Jebel Faya

• Humans originated around 200,000 years ago in Africa and spread around the world
• Some of the earliest evidence for human movement from Africa to the Middle East was found in Palestine, specifically in the caves of Qafzeh and Skhul
• Fossilized human remains from the caves suggested that humans came from Africa through the Nile Valley and into Palestine between 120,000 and 80,000 years ago
• Recent excavations in Jebel Faya, Sharjah, provide evidence that humans also travelled from Africa across the Arabian Peninsula
• Archaeologists discovered fossilized cutting tools in Jebel Faya dated to be about 130,000 to 95,000 years old, including small hand axes and tools for cutting food
• The Al Hajar Mountains were once under the sea and rose to their current height through tectonic plates shifting over millions of years
• Humans might have been able to cross to Arabia due to the climatic conditions 130,000 years ago
• During this time, the Red Sea was much shallower, resembling a small river, allowing humans to easily crossover to Arabia
• Arabia was flourishing during this time with grasslands and a large number of wild animals
• 75,000 years ago, the climatic conditions changed, potentially allowing people to cross over to Iran, Pakistan, and India as the Arabian Gulf became no more than a river
• The people who lived in the Arabian Peninsula hunted wild animals like oryx, gazelle, and camels, and developed stone tool technologies
• The Neolithic Age in the region, from about 8000 BCE to 3000 BCE, brought big changes in the diet of people, with evidence found at Jebel Buhais in Sharjah
• Bones and teeth found at Jebel Buhais indicated that women lived on average to 33 and men to 36 during the Neolithic Period
• The diet of the Neolithic people in the UAE was rich in meat, with no evidence of vitamin or calcium deficiency, and rare indications of severe starvation
• Archaeologists found many fireplaces at Jebel Buhais dating between 5000 and 4000 BCE, containing bones of sheep, goats, cattle, and hunted animals like camels
• A large cemetery was found at Jebel Buhais, indicating that the inhabitants rarely suffered from a lack of food, despite facing violence and clashes with other communities
• Early evidence of pearling was discovered in the UAE, with sites in Abu Dhabi, Umm al-Quwain, and Sharjah showing that people were diving for pearls and using them as jewellery over 7,000 years ago
• The Neolithic period in Arabia marked the beginning of an industry that defined the UAE for thousands of years to come