New research shows that ancient people in southern Arabia were not just surviving in a harsh desert environment. They were regularly eating sharks.
A study published in the journal Antiquity focuses on a Neolithic burial site at Wadi Nafūn in present day Oman. The site dates back to the fifth millennium BC, nearly 7,000 years ago. Researchers say the findings provide rare and detailed evidence about what these early communities actually ate.
The research was led by scientists from the Archaeological Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Their analysis suggests that shark meat was not an occasional food. It may have been one of their main sources of nutrition.
A Burial Site That Revealed a Diet
The discovery centers on a monumental stone tomb at Wadi Nafūn. The site includes two circular burial mounds built from limestone and dolomite slabs. One mound alone contained the remains of more than 70 individuals of all ages and both sexes. The site was used for more than 300 years.
Because Oman’s dry climate preserves very little organic material, researchers could not rely on traditional methods to study ancient diets. Instead, they collected tooth samples and analyzed the mineral component of bones and enamel known as bioapatite.
Anthropologist Jiří Šneberger explained how the team used stable isotope analysis to reconstruct what these people ate.
“Based on preliminary results from stable isotope analysis used to reconstruct the diet, we are considering that the population we studied may have relied on shark meat as one of its main sources of food and nutrition,” he said.
Protein from the Top of the Food Chain
The most striking evidence came from nitrogen isotope values found in dental enamel. These values were unusually high. That matters because nitrogen levels can reveal where a person’s protein came from in the food chain.
Alžběta Danielisová, who led the expedition, made the importance clear. “We know these were not just ordinary proteins, but proteins from the very top of the food chain,” she said.
Sharks are apex predators. They sit at the top of the marine food chain. The isotope data strongly suggests that these Neolithic people were regularly consuming shark meat.
This was not a one time event or a rare feast. The chemical signatures indicate consistent dietary intake.
More Than Just Sharks
While shark meat appears to have been a major source of protein, it was not the only component of their diet.
Carbon isotope data and other measurements show a mix of terrestrial and marine foods. Researchers believe these communities combined hunting, gathering, herding, and systematic use of marine resources.
The official release described their approach as a “highly flexible and adaptive subsistence strategy — combining hunting, gathering, herding and systematic exploitation of marine resources.”
This means their diet was diverse. They ate food from the land and the sea, adjusting to changing environmental conditions during the Holocene Humid Period.
Archaeological Clues to Marine Eating
The physical evidence at the burial site supports the scientific data. Researchers found shark tooth pendants among the grave goods. They also discovered a tiger shark tooth, a stingray barb, and a bone fish hook in one of the mounds.
These items show that sharks were part of daily life. They were hunted, processed, eaten, and even incorporated into ornaments.
The connection between the community and sharks was both practical and symbolic.
What Their Teeth Revealed
Microscopic analysis of dental wear offered even more insight into their lifestyle and food habits.
The teeth show distinctive wear patterns. These patterns suggest that teeth were not used only for chewing food. They may also have been used as tools, possibly for processing hides, fibers, or fishing equipment.
Further study of dental calculus may eventually provide even more direct evidence of the specific foods they consumed.
An Adaptive Diet in a Harsh Landscape
The people buried at Wadi Nafūn lived during a time of shifting climate conditions. Southern Arabia moved between wetter and drier phases. Survival required flexibility.
Isotope testing also showed that some individuals had grown up as far as 50 kilometers away. This suggests movement between inland and coastal zones, likely giving them access to marine resources such as sharks.
On a global scale, researchers say the findings demonstrate how humans adapted to a wide range of environmental and climatic conditions.
These Neolithic communities were not limited to simple plant gathering or small game hunting. They were skilled enough to systematically exploit marine predators at the top of the food chain.
Thousands of years before large scale agriculture dominated many regions, these people had already developed a complex, protein rich diet that included one of the ocean’s most formidable animals.
