2017
Eric Fouache et al., « The archaeological site of Bat in its environment. », HAL-SHS : géographie, ID : 10670/1.e406fb
Decades of archaeological research in southeastern Arabia (Oman and the UAE) have provided a goodunderstanding of the evolution of human societies in this arid region, with the transition from mobilepastoralism to settled agricultural villages occurring at the start of the Hafit period (ca. 3100e2700 BCE).The delayed adoption of farming, ceramics, mudbrick architecture, metallurgy, and other technologiesuntil the start of the 3rd millennium BCE has been a particularly salient feature of this region relative toits neighbours in Mesopotamia, southern Iran, and northwestern South Asia. However, recent geo-archaeological research at the World Heritage Site of Bat, situated within the Wadi Sharsah valley innorthwest Oman, has provided evidence of irrigation practices that have been dated to the early-mid 4thmillennium BCE. While direct evidence of farming from this early period remains elusive, the presence ofirrigated fields at this time raises new questions about the supposedly mobile pastoralist groups of theArabian Neolithic and the beginning of farming practices in the region.