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Early Cotton in North Arabia
Abstract
Excavations at the site of Dhuweila in eastern Jordan produced some fragments of lime plaster with clear impressions of finely woven fabric preserved on one side. Microscopic examination of the plaster showed small tufts of fibre from the fabric still adhering to the surface. The fibres have been identified as cotton and radiocarbon dates obtained from the carbon remains of the fabric on the surface of three plaster samples give a date range from 5510 ± 60-4400 ± 90 BP (CAL BC 4450-3000). The dates suggest that the plaster and fabric can be broadly dated in the Levantine Chalcolithic or Early Bronze Age. The data provide evidence of an unexpectedly early date for the import of cotton textiles to the Near East.
... The diploid cottons G. herbaceum and G. arboreum originated in the Old World and the phylogeny of Gossypium suggests that G. herbaceum and G. arboreum diverged at least 400,000 years ago, undergoing separate domestication events (Renny-Byfield et al. 2016). G. herbaceum appears to have been largely restricted to Africa, and possibly the Arabian Peninsula during the wetter periods of the Early Holocene (Betts et al. 1994;Fuller 2008;Viot 2019). In contrast, G. arboreum is generally thought to be native to South Asia. ...
... However, evidence is lacking regarding the products traded into the desert, perhaps because they were mostly organic materials. Textiles were imported into the desert, as is evident in Late Timnian linen fragments from the central Negev that were dated to ca. 3000 Cal BC (Shamir and Rosen, 2015), and cotton was found in layers dated to the 5th/4th millennia cal BC at Dhuweila in eastern Jordan (Betts et al., 1994). Agricultural products such as cereal grains could have been a major imported commodity even before the Timnian. ...
... Early traces of cotton fibres found at Tel Tsaf, Israel (ca. 5200-4700 bce) (Liu et al. 2022) and at Dhuweila, eastern Jordan (4450-3000 bce) (Betts et al. 1994) suggest possible very ancient cotton trade in the Levant. The oldest reliable mention of cotton in Arabia is in a description from the Greek botanist and philosopher Theophrastus (371-288 bce), who stated that the island of Bahrain (known as Tylos in ancient Greek sources) produced the 'wool-bearing' tree, identified as the cotton tree. ...
Agriculture in the arid Arabian Peninsula became established during the early Bronze Age and relied, at least in eastern Arabia, on the cultivation of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) and annual crops, namely barley (Hordeum vulgare ssp. vulgare, H. vulgare ssp. distichon) and different wheats—in particular, emmer (Triticum turgidum ssp. dicoccon), durum/rivet wheat (T. turgidum ssp. durum/turgidum), bread wheat (T. aestivum ssp. aestivum)—and pulses, such as pea (Lathyrus oleraceus) and lentil (Vicia lens). The association of these crops with irrigation systems indicates the presence of resilient oasian agrosystems allowing the production of multiple crops over a reduced surface area thanks to water use optimization. It is also a hub connecting local agrarian producers with merchants and travellers through exchange, particularly dynamic during historical times, which can be highlighted through archaeobotanical data. At the crossroads of the Mediterranean, African and Indian Ocean spheres, the Arabian Peninsula is a relevant observatory of the diffusion processes of new Mediterranean, tropical and subtropical crops. Recent archaeobotanical finds from antique and early medieval Islamic sites show that ancient oases were ecological and economic niches hosting new plants, such as rice (Oryza sativa), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor ssp. bicolor), pepper (Piper nigrum) and cotton (Gossypium arboreum/herbaceum), some of which were probably acclimatized and cultivated locally. Their introduction should have modified the spatial, temporal and labour organizations of pre-existent agricultural systems, implying the transfer and development of new know-how. Therefore, by following an interdisciplinary approach using archaeobotany, archaeology, history and isotope geochemistry, this contribution aims to describe some of these new plants and their chronology and discuss their potential introduction into local agricultural systems.
... To the North in the Levant, early traces of cotton fibers were found at Tel Tsaf, Israel (ca. 5200-4700 BCE) (Liu et al., 2022) and at Dhuweila, eastern Jordan (4450-3000 BCE) (Betts et al., 1994) suggesting possible very ancient trade of cotton fibers. The Greek philosopher and botanist Theophrastus (371-288 BCE) (Historia Plantarum, IV.7.7 [Amigues, 2010, p. 159]), mentions the cultivation of "wool-bearing trees" in Arabia for the first time during the 4th c. ...
With a view to understanding the dynamics of ancient trade and agrobiodiversity, archaeobotanical remains provide a means of tracing the trajectories of certain agricultural commodities. A prime example is cotton in Arabia, a plant that is non-native but has been found in raw seed and processed textile form at Hegra and Dadan, in the region of al-ʿUlā, north-western Saudi Arabia—sites of critical importance given their role in the trans-Arabian trading routes during Antiquity. Here, we demonstrate that the measurement of strontium isotopes from pre-cleaned archaeological cotton is methodologically sound and is an informative addition to the study of ancient plant/textile provenance, in this case, putting forward evidence for local production of cotton in oasis agrosystems and possible external supply. The presence of locally-grown cotton at these sites from the late 1st c. BCE–mid 6th c. CE is significant as it demonstrates that cotton cultivation in Arabia was a Pre-Islamic socio-technical feat, while imported cotton highlights the dynamism of trade at that time.
... Then, and more particularly from Roman times when Indian Ocean trade networks intensified, the Indian subcontinent became a major cotton producing and exporting region (Wild and Wild 2014b), and this has remained the case up to the present day. From surrounding regions, potential old archaeological cotton finds dating back to fifth to second millennia BCE have been found in Jordan (Betts et al. 1994), the Caucasus (Kvavadze, Narimanishvili, and Bitadze 2010;Shishlina, Orfinskaya, and Golikov 2003), and Nubia (Chowdhury and Buth 1971). They could be the result of early trade (for the first two) or the sign of first use in Africa. ...
Cotton ( Gossypium sp.) is and was an important textile fiber in Asia and Africa, where two cotton species have been domesticated, Gossypium arboreum and Gossypium herbaceum . The precise place and time of their domestication are still unknown, but genetic, archaeological, and textual sources allow the tracing of the first uses, dating back to the sixth to fourth millennia bce in the Indian subcontinent, the late emergence and dispersal of cotton in Mesopotamia, Arabia, and Africa from the first millennium bce onward, and the spread of cotton production during the medieval period in western Africa and the Mediterranean regions. Different written sources indicate that cotton was cultivated as a perennial crop in the form of trees or shrubs and that its production probably required less water than today.
Cotton is one of the most culturally significant crops in Central Asia today, and it has a complex history, long predating the collective-labour and intensive-irrigation systems of the Soviet period. In this paper, we explore the ancient history of cotton cultivation in Central Asia. We aim to understand when cotton cultivation switched from low-investment to intensive large-scale agriculture and to theorise about the dispersal routes, type of cotton cultivated, and processing systems that existed before the introduction of hybrid forms of cotton from the Americas in the nineteenth century. We incorporate new archaeobotanical data, historical-linguistic evidence and archaeological materials into our discussion. Furthermore, we provide an overview of archaeobotanical evidence from across Europe, Asia and North Africa, aiming to assess common trends in the spread of cotton.
The textile use of cotton fibers from sister species Gossypium arboreum L. (Tree Cotton) and G. herbaceum L. (Levant Cotton) began, respectively, in Asia in the eighth millennium BP and in Africa in the third millennium BP and probably earlier. Archaeological data show that cotton cultivation spread in the Antiquity over most tropical and subtropical regions suitable for agriculture in Afroeurasia. The geographical expansions of the two Old World cotton species appear very contrasted, in terms of their chronologies, in terms of the areas conquered, and as for their speed of diffusion. G. arboreum spread over humid or sub-humid regions of southern, western and eastern Asia at ca. 0.8 to 1.7 km/yr, a rate close to that estimated for wheat from the Fertile Crescent to northwestern Europe during Antiquity, while G. herbaceum spread over arid to sub-arid regions of Africa and western and central Asia, much later and more than five times faster than G. arboreum. The very high speed of diffusion of G. herbaceum can be explained by the context and by the agricultural adaptations of this species but also leads to revisit the history of its domestication and beginning of cultivation.
This chapter touches upon the historical aspects of Bedouin clothing made for the traditional nomadic lifestyle in the Arab World. It also emphasises the changes in taste and preferences of Bedouins in the Arab World that have occurred over time. The modus operandi adopted during the course of clothe manufacturing for nomads is described. The historical descriptive methodology is discussed following discussions with nomads and with experts working with and dealing with nomads. Apart from secondary sources of data, personal interviews and observations were also employed during the course of the chapter writing.KeywordsBedouin clothingTraditional clothingFolk heritageArab world
Decouverte lors des fouilles du palais nord de Tell Asmar (ancienne Eshnunna) dans des couches datees de la periode Dynastique archaique (2500-2400 av. J.-C.) d'une pendeloque en forme de cigare qu'on pensait etre en ambre. L'analyse chimique a revele que cet objet etait en copal
The Utrecht facility for accelerator mass spectrometry is now in operation for routine measurements of 14C and 10Be in natural samples. Sample preparation techniques have been introduced. A 1% precision for ratios is routinely achieved. In the last year, more than 500 samples have been prepared and measured for various applications in archeology, geology and paleontology.
For 14C dating of ice, only a limited amount of CO2 is available (20-100 mugC/kg ice). To avoid contamination, a special milling device has been constructed to chip the ice at - 20 °C. The background of 7.0 +/-2.0 percent modern carbon (pmC) for a sample of 50 mugC, including extraction and conversion, limits the 14C dating of ice with accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) to about 20000 years B.P. Results are presented for an ice core from the Pakitsoq area, West Greenland, with a known age of 9000 +/-1000 yrs B.P., established by means of delta18O variations and ice flow model calculations.