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First human traces in capital date back to the Stone Age

ABU DHABI — A team of archaeologists from the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) have discovered artefacts and other items dating back to the Palaeolithic Period (150,000-35,000 years ago) in the Western Region of the Abu Dhabi emirate.

This is a major discovery and shows that the first human activities in Abu Dhabi areas go back to the Old Stone Age, and not the New Stone Age (some 7,500 years ago) as presumed earlier, said Mohammed Khalaf Al Mazrouei, director general of ADACH.

Al Mazrouei, who revealed the discovery yesterday, said some of the items found by the archaeologists included Levallois-style artefacts.

Al Mazrouei told Khaleej Times that more than 70 such artefacts were found in the coastal area of Abu Dhabi, near Sila. “Of course, the site needs to be protected while our archaeological search continues,” added Al Mazrouei.

The artefacts consist of flint cores and flakes made in the Levallois technique. This type of manufacturing style was first discovered in the 19^th century at an archaeological site in Levallois, near Paris. Similar artefacts were also found in other parts of Europe, as well as in Africa and Asia. In the Near East, they are usually associated with the Neanderthal man, but according to Dr Ghanim Wahida, a professor of ancient history at Cambridge University, UK, the artefacts found on the Abu Dhabi coast are of the Middle Palaeolithic age.