Percorrer por autor "Beshkani, Amir"
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- Examining the distribution of middle paleolithic nubian cores relative to chert quality in southern (Nejd, Dhofar) and south‐central (Duqm, Al Wusta) OmanPublication . Eren, Metin I.; Bebber, Michelle R.; Singer, David; Pearson, Chloe; Ortiz, Joseph D.; Buchanan, Briggs; Beshkani, Amir; Chlachula, Dominik; Dellmour, Rudolf; Garba, Roman; Marks, Anthony E.; Usyk, Vitaly; Rose, Jeffrey IanLithic raw material properties are often invoked to explain the presence, absence, form, or ontogeny of Paleolithic stone tools. Here, we explore whether the frequency of the Middle Paleolithic Nubian core form and core-reduction systems co-varies with toolstone quality in two neighboring regions in Oman: the southern region of Nejd, Dhofar, and the south-central region of Duqm, Al Wusta. Specifically, we predicted that if raw material differences were influencing the distribution of Nubian cores, the chert would be of higher quality in the southern region, where Nubian cores were frequent, and of lower quality in the south-central region, where they were scarce. We tested this prediction by collecting 124 chert samples from 22 outcrops and then quantitatively assessed two geochemical variables that are widely thought to influence knapping: impurity amount and silica content. We also examined the mineralogical composition, and the crystallite size and lattice strain for quartz (crystalline alpha-SiO2) of representative chert samples. Our results suggest that the cherts in the two regions are similar, which is not consistent with the hypothesis that lithic raw material quality contributed to Nubian core spatial distribution in Oman. We discuss potential alternative hypotheses to explain Nubian core geographic patterning, and provisionally suggest that the scarcity of Nubian cores in south-central Oman may be due to a concomitant scarcity of toolmakers, given a lack of water availability.
- Mapping lateral stratigraphy at Palaeolithic surface sites: a case study from Dhofar, OmanPublication . Rose, Jeffrey Ian; Hilbert, Yamandú H.; Usyk, Vitaly I.; Bebber, Michelle R.; Beshkani, Amir; Buchanan, Briggs; Cascalheira, João; Chlachula, Dominik; Dellmour, Rudolf; Eren, Metin I.; Garba, Roman; Hallinan, Emily; Li, Li; Walker, Robert S.; Marks, Anthony E.Open-air accumulations of chipped stone debris are a common feature in arid landscapes, yet despite their prevalence, such archives are often dismissed as uninformative or unreliable. In the canyonlands of Dhofar, southern Oman, lithic surface scatters are nearly ubiquitous, including extensive, multi-component workshops associated with chert outcrops. These sites typically display chronologically diagnostic features that correspond to distinct taphonomic states, which in turn appear linked to spatial distribution, with more heavily weathered artifacts often found farther from the chert outcrops. We propose that post-depositional modifications and spatial distributions of chipped stone artifacts reflect site formation processes and, under certain conditions, may provide relative chronological information when absolute dating methods are unavailable. Our study tests this hypothesis by mapping artifact distribution and lithic taphonomy across a series of surface sites in southern Oman, spanning the Lower, Middle, and Upper/Late Palaeolithic periods. The results largely support our model, offering valuable insights into surface site formation and technological change over time. While these findings serve as broad predictive markers for age, their applicability for analyzing finer-scale assemblage variability remains to be determined. Future taphonomic recording systems should aim to quantify surface modifications to enhance replicability for such studies.
- The nature of Nubian: developing current global perspectives on Nubian Levallois technology and the Nubian complexPublication . Hallinan, Emily; Barzilai, Omry; Beshkani, Amir; Cascalheira, João; Demidenko, Yuri E.; Goder‐Goldberger, Mae; Hilbert, Yamandú H.; Hovers, Erella; Marks, Anthony E.; Nymark, Andreas; Olszewski, Deborah I.; Oron, Maya; Rose, Jeffrey I.; Shaw, Matthew; Usik, Vitaly I.Nubian Levallois technology has recently risen to the forefront ofdebates surrounding Late Pleistocene human technological behavior,cultural traditions, and demographic histories. Named after the regionwhere it was first identified, Nubian Levallois describes a specificmethod of lithic point production that occurs in Middle Palaeolithic (or Middle Stone Age) assemblages across arid North Africa, the Levant and Arabia.1–9However, the recent identification of Nubian technology in separate, disconnected regions, such as SouthAfrica10–12and possibly India13,14suggests there are more diversescenarios of its emergence and spread than the original model of abroad Nubian technocomplex related to a single, expandingpopulation from its north‐east African heartland.3While fewassemblages containing Nubian technology are directly dated, itsproposed MIS 5 timing coincides with early modern human dispersalsout of Africa, adding a further dimension of whether certain lithictechnologies can be linked to specific geographic populations.