ARCHEOLOGY IN SOUTH ARABIA — VAN BEEK, COLE, AND JAMME 533 



and its fringes (Zeuner, 1954; Field, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1960; Smith 

 and Maranjian, 1962). Industries referred to as "Neolithic" are rep- 

 resented by a number of sites located from 200 to 400 kilometers north 

 and northwest of the Hadhramaut (fig. 1). Bifacial leaf -shaped and 

 triangular points, barbed and tanged arrowheads, rhomboidal bifacial 

 points, and a variety of scrapers have been described. Curiously, no 

 evidence of similar industries was found in the Hadhramaut, although 

 some of the individual tool types occur infrequently. One rock shelter 

 near Henin (pi. 4 : 2) yielded a small assortment of tanged and barbed 

 projectile points, a few of which are made of obsidian. Obsidian 

 otherwise seems to occur only on pre-Islamic sites where microlithic 

 artifacts were fashioned from it (Caton Thompson, 1944, p. 134). A 

 few small tanged points came from scattered localities, usually low- 

 lying spurs or outliers. But one site in Wadi Bin 'Ali, on top of the 

 lower cliff-forming limestone, yielded a very few of these artifacts. 

 A single, relatively large tanged point (5.2 cm.), virtually identical in 

 shape with the one figured in Zeimer (1954, pi. 1, b) , was found on the 

 plateau near Qatn. Bifacially worked foliate points were even less 

 frequently encountered, and no rhomboidal bifacial points are recalled. 

 It is possible that comparable scraper types will appear on detailed 

 examination of the collections. 



A place known as Habarut, some 350 kilometers to the east of Tarim 

 near the Dhofar border, has also produced some material similar to 

 that of the Rub' al-Khali fringe sites, but more characteristically 

 yields an abundance of trihedral rods (tools, triangular in section, 

 with pressure flaking on entire surface of each side) , points, and other 

 implements fashioned on triangular-sectioned pieces carefully worked, 

 sometimes on two but usually on all three faces.' Relatively large ( 10 

 cm. and more) crudely trimmed bifacial foliates and limaces also occur, 

 and these appear to be most similar to artifacts in certain "Late Stone 

 Age" contexts. Such artifacts, for example, occur in a Somaliland 

 Doian industry, and are referred to a "Neolithic" aspect (Clark, 1954, 

 p. 258) , but overall similarities to the Doian are not close. The Fayum 

 "Neolithic" (Caton Thompson, 1934) would seem to offer rather closer 

 parallels, although numerous points of difference exist. For example, 

 the hollow (concave) based arrowhead — present in the Doian as well 

 as this industry — seems to be lacking in South Arabia. A few pieces 

 similar to material from Habarut have also been found on the coast 

 near Mukalla (Caton Thompson, 1953, fig. 7, Nos. 59-62) . 



As with material from the Rub' al-Khali fringe sites, occasional 

 artifacts of the kind found at Habarut appear in the Wadi Hadhra- 

 maut, but nothing even remotely similar to the total assortment — or to 



'Material from Habarut has beeu coUectert by various British political olllcers and is, 

 In large part, housed at the Aden Museum. Those collections were kindly made available 

 to Cole by Brian Doe, Director of Antiquities of the Government of Aden. 



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