UDK 903.5(536.2)"63i/634"
Documenta Praehistorica XXXV (2008)
Funerary rites in a Neolithic nomad community
in Southeastern Arabia: the case of al-Buhais 18
Roland de Beauclair
Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalters, Universität Tübingen
roland.de.beauclair@student.uni-tuebingen.de
ABSTRACT - Al-Buhais 18 is a Neolithic site in the United Arab Emirates. It consists of a graveyard
with more than 420 individuals, an ancient spring, and a campsite. It is interpreted as a central place
for a group of mobile herders in the 5th millennium BC. More than 24 000 ornamental objects have
been found, many of them in a secure funerary context, making it possible to reconstruct ornamen-
tal ensembles, and shedding light on specific rules concerning the way jewellery was worn by differ-
ent sub-groups of the population. Based on these observations, some hypotheses are developed on the
intentions and beliefs structuring mortuary practices and the role of jewellery within these rites.
Finally, questions of continuity and change in mortuary practices can be addressed by comparing al-
Buhais 18 with other, younger, sites in the region.
IZVLEČEK - Al-Buhais 18 je neolitsko najdišče v Združenih Arabskih Emiratih. Najdišče obsega gro-
bišče z več kot 480 grobovi, taborom in izvirom vode. Najdišče je interpretirano kot centralni tabor
mobilnih živinorejcev v 5. tisočletju BC. Najdenih je bilo 24 000 okrasnih predmetov. Mnogi so bili
odkriti v grobovih. Mogoče je rekonstruirati okrasne zbire in prepoznati pravila, ki so veljala pri
nošnji okrasa pri različnih skupinah. Predstavljamo nekaj razmislekov o pomenu in vlogi okrasja
pri pogrebnih praksah. S pomočjo primerjave najdišča al-Buhais 18 z mlajšimi najdišči predstavlja-
mo oceno kontinuitete pogrebnih praks v regiji.
KEY WORDS - Neolithic; Arabia; burials; personal ornaments; mortuary practices
Introduction
Personal ornaments offer a wealth of information
for archaeologists. They can be analyzed in terms of
production technique, provenance of raw materials
or object typology. But it is also evident that orna-
mental objects are used in a social context, as a
means of communication - for example as exchange
goods or in rituals. Of course, there are many more
possible meanings of jewellery, and several concepts
may have been important simultaneously, a fact that
has been described as the "caractere polysemique"
(Vanhaeren 2002.7) of jewellery.
The Neolithic site of al-Buhais 18, United Arab Emi-
rates, provides an excellent opportunity for investi-
gations on several of these levels. After an introduc-
tion to the site and a presentation of the ornamen-
tal objects, it is my aim in this paper to show how
information related to personal ornaments can be
used to reconstruct aspects of funerary rites. Also,
data on jewellery and burial practice is used to place
the occupation of the site in a regional and chrono-
logical context.
The site
The Neolithic graveyard and settlement site of al-
Buhais 18 (BHS18) is situated on the Oman Penin-
sula at a distance of about 60km from both the Ara-
bian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman (Fig. 1). The site lies
at the eastern foot of Jebel al-Buhais, just north of
al-Madam in the Emirate of Shar-
jah, United Arab Emirates. Jebel
al-Buhais is part of a hill range
running parallel to the Oman
Mountains, separating the sand
dunes in the west from a large
and relatively fertile floodplain
and then the Mountains in the
east.
Al-Buhais 18 was discovered in
1995 by archaeologists from the
Sharjah Directorate of Antiqui-
ties, under the direction of Dr.
Sabah Jasim. From 1996 to 2004,
it was excavated in annual cam-
paigns as a joint project of the
Directorate of Antiquities and the
University of Tübingen, Germany,
co-directed by Hans-Peter and
Margarethe Uerpmann (Jasim et al. 2005; Uerp-
mann et al. 2006a).
Fig. 1. Location of sites mentioned in the text.
mals, which is necessary to maintain stable herd
sizes, must have taken place somewhere else.
Radiocarbon dates indicate that al-Buhais 18 was
frequented from about 5200 to 4000 BC (de Beau-
clair et al. 2006.175; Uerpmann et al. 2000.231;
Uerpmann et al. 2006b.90). The abandonment of
the site would thus coincide with the end of the ma-
jor moist phase of the Early Holocene (Uerpmann
2003).
The site can be divided into several areas. The cen-
tral feature is the graveyard. On a relatively small
area of about 12 by 15 meters, more than 420 indi-
viduals have been recovered. Directly adjacent to
the graveyard in the east, there is a midden of lime-
stone rubble mixed with stone artefacts and animal
bones. As many of the stones show signs of heating,
the area is thought to be related to food processing.
The last important structure on the site is an ancient
spring a few meters up the slope of the hill. Ura-
nium/Thorium dating of the sinter deposits has not
given satisfactory results yet, but it seems very pro-
bable that the spring was active during the time of
occupation of al-Buhais. Its drying up may have led
to the abandonment of the site.
A great number of animal bones have been recove-
red, almost exclusively from domestic animals -
sheep, goats, cattle. It was a big surprise to find a
Neolithic economy in south-eastern Arabia at such
an early date. The age profile of animal bones sug-
gests that the site was used only seasonally, point-
ing to a nomadic lifestyle. The culling of young ani-
The site is interpreted as a central place for a popu-
lation of mobile herders, used seasonally over hun-
dreds of years (Jasim et al. 2005; Uerpmann and
Uerpmann 2000.47-48; Uerpmann et al. 2000.
232; Uerpmann et al. 2006b.99-100). They would
have come to Jebel al-Buhais to graze their herds in
spring, to bury their dead and perhaps for clan re-
unions. Winter may have been the time to exploit
the coasts, where a considerable number of shell
middens attest to the presence of Neolithic popula-
tions. Summer or autumn camps may have been lo-
cated in the cooler mountain regions of Oman,
where pasture was more likely to be available. How-
ever, even though ophiolite pebbles link the al-Bu-
hais population to the mountains, we do not have
any information about specific localities or the sea-
sonal position of this occupation. All in all, it has
to be said that we still know only very few sites.
Further discoveries can be expected, which probably
will make it necessary to re-adjust these hypotheses.
Burial practices
A variety of burial types is present. There are single
and multiple interments, which can also be grouped
into primary and secondary ones. A detailed study
of burial practice and physical anthropological evi-
dence has been carried out by H. Kiesewetter (2006).
From a total of 420 burials recorded up to the year
2004, information on burial type is available in 280
cases (Tab. 1). Primary burials occur in 115 cases.
There, the body was buried shortly after death, with-
out prior manipulations of the skeleton. The bones
were still articulated and therefore have been found
in the correct anatomical position. The bodies were
buried in a flexed position, usually lying on the right
side, but sometimes also on the left side (Fig. 2). Pri-
mary burials are most often oriented along an east-
west axis, with the cranium to the east (Fig. 3). Due
to right/left sidedness, facial orientation is more va-
riable, but still predominantly to the north.
Secondary burials are more frequent, with 165 (60%)
cases. Most often, they consist of only the skull and
some long bones arranged in a small pile, often with
the skull laid on top (Fig. 4). Sometimes, only the
skull was buried. Usually, several individuals are in-
terred together. The primary decomposition of the
dead bodies must have taken place prior to their bu-
rial at al-Buhais 18. As a special case of secondary
burials, there are eight semi-articulated, mummy-like
skeletons. In these cases, most of the joints must still
have existed at the time of reburial, but the whole
body was compressed, and some joints were disarti-
culated or overstretched in an unnatural way.
Secondary burials are interpreted as pertaining to
group members who had died at a point in the year-
ly nomadic cycle, when the group was moving or
staying at some place other than Jebel al-Buhais.
These individuals must have been buried locally in
a first phase. After some time, their bones were ex-
humed in part or in total, in order to rebury them
at the graveyard of BHS 18. We can only guess what
Primary burials	115
Right side	86
Left side	28
Secondary burials	165
Skull deposits	29
Bone deposits	128
Semi-articulated skeletons	8
Undetermined	140
Total	420
Fig. 2. Primary burial of individuals BX, BY, HS.
Tab. 1. Burial types.
made the site of al-Buhais 18 so singular - perhaps
its importance is related to the spring, or to the view
over the al-Madam plain with the rising sun behind
the Oman Mountains. In any case, it is clear that it
was important to the group to place its ancestors in
this specific location. The two-stage burial indicates
that the group spent part of its nomadic cycle at dis-
tances too far from al-Buhais to permit an immedi-
ate return to the site for an interment. Also, it may
not have been possible for the group to carry the
whole corpse with them along the nomadic routes
until it eventually was time to head for Jebel al-Bu-
hais again. This model also explains the high fre-
quency of multiple interments - those who had died
in a certain period were reburied together in one ce-
remony. There are some indications as to where
some of the first burials took place. In the semi-arti-
culated skeleton TG, sediment of the first burial lo-
cation is still mingled with the bones: pebbles of
grey-green ophiolite indicate that the body had been
buried in a Wadi river bed somewhere in the Oman
Mountains, the closest location
where these pebbles occur natu-
rally.
Interestingly, the proportion of
secondary burials is higher in ma-
les than in females, and higher
in mature than in younger indivi-
duals. Should this indicate that
men spent more time away from
al-Buhais 18 than women? And
what does that mean for old peo-
ple? For the moment, these que-
stions must remain open.
The ornamental objects
More than 24 000 objects of pre-
sumed ornamental purpose were
recorded during the excavations
(de Beauclair 2005; de Beau-
clair in press; de Beauclair et al. 2006; Kiesewetter
et al. 2000). They can be divided into pierced mol-
luscs, beads and other ornamental objects (Tab. 2).
Pierced molluscs
The mollusc species list shows that gastropods are
very dominant. The important species are Ancilla cf.
farsiana, Engina mendicaria, Polinices mammil-
la, Anachis fauroti, an unidentified species of the
Marginellidae family, and Planaxis niger. Bivalves
are represented by some Venerids. There are also an
important number of pearls. Interestingly, there is
a concentration on relatively few species. Ancilla
alone constitutes 75% of all molluscs. What is also
striking is the absence of Dentalium, which was used
at many other sites of the period. Additionally, there
was a preference not only for specific species, but
also for certain sizes. Both Ancilla and Engina show
a size distribution with two peaks. Further analysis
of the small and the big subgroup shows that they
were in fact used differently.
With only very few exceptions, every shell is perfo-
rated. The position and method of the perforation is
formalized for every species: for instance, Ancilla
snails are almost always perforated by cutting away
the apex, whereas in Polinices the hole is located on
the flat part of the body and executed by picking.
Beads
When it comes to beads with an artificial shape, also
very few types are quantitatively important. Disc
beads are most numerous (>16000). Their diame-
ters range from 1.7 to 18.2mm, but
sizes between 3 and 5mm are most
common. They are usually made of
a whitish or orange shell material.
Sometimes an internal layering of
orange and white is visible. They
make up 2/3 of all ornamental ob-
jects. Next in quantity are tubular
beads. They are made of whitish
shell or dark grey soft-stone, proba-
bly some mixture of serpentinite and
other minerals. These two materials
occur in almost equal numbers. The
tubular beads are up to 31.6mm
long. The diameter of the perfora-
tion is always less than 3mm, even
less in the middle of the pieces. No
suitable tools for the production of
these beads have been found on the
site or, for that matter, in the whole
region. I therefore believe that these Fig. 4. Secondary burial of individuals HD, HE, EX, LK.
Fig. 3. Orientation of primary burials.
beads - and probably others - were imported. Bar-
rel shaped beads constitute another important group
(114 pieces). Here, a wide variety of materials was
used, mainly shell and limestone, but also serpenti-
nite and other stones. Light colours dominate. Next,
oval beads have to be mentioned. There are 40 exam-
ples of this type. The majority are made of shell and
limestone. What is interesting about them is the fact
that only two are perforated completely. The rest
have two depressions or short bore-holes at either
end, but the holes do not meet. One might think of
these as unfinished objects, but a considerable num-
ber have been found in burials in positions that in-
dicate their having been used as jewellery. Notably,
they were found as single beads on the upper lip or
near the earlobes. Other bead types are less frequent:
they include spherical, conical and rhomboid beads.
Their shapes do not seem so well defined, and ma-
terial seems to be more important (for instance, car-
nelian).
type	n
Ancilla cf. farsiana	3902
Engina mendicaria	524
Polinices mammilla	423
Anachis fauroti	101
Marginellidae	74
Planaxis niger	56
Nerita adenensis	13
Pyrene cf. propinqua	9
Conus	7
Mitrella blanda	7
Veneridae	67
pearls	62
subtotal molluscs	5245
disc beads	16 654
tubular beads	2218
cylindrical beads w. lateral perforation	2
barrel-shaped beads	114
oval beads	40
spherical beads	20
conical beads	10
rhomboid beads	4
subtotal beads	19051
leaf-shaped pendants	7
other pendants	2
elongated shell object 1	
earring	2
ring 1	
'buttons'	2
subtotal other ornamental objects	15
total	24 311
Tab. 2. Ornamental object types.
Finally, some other ornamental objects have been
found, most importantly a number of leaf-shaped
pendants made of mother-of-pearl, and Conus shell
and soft-stone pendants.
All in all, the close relationship of the al-Buhais popu-
lation to the sea is very evident. Engina and Plana-
xis niger point to the Omani coast, but this natu-
rally does not imply that the Arabian Gulf coast was
not used. Much work still lies ahead concerning the
reconstruction of nomadic mobility.
How ornamental objects were worn
The importance of the jewellery from al-Buhais lies
not only in the mass of material, but also in the fact
that a large portion, almost 70 percent, was found
within a burial context. Secondary burials have yiel-
ded very little jewellery, and not in any recognizable
anatomical context. The analysis of how jewellery
was worn is therefore based on primary burials. As
these results have been presented in more detail
elsewhere (de Beauclair et al. 2006), only a brief
overview is given here.
As a first step, different types of ornamental ensem-
bles and their characteristic features were identified.
For example, head decorations are very common,
either covering the whole neurocranium or only for-
ming a headband. Two different styles were obser-
ved: a preference for disc and tubular beads, or the
dominance of Ancilla shells. Generally, the objects
are relatively small.
Earrings: there are eight cases of a semi-perforated
oval bead being placed at the earlobe. An equal
number of individuals had what I term a facial de-
coration, that is a single bead on the maxilla, pla-
ced between the upper lip and the nose. The bead
types are diverse, but the preferred material is car-
nelian. Some have incomplete perforations.
Necklaces were very common, occurring in 34
cases. The most important bead type is tubular,
which occurred in 27 individuals. Black and white
beads are often used in an alternating pattern. Bar-
rel shaped beads make up the second most popu-
lar style of necklace.
The hip area, again, was an important place for je-
wellery, for both sexes. In several cases, neat paral-
lel rows have been observed. The objects were pro-
bably sewn onto a belt or onto the lower hem of
shirts. There is a very strong preference for big An-
cilla shells. On the other hand, the total absence of
Engina mendicaria is also remarkable. Again, a se-
cond style is also popular, involving a mix of disc
and tubular beads.
Bracelets are also common (28 cases, 21 individu-
als). They occur in three styles: one with tubular
beads, one mainly with disc beads, and one consis-
ting only of Ancilla shells.
Some general observations:
• Any piece of jewellery consists only of a very limi-
ted number of bead and shell types, and not every
bead type was considered appropriate for every
anatomical position. For instance, carnelian beads
and pearls, both of which could be considered
very valuable, were concentrated in the head area.
•	There is an apparent dualism of pierced gastro-
pods on one side and tubular beads on the other
in several types of ornamental ensemble, includ-
ing headdresses, hip decorations and bracelets.
•	Finally, garment trimmings need to be mentioned
here. Judging from their positions, headdresses,
chest and hip decorations and, perhaps, also el-
bow decorations, may have been sewn onto pieces
of clothing. These are the same places at which
gastropods tend to occur frequently, so arguably,
trimming was deemed more suitable for pierced
shells (and disc beads) than for other beads.
In the second step of analysis, I tried to find typical
combinations of different ornamental ensembles.
The goal was to reconstruct aspects of the prehisto-
ric dress code or garb for the population as a whole
and for subgroups. This was done with the help of
a contingency analysis. The results of this analysis
were not very clear. Almost any combination of orna-
mental ensembles was possible.
The results for different subgroups are more interes-
ting.
Gender differences are only minor. Apparently, the
society did not emphasise this distinction. One of
the observed differences concerns facial decorations:
beads on the upper lip have been recorded for five
women and two men. The women's beads are all per-
forated and all made of carnelian, except for one
pearl. The men's beads are both only partially perfo-
rated, which implies a different mechanism for hol-
ding the beads in place. However, this distinction is
not statistically significant.
Age clearly was a more important factor in determi-
ning the burial garb than gender:
•	Children's burials were as rich as
those of adolescents or adults.
Mature individuals, on the other
hand, were rarely and very poor-
ly decorated (Figs. 5 and 6).
• The preferred bead types for chil-
dren were disc and tubular beads.
Namely, necklaces made of tubu-
lar beads are typical of children's
and adolescents' burials. Children
also feature a high number of disc
bead bracelets and hip decorations
with disc and tubular beads.
•	Pierced molluscs, on the other hand, were only
popular for adults and especially mature individu-
als, corresponding to a decreasing importance of
disc and other beads.
•	Shell size also depended on the age of the decea-
sed: small varieties were preferred for children
and youths. Small and big shells are balanced in
adults between 20 and 40 years, and big speci-
mens were preferred for older people.
The role of jewellery in burial rites
The data presented above makes it possible to for-
mulate some ideas on the function and importance
of jewellery in the course of the funerary rites or
beyond.
•	First of all, we do not know whether the use of
jewellery for the dead corresponded to its use in
the living community. The low number of orna-
mental objects outside the graveyard area rather
suggests that jewellery was not worn in every-
day life. Otherwise, more broken and lost objects
should have been found. Polinices shells, how-
ever, do occur in relatively great number. So may-
be they are part of a more simple ornamental style
for everyday use.
•	Second, the main function of jewellery probably
wasn't the display of acquired status or wealth. If
this were the case, children's burials should not
be as rich as they are. Of course, if status was in-
herited, other mechanisms may be relevant.
•	The differences in jewellery between different age
groups and the poorness of mature individuals
furthermore indicate that jewellery was not a per-
Fig. 5. Jewellery frequency by age.
sonal possession; it was not something individuals
accumulated in the course of their lives. If this
were the case, adults and mature bodies should
have the same equipment as children, plus some
more.
•	Finally, there is the absence of jewellery in secon-
dary burials. After the first stage of burial, jewel-
lery was obviously no longer important. If the aim
was to document wealth, jewellery could have
been added to the bone piles of the secondary bu-
rials as well.
•	All this leads me to think of jewellery as having
its place in the process of burial, in some "rite de
passage" (Van Gennep 1986.142-159). Commu-
nity members would decorate the dead for the
passage. After completion of the burial process, je-
wellery may have lost its importance. This would
explain the absence of jewellery in secondary bu-
rials. Finally, the age differences need to be explai-
ned. This is a difficult question, and many hypo-
theses could be brought forward. I only want to
mention one idea, evidence for which can be
found in the ethnographic record (Hertz 1907.
134): I could imagine that the untimely death of
a child or young adult would have caused greater
anxiety and required a more lavish burial than the
death of an old person whose life had been ac-
complished.
Continuity and change in funerary rites
There are only a small number of contemporary sites
in the region which can be used to compare the bu-
rial rites of al-Buhais 18. A very promising site was
discovered by the al-Buhais excavation team in 2006,
only a few kilometres north of BHS 18, at the foot
of Jebel Fayah (Kutterer and de Beauclair in press).
It is called Fayah NE15. A dwelling area with firepla-
ces, flint artefacts, faunal remains and the burials of
three individuals have been recovered so far. The je-
wellery associated with the burials resembles BHS18,
and places the site in the Neolithic period. The simi-
larities concerning ornamental objects are very stri-
king, but there are some differences nonetheless. It
remains open to discussion whether these reflect dif-
ferent temporal settings or the need of two contem-
porary groups to distinguish themselves from one
another. There are also some shell middens on the
coast of the Arabian Gulf which might be contempo-
raneous. One, Umm al-Qaiwain 2 'UAQ2', has yielded
burials. It has been excavated under the direction of
C. Phillips. Only a preliminary report is available at
present (Phillips 2002). Forty-two individuals have
been found in the cemetery. Nine skeletons were ar-
ticulated, all placed in a flexed position, and most of
them facing southeast. The others are assumed to
have been disturbed by later burials. It is unclear
whether secondary burials similar to BHS 18 were
also considered as an interpretation. A number of
ornamental objects were found at UAQ2. Some may
be similar to BHS 18, but there are also marked dif-
ferences: for instance, there are bitumen beads which
have no parallel at BHS 18. A rounded stone pen-
dant differs in material and style from the pointed
mother-of-pearl pendants at BHS 18. The presence
of composite bracelets made of shell plates, well at-
tested at UAQ2, is not secure at BHS 18.
So, even though the burial types seem similar, the
case is not clear for the jewellery. It remains an open
question how close the relationship
between the two sites was.
Fig. 6. Number of ornamental objects per decorated individual by
age.
Another shell midden site with settle-
ment and graveyard areas is Ra's al-
Hamra 5 (RH5). The site was excava-
ted in the Eighties by the Italian Ar-
chaeological Mission to Oman and
Baluchistan (Salvatori 1996; Santi-
ni 2002). It is located not far from
Muscat on the coast of Oman. The
graveyard is dated to c. 3800 to 3300
BC (Biagi 1994), thus being youn-
ger than BHS 18. At least 170 indivi-
duals were discovered, some of them
in a flexed position, mostly on the
right side; others were in bone piles,
which are interpreted as secondary
burials. Both types show a northeast-southwest ori-
entation, with the skull to the North-East. The graves
often have stone coverings and contain animal bones,
e.g. of marine turtles. Apart from the last characteri-
stic, the similarities to BHS 18 are striking.
Grave goods were mostly personal ornaments.
Among these, several types of shell pendant are pre-
sent: there are laurel-leaf shaped pendants, often de-
corated with diagonal incisions along the edges: drop
shaped ones, which in addition to incisions, feature
a pattern of engraved dots; and finally, there are pen-
dants in the shape of a shark tooth. Only the leaf
shaped pendants have a resemblance to objects from
BHS 18, although the latter lack the incisions. Cylin-
drical beads apparently occur mainly in necklaces.
They are made of dark soapstone and shell, and are
often arranged in an alternating pattern similar to
BHS 18, but seem to be relatively short in compari-
son (Coppa et al. 1985.plate 3). Interestingly, pier-
ced gastropods do not play an important role at RH5.
Only one headdress of Nassarius sp. is mentioned.
Pearls are also rare. Other ornamental objects in-
clude an important number of composite shell brace-
let elements, as well as soapstone earrings and bone
pins. None of these can serve as a link to the BHS 18
graveyard. Finally, some oval soapstone beads and
cylindrical beads made of bird bones and Dentalium
sp. are noteworthy. They are rare and occur only in
a certain part of the site (area 43), thus appearing
to be intrusive.
The best link between the jewellery from BHS 18
and RH5 may be seen in the tubular beads, and es-
pecially in the alternating arrangement of these
beads, as well as in the presence of leaf-shaped pen-
dants. On the other hand, there are ornamental ob-
jects which lack any parallel at BHS 18, while con-
versely, certain bead types from BHS 18, like the
massive barrel shaped beads, do not occur at RH5.
The same can be said for the most common gastro-
pod species, Ancilla cf.farsiana. Both populations
made use of different resources and probably of dif-
ferent mollusc habitats. In the end, the observed pa-
rallels in burial types, especially skeletal position
and orientation, document a relatively widespread
homogeneity - spatially and chronologically - in
these questions in the Neolithic of the Oman Penin-
sula (Charpentier et al. 2003). The importance of
personal ornaments as grave goods was also a wide-
spread phenomenon. Seemingly, jewellery types
were subject to more local variability, but certain as-
pects also show much continuity.
Conclusion
The observed continuities from BHS 18 to RH5 in
burial style and jewellery are the starting point for
some thoughts on the end of occupation at BHS 18.
The abandonment of the site around 4200 BC is seen
as the result of a major climatic deterioration around
this time. Increased aridity had dramatic effects in
Southeast Arabia. Probably, the drying up of the
spring at Jebel al-Buhais is part of this development.
Apparently, it was no longer possible to maintain
the mobile herding economy with seasonal stays in
the interior of the Oman Peninsula. The coasts could
be considered possible areas of retreat for the desert
pastoralists. On the Arabian Gulf coast, however, the
depopulation is only delayed for some time. The si-
tuation is different on the Omani coast, where shell
midden sites are well attested for the 4th millennium
BC. This can be explained by a more favourable geo-
morphology, which not only assures fresh water
from the wadi beds in the nearby mountains, but
also leads to a more diverse environment, poten-
tially richer in resources. Consequently, the reloca-
tion of the al-Buhais population to this coast has to
be considered a very likely possibility.
In this context, the observed similarities in jewellery
and burial style between BHS 18 and RH5 are an im-
portant indication of cultural continuity. Several
hundred years lie between the end of BHS 18 and
the beginning of the RH5 graveyard, so that a direct
continuation of jewellery style would be surprising,
even more because the population experienced ma-
jor changes in their subsistence economy and acti-
vity areas. It is natural that new preferences in or-
namental objects developed. On the other hand,
some traditions remained alive, such as the fondness
for leaf-shaped shell pendants and tubular beads in
contrasting colours, and help us trace the fate of the
al-Buhais desert nomads.
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