VUB researcher discovers hand axes that may go back 1,5 million years ago in Iraqi desert
Ella Egberts (VUB), Jaafar Jotheri (University of Al-Qadisiyah) and Andreas Nymark (independant researcher) traveled to Iraq in November and December as part of a pilot project to search for archaeological surface material. This material is meant to help gain insight into the geomorphological history of the Iraqi Western Desert, in the Al-Shabakah area, and to explore the potential for preserving archaeological sites with Old and Middle Paleolithic material (early and middle Stone Age). The campaign was a great success, and now Egberts intends to continue her work in the area for VUB.
"The fieldwork was a huge success," confirms Egberts. "Our targeted fieldwork resulted in the discovery of seven Paleolithic sites in an area of 10 by 20 km. One location was selected for a systematic study to determine the spatial distribution of the Paleolithic material and to conduct preliminary technological and typological analyses."
The focus of the prospecting campaign was on an area that during the Pleistocene housed a large lake, now completely dried up, with ancient wadis or dry riverbeds crossing the landscape. Egberts collected over 850 artifacts, ranging from very old hand axes from the Early or Old Paleolithic to Levallois reduction flakes from the Middle Paleolithic, all surface material. "The other sites also deserve equally thorough systematic investigation, which will undoubtedly yield similar quantities of lithic material."
"Based on the distribution of the sites and the advancing understanding of the region's geomorphological history, there are emerging clues of early human landscape use. In the future, I hope to expand my research to a larger area, systematically sample all the sites, and conduct in-depth technological and typological artifact analysis. The new insights we bring from Iraq will then be integrated into the broader understanding of human evolution and behavior on the Arabian Peninsula."
Egberts' work in Iraq also has an educational aspect: "An essential part of the fieldwork was training Iraqi archaeology students in geo-archaeology and Paleolithic archaeology. Three students accompanied us in the field, and through a workshop at Al-Qadisiyah University after the fieldwork, we inspired many more students and academics about the Paleolithic of Iraq. At a conference in Karbala, we shared our findings with a multidisciplinary academic audience interested in the history of the Western Desert. At the Writers' Union in Najaf, we presented our results to the general public and the press. And it was wonderful to teach local elementary school children about prehistoric flint discoveries."
The work in Iraq, a country most people remember as one large powder keg, has been, according to Egberts, much smoother than expected. "Apart from the presence of numerous checkpoints, we were able to carry out our work without any problems. The people are friendly, and it's actually very nice to work in Iraq. Initially, earlier last year, we did have to postpone our expedition due to a security warning. That was probably related to the war in Gaza…"
"The Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage appreciates our work and encourages us to continue," says Egberts. She will now continue her research at VUB. "The next step will be to secure funding, with which I hope to reconstruct Pleistocene environmental changes and early human presence and behavior in the Western Desert."
Egberts' mission was funded by the British Institute for the Study of Iraq, a grant she was eligible for thanks to her honorary fellowship at the University of Leicester in the UK.
More information:
Ella Egberts: +31 6 48 58 96 17
Prof. Ralf Vandam (VUB): +32 472 54 22 08
Frans Steenhoudt
