Wild and domesticated fauna in desert regions of the Near East. The case of Saruq al-Hadid (UAE)

Abstract

The authors present the results of the archaeozoological studies of the 2019–2020 archaeological field seasons conducted in Saruq al-Hadid (Dubai, UAE) by the University of Seville and the Andalusian Institute of Historic Heritage (Instituto Andaluz del Patrimonio Histórico, IAPH). We analyzed two large assemblages of animal bone remains and, through the archaeozoological analysis, observed differences between two cultural and taphonomical contexts at the site. In the oldest levels—dated between the Bronze Age and Iron Age I—hunted animals predominate, while data from the Iron II period show a higher frequency of domesticated species. These differences suggest a change in the use of the environment, related to changes in the culture and/or the climate, as well as the human activity that originated each deposit.