Arab. arch. epig.

2007: 18: 124–131 (2007)

Printed in Singapore. All rights reserved

Bioarchaeology in the United Arab Emirates*

Physical anthropology and bioarchaeology (one of the newer interdisciplin- Debra L. Martin
ary sub-disciplines) are alive and well in the U.A.E. Older analytical Dept. of Anthropology and
approaches that rely on subjective observations and non-systematic study of Ethnic Studies, University of
human remains are being replaced with more biocultural and processual Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada
approaches that integrate biological data from human remains within a 89154
broader archaeological and cultural context. With the publication of a major
synthetic work based on analysis of the human remains from Jebel al-Buhais,
a new era of skeletal analysis in the U.A.E. has been heralded. This short
review examines the ways that skeletal analysis can be integrated within
broader archaeological contexts.

Keywords: bioarchaeology, physical anthropology, burials, palaeopathol-

ogy, U.A.E. e-mail: debra.martin@unlv.edu

Introduction istic, descriptive and typological (2). But times are

There has been sustained archaeological interest in
the cultural centres of western Asia including Egypt,
Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley,
and emerging from this intense focus are hundreds
of cases of pathologies from analyses of human
remains (1). Human remains and their associated
funerary contexts have always captured the imagi-
nations of both scientists and lay people, and reports
of disease, violence, disfigurement and racial types
can be easily found in the literature. Skeletal remains
have generally had a different trajectory than other
materials retrieved from archaeological investiga-
tion. Human remains tended to end up in the
laboratories of anatomists, physicians or physical
anthropologists. Historically, the approach to exam-
ining these ancient humans was largely individual-
*Review article of Uerpmann H-P, Uerpmann M & Jasim SA,
eds. The Archaeology of Jebel al-Buhais, Sharjah, United Arab
Emirates, Volume One: Funeral Monuments and Human Remains
from Jebel al-Buhais. Sharjah: Department of Culture and
Information, in collaboration with the Institut für Ur- and
Frühgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalters Universität
Tubingen, Germany, and in cooperation with Kerns Verlag,
Tübingen, Germany, 2006, 386 pp., 183 illustrations, 53 tables,
2 appendices.
changing, and with new theories, methods and data
being culled from human remains, there is renewed
excitement about their ability to tell stories far more
provocative and important.
For example, eastern Arabia has been considered
somewhat marginal to the larger cultural centres,
and a comprehensive understanding of biological
adaptation and human behaviour in this region has
been greatly understudied. Studies on the Arabian
Peninsula and the Oman peninsula have demon-
strated that these areas were much more central to
the ongoing affairs in Mesopotamia and beyond
than had been previously acknowledged (3).
Archaeological reports on early domesticates, the
growth in societal complexity, interregional com-
merce, the evolution of metallurgical and ceramic
technologies, the significance of foreign influences,
and long-term climatic and environmental changes
reveal this area to be central in understanding the
larger Near Eastern picture (4). Reports on human
remains from the Arabian Peninsula are relatively
sparse, but this trend appears to be changing.
Why should archaeologists care about newly
emerging methods for the study of human remains?
Here is one example of what an integrated skeletal

124
 BIOARCHAEOLOGY IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
project could add to an ongoing archaeological
problem. A particularly pivotal period, the late third
millennium BC (c. 2300–2000 BC), was a time of
economic crises that had an effect on large portions
of the Near East including Mesopotamia and Egypt.
Yet during this same time, at archaeological sites
located in eastern Arabia, this was a period of
expansion as demonstrated by the number of sites,
graves, and settlements, and in the ceramic, stone
and metals industries represented (4). Cuneiform
sources and import items suggest contact with
Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley throughout this
time. These exciting contradictions and complexities
in human behaviour in the region underscore the
need to incorporate data derived from the human
remains so that questions of population structure,
demography, diasporas, diet, health and sustain-
ability can be compared across regions and through
time.
This brief review examines the extraordinary
potential of human skeletal remains retrieved from
the hundreds of collective and individual graves
excavated since the late 1950s in the U.A.E. Physical
anthropologists and bioarchaeologists working in the
U.A.E. have begun to reach a critical mass and with
this some impressive research findings have resulted.
Archaeologists in the region have posed important
research questions regarding subsistence patterns
(including systems of water control, early domesti-
cates, maritime and oasis adaptations), but it is
striking how little attention has been paid to health,
diet, demography, population genetics, pathology
and other related issues. The inclusion of biological
data is a crucial step in integrating important aspects
of adaptation during times of rapid cultural, political,
climate and economic changes. Yet, in the U.A.E. as in
the world over, human remains are often relegated to
appendices and ‘grey literature’, rarely emerging as
an integrated part of the overall archaeological
investigation.
Students interested in ancient human biology
today are trained to utilize a broad range of theory
and method from a number of disciplines (such as
archaeology, anthropology, medicine and nutrition)
so that data from skeletal remains is interpreted vis-
à-vis other relevant factors that shed light on the
diet, behaviour, culture and environment of the
people under study. These integrative and synthetic
studies are often called biocultural since the biolog-
ical remains are merged with material culture
remains in order to reconstruct human behaviour
and ideology. From this attempt at keeping the
human remains within their original archaeological
context in the analysis and interpretation, ‘bioar-
chaeology’ has emerged as a set of methods to guide
the process.
Bioarchaeology represents a model for the integra-
tion of human remains into a broader and more
cohesive approach that draws on theory, method and
data from a number of sources (5). The approach aims
to move away from descriptive and typological
studies that analyze human remains without much
effort at synthesizing the information with regard to
the complete archaeological context. This includes the
full range of archaeological data on taphonomy,
funerary and grave context, stratigraphy, settlement
pattern, artefact assemblages and floral and faunal
reconstruction. Within this model, human remains
are understood within the broader perspective.
Important aspects of the role of the environment in
shaping human behaviour and adaptation, as well as
how well cultural practices are working to sustain and
grow the population, become the focus.
Thus, bioarchaeology is part of the scientific
process of understanding past peoples. For example,
hypotheses about adaptation to desert environ-
ments, the effects of densely settled communities
on the rates of transmissible infectious diseases, and
the relationship between increased trade and pop-
ulation growth on health can be tested with empir-
ical data. Without the biological data on health and
disease, the effects of economic and political change
on population structure and community viability
cannot be directly assessed.
Archaeologists working in the U.A.E. during the
past three decades have begun to understand the
extraordinary potential of the human skeletal re-
mains. What follows is not by any means an exhaus-
tive review of all studies on human skeletal remains
from the U.A.E. Rather, it highlights a recent publi-
cation that demonstrates what systematic and inte-
grated bioarchaeological studies can reveal.
Bioarchaeology in the U.A.E.: Jebel al-Buhais as a
model study
In presenting an overview of the theory, method and
data from the recent analysis of the human remains
125
D. L. MARTIN
retrieved from a necropolis in Sharjah, U.A.E., it is
hoped that the reader will gain an appreciation of
good bioarchaeological analysis in general, and
more specifically for what is being achieved in
bioarchaeology in the U.A.E. This important work
presents a model for future physical anthropologists
that have the opportunity to carry out bioarchaeo-
logical research in the U.A.E. What is most impor-
tant is that the human remains from Jebel al-Buhais
were recovered in varying states of preservation and
completeness. In other words, this landmark study
was not based on well-preserved and intact skeletal
remains. Yet, the authors do a great deal to further
our understanding of both issues of biological
adaptation as well as the diet, health, behaviour
and belief systems as revealed through the monu-
ments built to house the dead and analysis of the
remains within.
The site of Jebel al-Buhais is located in south-
eastern Arabia in the Emirate of Sharjah. It was
excavated over the course of ten field seasons between
1996 and 2005. The locality of Jebel al-Buhais had been
used as a place to bury the dead as well as to live, from
approximately 5000 to 200 BC. Exploration and
excavation within the area began in the late 1980s by
a team of Spanish and French archaeologists. In 1994,
an intensive survey carried out by local specialists
revealed a camel burial in a late Bronze Age grave. By
invitation, Hans-Peter Uerpmann and Margarethe
Uerpmann arrived in 1995 and quickly discovered a
large Neolithic necropolis with at least 500 burials.
Systematic excavations of the funerary monuments
and burials took place over the next ten years. The
data generated from their team’s work is of high
quality, and can be used by future researchers to test
hypotheses about a range of questions regarding the
site.
After a detailed description of the archaeological
sites of Jebel al-Buhais in the first section of the
volume (by Sabah Abboud Jasim), a second part, co-
authored by Adelina Uerpmann, Johannes Schmitt,
Nicole Nicklisch and Michaela Binder, provides an
overview of all of the post-Neolithic human remains
excavated there between 1996 and 1999. Aspects of
health, diet and activity patterns are presented in the
temporal analysis of the collective assemblage.
Patterns in dental decay and wear suggest a diet of
cereals, fruits, vegetables and some meat. Activities
associated with subsistence agriculture are revealed
126
in some of the long bones. Pronounced muscle
insertions and ridges demonstrate habitual use of
some muscles likely used in food production. Raised
muscle ridges on the bones of the lower body
suggest the possibility of camel riding and long
distance travel by foot over rough terrain.
Although speculative, the authors meticulously
reconstruct the burial of two individuals buried with
iron arrowheads (and one with a camel) that may
represent warriors. The interpretation goes on to
suggest the possibility that these warriors may have
taken part in battles related to the spread of Islam in
the region. These kinds of hypotheses laid out to
account for the observed skeletal findings and
mortuary configurations provide a lively way to
engage the reader in thinking about the implications
of these post-Neolithic burials for understanding
larger patterns at the population level.
Taken together, these first two parts of the volume
provide the reader with a really broad understand-
ing of the archaeological context of the site at the
largest level. Methodological innovations have been
utilized to very good ends. The use of ortho-
photographs in combination with GIS, for example,
provides a permanent documentation of burials and
grave contexts. Measurements can later be taken
directly from the ortho-photographs. In addition,
this methodology documents the exact positions of
burials vis-à-vis other burials. Semi-transparent
photos can later be superimposed over each to
recreate the distribution and placement of burials
within three-dimensional horizontal and vertical
stratigraphy. These new methods both preserve data
as well as provide high-quality data that can be used
by future researchers.
In a third section of the volume there is a focused
study of all the Neolithic burials by Henrike Kiese-
wetter. The focus is on the large population of
human remains coming from al-Buhais 18 (BHS 18),
although the actual analysis is only on those remains
from the 1996–2000 field seasons (a later publication
will incorporate the remaining recovered burials
from the 2001–2005 field seasons). The monuments
and human remains date largely to the fifth-millen-
nium Neolithic period. It is suggested that there are
at least 1000 or more burials in the whole area. The
excavation team left approximately one fifth of these
unexcavated. Of those excavated, approximately 365
are analyzed here.
 BIOARCHAEOLOGY IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
BHS 18 holds the key to many questions regarding
adaptation to a relatively dry and marginal area. The
seasonal pattern of herding, hunting, fishing and
foraging makes these Holocene pastoral nomads
particularly important because so little is known
about the full range of complex adaptations that
existed prior to and contemporaneous with the
adoption of agriculture in this and other regions.
The necropolis in total covers 95 m2 and the burials
recovered from BHS 18 are comprised of both
articulated and disarticulated unmarked graves.
The method of interment is a mix of primary and
secondary burial. The secondary burials are com-
prised largely of the cranium and long bones
arranged somewhat neatly throughout the burial
complex, suggesting that the corpses decomposed
elsewhere and were brought to the burial complex
without attending to relocating the complete skele-
ton. Thus the secondary burials are missing smaller
rib, vertebrae and hand and foot bones. There are no
cut marks on the secondary burials, suggesting that
decomposition was natural. Eleven out of the 374
burials demonstrate burning. The coloration of the
burn pattern suggests that the decomposed burials
were burned in situ once placed in the ground.
The techniques utilized by Kiesewetter represent
the very best in physical anthropology and bioar-
chaeological methods. The human remains were
treated to a very systematic analysis using the
international standards that have been forwarded
by the Paleopathogy Association including the use
of the Standard Osteological Database (SOD) proce-
dures (7). In addition to this, the human remains,
once transported to Germany for further study, were
both radiographed and CT-scanned (which yielded
additional important information on internal struc-
ture and biological processes). Not only did the
author collect a great deal of data from the burials
while they were still in situ, but she continued her
study of the remains once they were recovered and
transported to her laboratory in Germany. As
information is often lost in the retrieval of fragile
bones, it is a huge credit to the author to have
participated in the excavation and analysis of the
bones from field to lab.
The age and sex distribution of the skeletons
suggests a relatively normally distributed popula-
tion. Sub-adults represent a little under one third of
the group, and of the adults about half of them are
between the ages of 20 and 35. The life-table analyses
demonstrate that the highest period of mortality for
adults is between the ages of 25 and 29. The analysis
of death cohorts is very thorough and impressive,
and yields several interesting points of departure
from what might be expected for a Holocene
population. For example, the low number of infants
and sub-adults is noteworthy, along with the higher
risk of dying at peak reproductive years in adults.
It is hypothesized that the under-representation of
infants and children is due to a variety of factors
including preservation issues and differential place-
ment of infant burials elsewhere. The deliberate
separation of infants and young children from the
group seems somewhat common in other regions as
well. The author also suggests one additional pos-
sibility for the low number of infants in the burial
group: that there actually might have been a very
low birth rate for these Bronze Age pastoralists.
Using a range of comparative data, the author builds
an explanation for the low number of infants
recovered from the site based on this. What is
perhaps more intriguing and plausible is that infants
were generally buried elsewhere, except when they
died along with their mother. Some supporting data
exist for this because of the newborns and infants
recovered, most were found intermingled with the
burials of adults, and in most cases with females.
Regardless, Kiesewetter shows a wonderful imagi-
nation and creativity in the way she pulls compar-
ative ethnographic sources and other ideas into the
mix of alternative hypotheses that might account for
the results she obtained.
Using death rates to reconstruct the living popu-
lation, the author suggests that the average size of
the community might have been in the range of 50–
150 based on the calculations of the number of
people dying over a 500-year period. The crude birth
rate of 36.4 to 54.1 is comparable to an ethnograph-
ically observed rate of 38.7 for historic and contem-
porary Bedouin groups. Comparison of the
demographic profiles with RH5 (a fourth-millen-
nium BC group from the coastal region on the Gulf
of Oman) revealed some similarities with low
numbers of neonates and infants, and differences
in the higher than expected rate of mortality in the
young adulthood age categories.
Metric analyses were undertaken of the long
bones of the upper and lower body for adult males
127
D. L. MARTIN
and females in order to detect variability in overall
size and shape. In general, the empirical data
suggest a population that is relatively muscular,
but not robust. The author suggests that one sees this
similar body physique even today. She explains that
the local environment may be a strong factor
shaping overall physique. For the upper body, there
are distinctive patterns of use of the upper arm
(deltoid) and chest (pectoral) muscles. The right side
appears more developed than the left, suggesting a
dominance of right-handed people. The author
suggests that the pattern of muscularity is best
described by activities where the upper arm is lifted
and moved in a circular motion. She then describes
hunting and warfare activities that most fit this
pattern even though the faunal record does not
show much hunting activity. Alternative (and plau-
sible) hypotheses would support activities such as
processing hides, carrying children and balancing
and carrying heavy loads.
For the lower limbs, mobility was a strong factor
in patterning the shape of the femur bones.
Although they are not extremely robust or marked
with defined muscle attachments and ridges, the
author found a high pilasteric and low platymeric
index (i.e. the femora are more flattened than
rounded). These suggest physical strain on the
lower body consistent with constant mobility. When
comparing these data and other metric observations
from published reviews of other prehistoric, historic
and living populations throughout Europe, Africa
and America, the indices place Al-Buhais 18 nearest
to modern Arabs and Egyptians (but not to Africans
in general), and farther from European and Native
American. In terms of overall stature, males are
generally taller than females (means of 170.8 versus
159.7, respectively). These data are remarkably
similar for comparative groups and suggests that
these nomads are typical in terms of overall size and
the amount of sexual dimorphism.
Cranial metric and non-metric analyses revealed
that there is a tendency towards apparent genetic
relatedness to other Mediterranean groups (more so
than for African or Asian groups). However, with
almost all of the cranial measures and traits, there
was quite a bit of variability. Kiesewetter focuses on
a patterned observation that there were at least two
types of cranial shape, long-headed and round-
headed, combined with individuals showing inter-
128
mediate forms. The author suggests that it is
possible that there might have been ‘sub-tribes’
using the same burial grounds, but the plotting of
head types within the graveyard revealed no dis-
tinction and placement of all head types appeared
mixed and random. Because none of the other
measures of biological difference correlated to head
shape, it was concluded that these groups were not
biologically separated in any way. Although the
author takes great care in attempting to distinguish
subgroups based on long-headed and round-headed
individuals, in the end it was concluded that no such
groups could be made and that there simply was
phenotypic variability in head form in this popula-
tion. The collective data on the cranium, when
compared with published data from other popula-
tions, does suggest strongly that this population was
not a genetically isolated and homogenous popula-
tion. The author writes ‘[…] the society probably
was made up of individuals from a scattered
nomadic population, who were held together by
social, economic and cultural ties and who season-
ally met at the BHS 18 site’ (p. 170). Indeed, the
epigenetic traits continued to reinforce the idea that
the two groups based on head shape were likely not
discrete groups at all, but rather there was a ‘[…]
substantial genetic exchange between the sub-
groups, which is underscored by the variety of
traits’ (p. 172).
Trauma is found to occur with the highest
frequency in the cranium with 13.9% of the indi-
viduals aged over 15 showing blunt force, sharp
force or small puncture fractures. About one third of
the fractures are healed, and the others present some
or no healing and are likely to have contributed to
the cause of death. The author presents detailed case
studies for four of the individuals with head trauma.
In these, the trauma is described, a reconstruction of
the traumatic event is attempted, the outcome of the
trauma for health is explored, and treatment (if any)
is postulated. In general, the head wounds are
interpreted to have been the result of being hit on
the head with various implements, from stone
implements to poles and sticks. What is interesting
is that several females have healed and unhealed
head trauma as well, although the majority of the
cases are on males.
The postcranial data show that there were fewer
post-cranial fractures, with twelve long bones
 BIOARCHAEOLOGY IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
(eleven individuals) showing evidence of healed
fractures. The author demonstrates that the place-
ment and severity of these suggest violence and not
accidental falls. The author concludes that ‘Interper-
sonal violence was frequent, deliberate, and often
fatal in the BHS 18 population’ (p. 189). The author
uses the vast literature on trauma and violence to
explore creatively the BHS 18 evidence for trauma
by age, sex, placement and degree of bony involve-
ment. All signs point to aggressive violence from
outside the group. The greater involvement of
males, the fatality rate, and the fact that children
were not targets of violence suggest to the author
that the violence was from inter-group conflict and
not intra-group fighting.
The first three cases of reported trepanation in the
U.A.E. and the earliest cases in the broader region
are among the more provocative findings. The
presentation of the trepanations is greatly enhanced
by the use of CT-scans and three-dimensional
reconstructions of the crania. There is no doubt that
these individuals have had surgical intervention and
that two of the individuals survived the surgery
with complete healing. What is provocative is that
these were found on one male and two females. In
two cases, the surgery was associated with cranial
trauma. Most literature on trepanations shows a
preponderance of males undergoing the surgery.
The author does an impressive job of collating all the
available data on trepanations in the Old World.
What the cases from BHS 18 reveal is an extraordi-
nary knowledge of anatomy and physiology, precise
and careful use of flint blades, medical knowledge
regarding cause-effect relationships, an appreciation
of life-saving interventions and careful post-surgery
treatment. Kiesewetter convincingly argues that
trepanation at BHS 18 was used as a medical
intervention to save lives and not for magico-
religious purposes.
A careful reading of the combined results on
osteoarthritis and joint deterioration, infectious
diseases and nutritional problems demonstrates
that there were relatively low frequencies on all
accounts. Although there are cases of active
infectious disease at the time of death, some of
these are related to other injuries, some are slight
and benign in appearance, and a few suggest
systemic infectious disease leading to death. Taken
together, these data suggest much lower rates than
generally reported for sedentary agricultural
groups, and are consistent with frequencies re-
ported for other mobile nomads. Dental patholo-
gies were likewise considerably lower in frequency
than agriculturalists, including dental caries. Of
interest here is that there is no evidence for the
consumption of dates, a highly cariogenic food
used heavily by the fourth- and third-millennium
populations in the region.
The palaeo-pathological data relating to diet and
nutrition strongly suggest that these nomadic herd-
ers were doing quite well. The relative absence or
low rates of a number of indicators of nutritional
inadequacy suggest that the reliance on sheep, goat
and cattle combined with some plant and fruit
locally available, was sufficiently nutritious to keep
the populace generally healthy. These data and this
conclusion are at odds with the early introductory
statements by Kiesewetter suggesting that this was a
hostile and impoverished environment to adapt to.
The data suggests the opposite. Future bioarchaeol-
ogists may want to investigate further this idea
through an examination of the ways that these
Neolithic people did adapt to their specific locality
in terms of behaviour, movement, resource manage-
ment, time allocation by tasks, belief systems, tool
and artefact production, trade and other factors
playing into their successful lifestyle during this
period.
The interpretation of trauma and violence is
quite compelling. It is assumed, based on settle-
ment patterns and lack of architecture at the burial
site, that the group migrated seasonally to other
places as vegetation for the herds became more
abundant in some places than in others. The
author suggests that there could have been com-
petition issues with using various resources such
as grazing areas, and violent attacks on the groups
could have been staged by other nomadic groups
hoping to gain access to these limited resources.
Thus, territorial defence and small-scale warfare
may have become increasingly used as tactics
during periods of food scarcity, population in-
crease or any number of factors coming together to
increase conflict between groups.
Taken as a whole, this volume is a valuable
contribution to the literature for both archaeologists
and physical anthropologists. It demonstrates cate-
gorically the potential for skeletal analysis to pro-
129
D. L. MARTIN
vide unique empirical data on a range of important
human dimensions such as diet, health, longevity,
migration and biological affinity. The skeletal anal-
yses are of the highest quality, using cutting-edge
methods and theory to gather an enormous wealth
of data on the individuals who lived and died in the
region. Collectively, the presentation of the excava-
tion and analysis of the data clearly demonstrates
the continuous use of the region over thousands of
years. New insights into the adaptive strategies of
the inhabitants of the region have been provided,
and the more provocative findings regarding vio-
lence and surgical interventions open up new
avenues of inquiry regarding the complexities and
ideologies across the millennium. New and higher
standards have been set for physical anthropology in
the region and beyond. Using state-of-the art meth-
odologies and well-documented techniques for anal-
ysis, the presentation of the skeletal data raises the
bar for how physical anthropology and bioarchae-
ology should be carried out.
This volume should be required reading for all
physical anthropologists or bioarchaeologists who
wish to work in the U.A.E. and other parts of the
world. It provides a model for systematic analyses
of funerary monuments, mortuary behaviour and
human remains. In addition, the data provided on
BHS 18 should be read widely and promoted
within other scientific arenas. The findings by
Kiesewetter can be used in current debates on the
potential effects of climate change on humans. In
BHS 18 we are provided with some wonderful
examples of biocultural adaptation in what would
be considered by most to be a hostile and
marginalized environment. Mobility, flexibility,
small population size, seasonal utilization of
resources, and a varied diet kept these nomadic
populations relatively healthy and long-lived over
many generations. There are lessons to be learned
here that climate change planners and activists
should make use of.
The key to good bioarchaeological analyses is to
provide enough detail in the data presentation to
permit others to reanalyse and reinterpret the data if
they wish. Although the authors come up with
many interesting ideas about how to interpret their
findings, readers are provided with a wealth of detail
so that they might suggest alternative hypotheses
and other ways of thinking about the data.
130
Integration of older studies with new paradigms
Other large-scale skeletal studies from the U.A.E.
also exist and these have produced equally pro-
vocative and important findings regarding human
life-ways in the U.A.E. For example, Kunter (7)
reported on the third-millennium human skeletal
remains from the graves of Umm an-Nar, Abu
Dhabi, U.A.E. Although this report is much more
descriptive and less systematic, it is still very
useful and some of the data can be reinterpreted
using newer models for understanding adaptation.
For example, the size of several of the Umm an-
Nar graves suggests that there was status differ-
entiation within the community. The proportion of
infants (0–3 yrs) amounts to 18% of the total
population. For the period one would expect a
considerably higher mortality rate. It is possible
that only a portion of the deceased children were
actually interred in the graves, or that the number
of families with children was low in the popula-
tion as a whole. These are intriguing findings that
need to be more fully explored, given new ideas
about that period.
Another finding by Kunter was that there were
approximately twice as many males as females in
the burials. These data led to some observations
regarding the fact that the settlement at Umm an-
Nar was likely a sort of trade colony that was in
close contact with the settlements of the interior and
in which males (fishermen, metal workers, traders,
sailors) were predominant.
In this report, Kunter goes on to provide data on
age at death (individuals lived into their 50s),
muscularity and stature. Pathologies were found to
be largely absent, suggesting a relatively healthy
population. Some injuries were observed that were
suggestive of parry fractures (breaks in the lower
arm bones as a result of holding up the arms to ward
off a blow). In examination of osteoarthritic changes,
Kunter presented data that suggested habitual use of
the hands and arms.
This relatively early report utilized the research
strategy of the day, which was largely based on
measurements and observations. This study pre-
dates the use of standards in the field, and so very
little information about the methods of analysis is
provided. This greatly limits how these data can be
used in a directly comparative way. Yet, reports
such as this often have raw data presented in tables
 BIOARCHAEOLOGY IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

and charts that can be culled and re-examined using
newer techniques.
Relevance of bioarchaeology for the U.A.E. today
Bioarchaeological studies are emerging that show
good use of modern methods for analysis and
interpretation of human remains. More particularis-
tic studies from sites such as Tell Abraq (8,9) and
Ra’s al-Humra (10) are leading the way in showing
how to use very focused studies of a single aspect of
skeletal biology (using teeth or the elbow complex or
the foot) to extract precise data on the activities
carried out by local peoples. These focused studies,
in conjunction with the larger systematic popula-
tion-level studies have the potential to provide
empirical data on the survival patterns of the early
inhabitants of the U.A.E.
But there is larger relevance and a more urgent
reason to explore human adaptation in places such as
eastern Arabia. Everyone is talking about climate
change these days. Human life in extreme and
marginal environments, especially those with limited
water supplies, is a finely balanced system that can be
disrupted easily by very small departures from
average conditions, either in the short term (e.g.
following prolonged drought) or the long term (e.g. as
a result of underlying global trends). Currently,
debates about climate change are primarily focused
on the adequacy of predictive tools to assess accu-
rately causes, rates and effects of climate change on
ecosystems. However, the human dimension of arid
environments, droughts and climate change, especially
in terms of resources, sustainability, and cultural
systems, is only beginning to be seriously discussed.
Archaeological and anthropological understand-
ings regarding the ability of humans to adapt to and
live in regions that have undergone thousands of
years of climate change provides an evolutionary
perspective on the limits of human adaptability and
resource management. Archaeologists are perhaps
the only scientists who can provide integrated and
multidimensional data sets on both the successes
and failures of humans in marginalized and hostile
environments. Bioarchaeologists (physical anthro-
pologists with training in both analysis of skeletal
remains and in archaeology and taphonomy) may be
particularly well suited to contribute a great deal of
information on the human limitations of surviving
long-term droughts and climate change.
Bioarchaeological data from ancient desert dwell-
ers offers a wealth of important empirical data on
how humans have adapted for over 5000 years to
shifting climatic and environmental changes.
Archaeological and physical anthropological works
such as this underscore the relevance of these kinds
of data sets to today’s debates. It is hoped that with
the coming global warming, a larger readership (i.e.
beyond archaeology and anthropology) will find
lessons from the past that are relevant for our future.

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