Jebel Thanais I is a small Late Neolithic site located on the western foot of the low mountain ridge of Jebel Thanais, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Radiocarbon dating places the Neolithic occupations between early and mid-fifth millennium cal BC.
The site consists of 14 isolated fireplaces located along the edge of the course of a nearby wadi and associated gullies. These are represented by a loose collection of burned limestone cobbles and boulders that show evidence of heat-treatment. Lithic debitage--the leftover pieces of stone from flint tool making--were recovered from each of the fireplaces.
Excavators believe these fireplaces represent the seasonal roamings of Neolithic herders, traveling between the coast, inland regions and Hajar Mountains. Radiocarbon dates recovered from the place the occupations at between 4200 and 3900 cal BC.
Sources
This glossary entry is a part of the About.com Guide to the Neolithic and the Dictionary of Archaeology.
Drechsler P. 2010. Life at the end of the Holocene moist phase in south-east Arabia — the Late Neolithic site of Jebel Thanais 1 (JTH1). Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 21(2):81-95.
