Strontium isotopes reveal Pre-Islamic cotton cultivation at al-‘Ulā, Saudi Arabia

 Strontium isotopes reveal Pre-Islamic cotton cultivation at al-‘Ulā, Saudi Arabia
Saskia E. Ryan, Eric Douville, Arnaud Dapoigny, Vincent Battesti, Matthieu Lebon, Pierre Deschamps, Jérôme Rohmer, Vladimir Dabrowski, Patricia Dal Prà, Laïla Nehmé, Antoine Zazzo, Charlène Bouchaud.
submitted to Journal of Archaeological Science.

 Article abstract:

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 both in raw seed and processed textile form at Hegra (al-Hijr, also known as Madâ’in Sâlih) and Dadan, near the oasis of al-‘’Ulā, Saudi Arabia - sites of critical importance given their role in the trans-Arabian trading routes during the Nabatean period. In this paper, we demonstrate that the measurement of strontium (Sr) isotopes from pre-cleaned archaeological cotton material is methodologically sound and is an informative addition to the study of ancient plant/textile provenance, in this particular case putting forward evidence for local production of cotton. The presence of locally-grown cotton at these sites from the late 1^st c. BCE – early 4^th c. CE is significant as it demonstrates that cotton cultivation in Arabia was a pre-Islamic socio-technical feat.

Sampling for Saskia Ryan in al-‘Ulā Region. Here a ġaḍā [غضا], Haloxylon persicum Bunge ex Boiss. & Buhse (Amaranthaceae) in the wādī al-Jazil, March 22^nd 2020, by Vincent Battesti

Sampling for Saskia Ryan in al-‘Ulā Region. Here a remṯ [رمث], Haloxylon salicornicum (Moq.) Bunge ex Boise. (Amaranthaceae) nearby Tarīq Ḥayl, May 21^st 2020, by Vincent Battesti