Sep 18, 2023
Researchers have discovered human bones and animal remains dating to around 7,000 years ago in Arabian stone structures known as mustatils.
Are those bones suggestive of ritual behaviour? Maybe.
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Researchers have discovered human bones and animal remains dating to around 7,000 years ago in Arabian stone structures known as mustatils.
Are those bones suggestive of ritual behaviour? Maybe.
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Mysterious 7,000-year-old stone structures may be part of prehistoric cattle cult
Sprawling rectangular structures scattered across northwest Arabia and dating back more than 7,000 years may have been part of a prehistoric cattle cult, researchers have found.
More than 1,000 of the mysterious structures, referred to as mustatils (an Arabic word meaning "rectangle"), have been documented in Saudi Arabia. While their appearance varies, they are usually rectangular in shape and often consisting of two platforms connected by two walls. Archaeological work indicates that some of the mustatils had a chamber in the center made of stone walls surrounding an open area with a standing stone in the center.
The new research reinforces a theory proposed by other researchers that the mustatils had a ritualistic purpose and, in addition, provides evidence that they were part of a cattle cult. Read more.
New archaeological research in Saudi Arabia documents hundreds of stone structures interpreted as monumental sites where early pastoralists carried out rituals.
Yet another possibly religious structure off, apparently in the middle of nowhere. And more than one. This is such an interesting phenomenon.
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A comprehensive analysis of an archaeological site in Saudi Arabia sheds new light on mustatilsâstone monuments from the Late Neolithic peri
Very interesting. Ritual use seems a good explanation for these.
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Figure 7. Geometric painted pattern found on a block that formed part of the platform of a mustatil.
âOne fascinating example of material culture, a painted rock, was found at 27.385583 N, 39.378884 E (Figure 7). The object formed part of the top course of rocks on the interior edge of the southern platform of the mustatil, and was thus part of the finished, visible surface for people to see inside the space defined by the mustatil. While paintings are known in the rock art of northern Arabia, some using pigment of a similar shade, and petroglyphs of geometric motifs have been observed in the wider area, the pattern on the rock is not currently known from other rock art contexts.â
Excerpt from the study âMonumental landscapes of the Holocene humid period in Northern Arabia: The mustatil phenomenonâ (2020).
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Monumental landscapes of the Holocene humid period in Northern Arabia: The mustatil phenomenon
Abstract
Between 10 and six thousand years ago the Arabian Peninsula saw the most recent of the âGreen Arabiaâ periods, when increased rainfall transformed this generally arid region. The transition to the Neolithic in Arabia occurred during this period of climatic amelioration. Various forms of stone structures are abundant in northern Arabia, and it has been speculated that some of these dated to the Neolithic, but there has been little research on their character and chronology. Here we report a study of 104 âmustatilâ stone structures from the southern margins of the Nefud Desert in northern Arabia. We provide the first chronometric age estimate for this type of structure â a radiocarbon date of ca. 5000âBC â and describe their landscape positions, architecture and associated material culture and faunal remains. The structure we have dated is the oldest large-scale stone structure known from the Arabian Peninsula. The mustatil phenomenon represents a remarkable development of monumental architecture, as hundreds of these structures were built in northwest Arabia. This âmonumental landscapeâ represents one of the earliest large-scale forms of monumental stone structure construction anywhere in the world. Further research is needed to understand the function of these structures, but we hypothesise that they were related to rituals in the context of the adoption of pastoralism and resulting territoriality in the challenging environments of northern Arabia.