Les perles en pierre de la péninsule omanaise du Néolithique et de l’âge du Bronze : approche synthétique

• Main Author: Olivier Brunet
• Format: Article
• Language: fra
• Published: Editions de la Maison des Sciences de l'Homme 2015-04-01
• Series: Les Nouvelles de l’Archéologie
• Subjects: Arabian Peninsula; Oman; United Arab Emirates; Neolithic; Bronze Age; personal ornament
• Online Access: http://journals.openedition.org/nda/2891

In the Oman Peninsula, items of personal ornament are among the most numerous artifacts found at archaeological sites from the Neolithic and Bronze Age. This study focuses on more than 100,000 stone beads (agate, carnelian, lapis lazuli, green softstone, etc.), spanning approximately four millennia, from a morphological, dimensional, and especially technological perspective.Key results include the identification of only two categories of ornamental elements, mainly in the Bronze Age (late 4th-late 2nd millennium BC), one being of substantially higher quality than the other. These two categories reflect the expertise of different workshops located in distinct regions. The majority appears to be of local production, while others, such as some carnelian and lapis lazuli beads, are likely from the Indo-Pakistan region or Iran, respectively.This study permitted the recreation of the main circulation patterns for each mineral material used in the manufacture of beads, both within the Oman Peninsula for those produced locally, and between neighboring regions in the case of imported beads. It is also possible to see the impact of historical context on the circulation of material between the Oman Peninsula and Middle Asia. Elements of personal ornamentation are highly symbolic objects, especially in the Oman Peninsula where these artifacts convey many diverse values: commercial, apotropaic, aesthetic, temporal, sexual, hierarchical, or spiritual