 

 ducted on foot, but local vehicles were hired to facilitate the examina- 

 tion of larger tributaries and more distant sites. Each site was 

 plotted on a topographic map ; detailed notes, photographs, and when 

 possible sketch plans were made; and large samplings of surface 

 artifacts were collected. At one site, test pits were dug which clarified 



