Ten years after its first edition, the Ministry of Heritage and Culture recently issued the second expanded edition of the book, “In the Shadow of the Ancestors: The Prehistoric Foundations of the Early Arabian Civilisation in Oman”. This book which is written by French archaeologist Serge Cleuziou and Italian archaeologist Maurizio Tosi is ranked as an imperative reference for researchers and those who are interested in the field of history and archaeology in the Sultanate. The book sheds light on many archaeological findings resulting from field surveys, excavations, documentations, academic studies and analysis carried out by the Ministry of Heritage and Culture in cooperation with around 60 scientists, national and international institutions during the past four decades.
The subjects of the book are indexed according to accurate and time-bound sequence from the Paleolithic period of more than a million years to the Islam era. Therefore, the book gives a comprehensive background of the composition of archaeological sites of different eras. This distinctive book contains 553 pages, and it is divided into 11 chapters. The first chapter: “A Land of Many Landscapes for Great Opportunities” provides general background about nature and archaeology of Oman. The authors mention that Oman’s landscape is unique, and its mountains have made the identity of Oman.
“Oman is the child of the marriage of mountains and sea… The 600 KM long Hajar Mountains wind their way across the whole of Oman, from the Musandam headlands to Jaalan, with a face on the Indian Ocean and another on the Great Desert. There is no point in Oman where you see no mountains unless you moved along distance across the desert or the sea, but that point you are outside of it”.
This chapter also discusses the water as the main factor in Omani lives. “The falaj system as we see it nowadays is the ultimate result of a long history, but to a large extent, it was accomplished some 5,000 years ago. The techniques to capture, transport and stock water were already developed around 3,000 BC when the first oases came into being along the Omani mountains”.
The book also discusses the earliest archaeological remains in Oman and addresses various aspects of Neolithic cultures, such as funerary, technological and dietary practices. It provides examples like the funerary practices in the site of Ras al Hamra which is situated in the Governorate of Muscat.
The book also discusses the Bronze Age era, the status of archaeological settlements along the Hajar Mountains, and explains the mechanism of rebuilding trade and cultural exchanges with neighbouring civilisations that have been enhanced by the development of maritime navigation techniques.
The book devotes modules explaining the period of the Iron Age, which gives some examples of mass graves and rock inscriptions that are spread in many sites in the Sultanate. It provides an indication of the depth of the history of human civilisations in the Sultanate. The book comprises images, illustrated charts and maps which aid the readers to comprehend and obtain the real concept of its scientific content.
This book is the result of a 40-year effort by researchers to diagnose and record data on field visits to dozens of archaeological and ecological sites in the Sultanate. This edition has received great interest from scientists and specialists in the field of natural and human history in various parts of the world. To approach the non-English speakers, the Ministry has been keen to translate it in Arabic. So, Omani and Arabian readers can get a benefit from the content of this outstanding book.
In his foreword, HH Sayyid Haitham bin Tareq al Said, the Minister of Heritage and Culture indicates that “In the Shadow of the Ancestors was the first and only summary of decades of archaeological research in the Oman Peninsula. The book was widely distributed, and it is now part of the most prestigious private and public libraries all over the world. This Ministry equally published the Arabic edition of that book, making it available for a greater and more diversified in Oman and in other countries of the Middle East”.
It is worth to be mentioned that Serge Cleuziou French archaeologist and social scientist at the University of Paris “Sorbonne”. He was genuinely interested in studying the multifaceted relationships between population and environmental resources by reconstructing ancient landscapes and manufacturing processes. He has been one of the founding fathers of archaeological research in Southeastern Arabia, where he excavated first at Hili and later along the Jaalan coast in Oman. Together with Maurizio Tosi, he co-directed the long-term excavations at Ras Al Jinz, where he continued excavating several Bronze Age necropolis and settlements, training also the new generations of French archaeologists devoted to research in the Oman Peninsula and beyond.
Maurizio Tosi is an Italian archaeologist and palaeoeconomist at the University of Naples “Oriental” and the University of Bologna. He researched the formation processes of prehistoric societies in Middle Asia. In 1977, he pioneered the archaeological research in Oman excavating Neolithic necropolis and fishermen camps at Ras Al Hamra.
In addition, he worked as an adviser to the Ministry of Heritage and Culture coordinating the critical operations of rescue archaeology made necessary by the rapid infrastructural development of the country.
In general, this book illustrates the natural and ecological significance of the Sultanate and gives accurate details based on scientific research on the Sultanate’s association with various civilisations in the world.
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