7,000 years ago at Wadi Nafun in Oman, a community hunted sharks and stingrays! Dozens of individuals buried together had shark tooth pendants. Isotope analysis reveals marine predator diets. Remarkable maritime culture! 🦈
Neolithic Omanis hunted sharks and stingrays 7,000 years ago
Site mentioned
📍 Wadi Nafun
Key facts
- 7,000-year-old grave site at Wadi Nafun in present-day Oman
- Skeletal remains of over 70 men, women, and children
- Monument built and maintained communally for over 300 years
- Isotope analysis revealed nitrogen isotopes from marine apex predators
- Shark tooth pendants discovered at site
- Tiger shark teeth and stingray barbs excavated
- Fishing tools recovered
- Evidence that Neolithic hunters used their own teeth to process catches
- Specific wear patterns on human teeth indicate diet and use as tools
- Strontium and oxygen levels show some individuals spent childhoods over 30 miles inland
- Specialized hunting of marine predators documented through buried community analysis
- Connection of burial community with sharks new finding in prehistoric Arabia and Neolithic arid zone cultures
Sources
popsci.com
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