700,000-year-old tools found in Qatar
Challenging the written history of Qatar and the southern Arabian region, a joint team of Qatari-Danish scientists has discovered evidence of early man in Qatar. The scientists have found basic hunting tools, which they believe date back 700,000 to 800,000 years.
The scientists stumbled upon the pre-historic findings while conducting exploration in the western region of Qatar under a Qatar Museums Authority (QMA)-sponsored project.
The new findings also question the prevailing theory that early man migrated from Africa through the Nile Valley and via Palestine to Europe and Asia.
The tools discovered by the archaeologists are believed to be the oldest traces of man in southern Arabia. If the findings are accurate, the discovery means early man lived in Qatar far earlier than was previously believed, a senior QMA official said.
"The findings provide a remarkable picture of pre-historic migration. Through the sands of time we can start to understand the people who first lived on Qatari soil. It is a magnificent discovery," said Abdullah Al Najjar, CEO of QMA.
Bo Madsen of Moesgard Museum in Denmark said: “These tools are not only the oldest traces of man in south Arabia, they are among the oldest in the whole world.”
The most spectacular tools are some large axes and cleavers used to slaughter wild game like elephants and deer. Besides, there are knives and scrapers used to clean fur.
The ancient tools were found on a terrace leading down to a gigantic depression which used to be a freshwater lake. On the shores of this lake early man hunted big game, the scientists opine.
Many archaeologists are of the view that early man migrated from Africa through the Nile Valley via Palestine to Europe and Asia, but the new findings indicate man took another route via the Arabian Peninsula.
The archaeologists are eager to continue the investigations in cooperation with geologists. Together they intend to study the geology of the area and the levels in which the flint tools were found, in order to reconstruct the environment in which the oldest inhabitants of Qatar lived.
"The tools explored so far were found on the surface — they have been uncovered because wind and rain have eroded the levels. The next step is to make a real archaeological excavation, to find the levels of the settlement. We then need geologist to date the levels containing the flint tools," Madsen explained.
The Pen
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