Prehistoric Fishing along the Coasts of the Arabian Sea: A Short Overview from Oman, Balochistan and Sindh (Pakistan)

Communities of fishers and shellfish gatherers settled along the coasts of the Arabian Sea since the end of the 8th millennium BP. Traces of their presence are known from both the Sultanate of Oman and Pakistan. The surveys and excavations carried out in Oman since the 1970s, and Las Bela and Sindh (Pakistan) since the beginning of the 2000s, led to the discovery of an impressive number of shell middens whose characteristics vary according to the coastal zone where they are located. The present paper discusses the archaeological evidence of prehistoric fishing in the aforementioned region. The archaeological evidence relies on characteristic material culture and faunal remains, the radiocarbon chronology of the sites, the importance they play in the reconstruction of the Holocene Arabian Sea coastal landscapes, and the intensity of peopling during different periods of habitation.