Neolithic stone tool and shell bead production from Masirah and Al-Hallaniyah islands (Oman)

In Oman, many coastal sites dated to the Neolithic have yielded material culture related to ornament manufacture. These sites are the remnants of fishermen occupations, developing an economy mainly based on maritime and mangrove resources. The Omani islands of Masirah and Al-Hallaniyah are both situated in the Arabian Sea. Today, Masirah is located about 20 km from the continent, while Al-Hallaniyah is part of the Khuriya Muriya archipelago off the southern coast of Oman. On Masirah, workshops have been discovered in Neolithic shell middens, revealing the work of stone and Spondylus sp. shells for bead production, using lithic tools. Separated by approximately 400 km from Masirah, Al-Hallaniyah yielded several Neolithic sites with similar evidence for shell bead production. The main lithic tools discovered are micro-drills, pieces esquillees (splintered pieces) made of local chert, and multitasking tools made of stone, used as anvils, hammerstone and/or polishing stone. Most of the micro-drills are made from bladelets either with sharped edges or with steep edges and testify to predetermined knapping operations. However, others created on undifferentiated flakes appear to be more opportunistic (or expedient). Micro-drills of the Masirah and Al-Hallaniyah types seem to be quite new to the Neolithic toolkit of coastal Oman. Pieces esquillees demonstrate the use of bipolar flaking (performed on an anvil) but functional questions remain. These could be cores, but also chisels used between a hammer and a material (shell) placed on an anvil. Stone tools show marks that are characteristic of use as hammers, anvils and as tools used to polish the beads after perforation.