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Ras Al Khaimah’s archaeologists have joined forces with two universities in the United States to study 4,000-year-old human remains. The goal is to determine if a significant climate event that occurred during that time could offer insight into how human biology might be impacted by a comparable event in the future.
Professor Jaime Ullinger, along with a student team of bio-anthropologists from Quinnipiac University in Connecticut, USA, paid a visit to the Ras Al Khaimah Department of Antiquities and Museums to study human skeletons dating back to the 2nd millennium BC. Their aim was to assess the skeletons’ potential for bio-archaeological research, specifically in exploring the effects of climate change on human biology during the Umm Al Nar and Wadi Suq periods in Ras Al Khaimah. The human remains, which were examined, belong to a time of severe climate change and prolonged drought.
The visit is part of an ongoing collaboration, named “The Bio-Archaeology of Bronze Age Social Systems”, between Ras Al Khaimah Department of Antiquities and Museums, Quinnipiac and the University of South Alabama, with professors and students from both universities expected to return to Ras Al Khaimah before the end of the year.
In 2017, university teams conducted research on human remains in Ras Al Khaimah, focusing on the diet, health, and behavior of the Umm Al Nar people, as well as their burial practices. The human bones analyzed were recovered from Shimal, a significant archaeological site in Ras Al Khaimah that dates back to the Umm Al Nar culture (2,600 to 2,000 BC). Archaeologists have previously uncovered prehistoric tombs, settlements, and a medieval fortress at this location.
The visit to Ras Al Khaimah was primarily to evaluate the human remains, and there is a possibility that the remains will be transported to the United States for further analysis. Additionally, informative workshops may be held with the community in Ras Al Khaimah.
Ahmed Obaid Al Teneiji, Director-General of Ras Al Khaimah Department of Antiquities and Museums, said, “This partnership with Quinnipiac University and University of South Alabama ties with the strategic vision of Ras Al Khaimah Government to highlight the long and rich history of the Emirate and the UAE to our people and the world at large.
“This is a great opportunity for us to examine the human remains found at the multiple ancient tombs across Ras Al Khaimah to understand more about the lives of the people who lived here thousands of years ago and how climate change affected them, which carries real-world implications in modern times.”
Christian Velde, Chief Archaeologist at Ras Al Khaimah Department of Antiquities and Museums, stated, “Ras Al Khaimah is quite unique as we have a large number of tombs and other archaeological sites dating from a time when there is little remaining evidence of human civilization in other parts of the region. From these sites we have unearthed many remains that the Quinnipiac team want to study and feel can provide great insights on human development at this time.
“This partnership is exciting as it will hopefully allow us to understand more about the people who lived here 4,000 years ago and see how a period of extreme drought, lasting for over 100 years, affected their lives. We hope that this will be a long-standing relationship and we look forward to welcoming more professors and students to Ras Al Khaimah.”
Jaime Ullinger, Professor of Anthropology, Co-Director of the Bioanthropology Research Institute at Quinnipiac University, added, “Ras Al Khaimah has a rich archaeological history and the tombs here are large and interesting communal tombs, which are ideal for this type of study. Already we’ve seen bones from the smallest babies to older individuals and we will be analyzing them to check for changes in health – is there more disease or infant mortality, for instance, due to the climactic changes? – though we need to collect a lot more data before we can draw conclusions.
“This is also an important partnership for our students as it gives them a chance to visit the UAE and learn more about archaeology in this region, and we also want to bring this project into the local community in Ras Al Khaimah, to engage people in workshops and share our findings with them.”
