1
Flint chopping tool discovered in Dukhan
Lower Paleolithic
Object Name: Chopping Tool
Period: Lower Paleolithic
Provenance: Qatar
Dimensions: 12,4x9,5x4,6 cm
Medium: flintstone
Registration Number: ARC.1960.9.386
Place Of Discovery/Findspot:  Plateau south east of Dukhan
2
This stone tool was made from a grey-blue flint on a large flake that has an original cortex on one face. The sharpness of this tool is obtained by bifacial flaking at both ends of the tool. The tool has a thick patina, sharp ends, and traces of wear from use as a chopper. This object was discovered during a survey carried out by the Danish expedition in the Dukhan region in 1960.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT QATAR
Palaeolithic Period: 300,000–8000 BCE

The Palaeolithic period has generally not been well documented on the western shores of the Gulf. This is because most remains have been submerged under the waters of the Arabian Gulf due to geological conditions. Before 14,000 BCE the land was dry, after which the sea level began to rise and gradually flood the land. This continued until about 7,500 BCE when the sea stopped rising and the shoreline was left as we know it today.

As part of the Tigris-Euphrates river system, the land that is now the Gulf was lush and green, offering its inhabitants the basic means for survival including plants to gather and animals to hunt. One of the earliest pieces of evidence of human activity which has been passed down to us is the lithic industry, where types of stone were worked through various techniques to create tools. These objects have been able to withstand the test of time mainly due to the hardness of their material.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT - REGION/GULF/WORLD
The Palaeolithic, or Old Stone Age, is one of the major periods of prehistory and is characterised by the appearance of the first human species. This period is also known as the ‘Carved Stone Age’, as humans used and worked stones to create tools. The first basic tools were simple cutting, chopping and grinding tools, later evolving into more and more complex forms that were increasingly difficult to make. This period is divided chronologically into three periods: the Lower, Middle and Upper Palaeolithic, the dates of which vary between continents and populations.
LOCATE ON QATAR MAP
Plateau south east of Dukhan