Bronze age stone flaking at Saruq al-Hadid, Dubai, southeastern Arabia

Excavations at Saruq al-Hadid, Dubai, UAE, discovered a stone tool technology with backed microliths dating to the Wadi Suq period and Late Bronze Age (ca. 1750–1300 BCE). The stone technology is a contemporary with metal production in the region, and the assemblage was recovered from a thick bone midden deposit at this multi-period site on the edge of the Rub’ al-Khali Desert. Small cobbles of chert were imported to the site and were reduced into flakes by hard-hammer percussion. Cores were frequently rotated during knapping and the reduction strategy was ad hoc, lacking hierarchical reduction stages. Flake tools were used as-is or modified by retouching. Some flakes were selected for backing into geometric microliths, and backing techniques often reflected high levels of stoneworking skill to produce stylised scalene shapes. A review of contemporary archaeological evidence, and the context of the Saruq al-Hadid assemblage, suggest that microliths may have been made as stone armatures for arrows despite the contemporary use of copper-based arrowheads.