Description : Jebel Faya (FAY-NE1) is an archaeological site near Al Madam, Sharjah Emirate, UAE. It contains tool assemblages from the Iron Age, the Bronze Age, the Neolithic and the Paleolithic. Because its deepest assemblage has been dated to 125,000 years ago, it was thought to be the world's most ancient settlement yet discovered of anatomically modern humans outside of Africa at the time of its discovery in 2011. Finds of a yet earlier date have since been found at Misliya cave, Israel.The finds from excavations at Faya and surrounding digs are displayed at the Mleiha Archaeological Centre. The Paleolithic layers at FAY-NE1 were first described by Armitage et. al. and were dated using single-grain optically stimulated luminescence (OSL). The horizons are as follows, from top to bottom: Assemblage A Dated to approximately 40,000 years ago. Recovered tools include burins, retouched pieces, end scrapers, sidescrapers, and denticulates. Assemblage B Not yet dated. Recovered tools resemble those of Assemblage A. Assemblage C Dated to approximately 125,000 years ago. Recovered tools include small hand axes, foliates, end scrapers and sidescrapers, and denticulates. Evidence of the Levallois production technique is unique to Assemblage C. Stone tools are thought to have been associated with Homo sapiens living in Africa at that time, and this shows that modern sapiens may have expanded Africa more quickly than thought. Paleolithic Assemblages D and E are also present, but have not been discussed in detail due to a small number of finds. Neolithic levels The Neolithic levels at FAY-NE1 consist of approximately 1 meter of sediment. A layer of sand above Assemblage A seals the Neolithic context from the Paleolithic. This layer contains Faya arrowheads and shell fragments, dated to about 9500 years BP. Hans-Peter Uerpmann and his colleagues attribute these artifacts to the first reoccupation of the site since its last abandonment in the Paleolithic. The layers above this sand level are less distinct and have not provided significant information about late Neolithic occupation.
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