Techno-functional analysis at the fishing settlement of KHB-1 (Raʾs al-Khabbah, Jaʿalān, Sultanate of Oman)

A technological study has been carried out on a sample of bone, shell, and stone tools coming from different occupational phases of the coastal settlement of KHB-1 (Raʿs al-Khabbah, Jaʿalān region, Sultanate of Oman) dating back to the end of the fifth and the beginning of the fourth millennium BC. The artefacts were analysed with the naked eye and then at low magnification by means of a stereoscope with the aim of reconstructing the modalities of their production. During the analysis, the discovery of residues and their characterization by means of FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy) on the stone files has shed new light on the manufacturing sequences of shell fish-hooks.