SOME COMMENTS ABOUT THE INFLUENCE OXUS CIVILIZATION IN THEARABIAN GULF

It is known that the Oxus civilization in the Bronze Age, with its unique material culture, interacted with a number of cultural countries: the Indian Valley, Iran, Mesopotamia, Elam and other regions. As a result of these relationships, interactions and interactions are formed. Archaeologists turn to archaeological and written sources to shed light on the historiography of this period. This research is devoted to the history of cultural relations between the Oxus civilization and the countries of the Arabian Gulf in the Bronze Age. The article highlights cultural ties based on an analysis of stamp seals and unique artifacts.Key words: Dilmun, Magan, marine shell, Arabian Gulf, Bahrain, Mesopotamia, Harappa, Gonur, Afghanistan

Contribution of Non-Wood Forest Product to The Local Community Living Near Mangrove Forest in Kudat, Sabah

This study was conducted to identify the types of non-wood forest products from the mangrove forests that are used by people of the mangrove fringe, reviewing the contribution of non-wood forest product sales of mangrove forest on the edge of the mangrove population income sources and investigate the local use of mangrove’s non-wood forest products of socio-economic development of the mangrove fringe population. The method which was used is by distributing the questionnaires and carried out formal interviews with the respondents. The locations which were studied are Kampung Limau Limauan, Kampung Bukit Kelapa, Kampung Longgom Kecil and Kampung Indrasun Laut. The questionnaires comprises of three parts which the first, second and third parts are containing the information regarding on the demographic of the respondent, the inventory of the mangrove’s non-wood forest products which sells by the respondent and the contribution of the mangrove’s non-wood forest product to the development respondent’s socioeconomy respectively. The respondents as a whole are more than 53 people and only 13 people only involved in the recruitment of mangroves. Of the total, found only three respondents whoactually depend on the mangrove’s non-wood forest products, while 10 others were only made to take the job as a sideline of mangrove forests. The types of mangrove’s non-wood forest products stated are mangrove crab (Scylla sarrata), shell (Cerithidea obtuse), cat fish (Plotosus sp.), mullet fish (Valamugil seheli) and marine shell (Polymesuda expansa). However, only four out of six products are marketed which are marine shell, shell, and mangrove crab and cat fish while the other is for domestic purposes. Based on data collected on correlation of the relationship between the average incomes of non-wood forest product sales of mangrove forests with a total average monthly income of respondents, it shows a positive relationship with r=0.527. The value of contribution of the average income from the selling of mangrove’s non-wood forest product over the total average of monthly income is 28.7 %. The Local usage value of mangrove’s product is calculated based on the formula of Local usage value = ?Pi Qi – Ci. The value of the local use non-wood forest products from the mangrove forests which are marketed by RM 1924.40 per month while the total value of products marketed locally applied to each individual is at RM 148.03 a month. As a conclusion,mangrove forests do contribute to the development of residence’s socio-economy although the value is low.

A Swiss Army Knife from the Upper Paleolithic? Experiments on Non-Projectile Uses of Backed Pieces

Backed lithic artifacts are an important part of the Upper Paleolithic tool kit, and are often among the most abundant categories of lithic tools found at Magdalenian and Gravettian sites. Often these tools are exclusively referred to as projectiles, and indeed many – if not most – backed pieces may have been parts of composite projectile heads, mounted laterally onto organic points (e.g., Allain and Descouts 1957; Allain 1979; Abramova 1982; Bergman and Newcomer 1983; Leroi­ Gourhan 1983; Plisson 1985; Nuzhnyi 1993; Christensen and Valentin 2004; Sano 2009; Langlais 2010; Araujo­Igreja 2011; Tomasso et al. 2018). Experiments of varying comprehensiveness concerned with the use of (Magdalenian) backed pieces as projectile inserts have confirmed the effectivity of this setup (e.g., Moss and Newcomer 1982; Pétillon et al. 2011; Gauvrit Roux et al. 2020). However, backed pieces sometimes also served other purposes like cutting, sawing, shaving, scraping or perforating (Moss and Newcomer 1982; Moss 1983; Owen 1988; Piel­Desruisseaux 1998; Christensen and Valentin 2004; Taller et al. 2012). The modular technological system involving these lithic artifacts is highly versatile, mobile and dynamic as there are numerous possibilities of use and as the small lithic inserts are easy to transport and the composite tools themselves are easy to maintain and repair. Here, we present the results of an experiment where different tasks were carried out using backed pieces hafted in a wooden handle or operated handheld. The design of the handles loosely follows examples found at Canadian Dorset sites where bladelets comparable in size to Magdalenian backed pieces were hafted and used as knives (Owen 1988, 88ff.). We tried out the tools in various activities (cutting, perforating and carving/whittling) on a set of worked materials (wood, antler, marine shell, smoked meat, dried, semi­tanned hide, and tanned leather). After the completion of these tasks, the applicability, durability and usefulness of the setup were evaluated and the lithic inserts were checked microscopically for use­wear traces.

Marine Shell Working at Harlaa, Ethiopia, and the Implications for Red Sea Trade

Twelve species of marine shell were transported in significant quantities from the Red Sea to the trade centre of Harlaa in eastern Ethiopia between the eleventh and early fifteenth centuries AD. Initially, it was thought that species such as the cowries were imported from the Indian Ocean. Subsequent research has found that all were available from the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, c. 120 km east of Harlaa. This suggests that a hitherto largely unrecognised source of marine shells was available, and the Red Sea might have supplied not only the Horn of Africa, but other markets, potentially including Egypt, and from there, elsewhere in North Africa and ultimately West Africa via trans-Saharan routes, as well as Nubia and further south on the Nile in the Sudan, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Arabian/Persian Gulf. This is explored with reference to the shell assemblage from Harlaa, and selected shell assemblages from elsewhere in the Horn of Africa, and trading centres on the Red Sea.

Cahokians and the Circulation of Ritual Goods in the Middle Cumberland Region

This chapter addresses the influence of human migration into the Middle Cumberland Region by examining the circulation of ritual goods as represented by four groups of objects: ceramics, shell cups and gorgets, stone tablets, and symbolic weaponry. While the presence of Ramey Incised and Cahokia Cordmarked ceramics in the MCR demonstrates the arrival of a community from the American Bottom in the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, the manufacture, use, and deposition of negative-painted ceramics in the MCR between A.D. 1250 and 1400 represents the adoption of motifs in contemporary use at Cahokia and the sustained interaction between a group of polities, including those in the American Bottom. The adoption of Braden-style imagery on marine shell and its association with female effigy vessels in an MCR mortuary practice centered on the graves of children reveals a pronounced ritual dedication to an Earth Mother deity in the MCR that is an important focus of our research. Furthermore, the sharing of iconography intimately associated with the Hero Twins in ceramics, marine shell, and stone tablets, and their association with symbolic weaponry, links these culture heroes with the female deity as the central figures in the religious practices of the MCR devoted to reincarnation and rebirth.