Arqueólogos excavan en un nuevo yacimiento en Arabia Saudí que mostrará que los caballos estaban domesticados 9.000 años atrás en la península arábiga.

Fuente: Reuters, Jeddah (Arabia Saudí) | ABC.es, 25 de agosto de 2011

El hallazgo de la civilización Al-Maqar, bautizada en honor al sitio del descubrimiento, podría desafiar la teoría que sostiene que la domesticación de los animales ocurrió hace 5.500 años en Asia Central, dijo Ali Al-Ghabban, vicepresidente de Antigüedades y Museos de la Comisión Saudí de Turismo y Antigüedades.

"Este descubrimiento cambiará nuestro conocimiento acerca de la doma de caballos y la evolución de la cultura a fines del período Neolítico", explicó Al-Ghabban durante una conferencia de prensa en el puerto de Jeddah, en el Mar Rojo.

«Muy avanzada»

"La civilización Maqar era una civilización muy avanzada dentro del período Neolítico. Este lugar nos muestra de forma clara que los orígenes de la domesticación de los caballos se remontan a 9.000 años", agregó.

El sitio también contiene los restos de esqueletos momificados, puntas de flechas, espátulas, moledoras de granos y herramientas que son evidencia de una civilización hábil en trabajos manuales.

Arabia Saudí, el mayor exportador de crudo a nivel mundial, está intentando diversificar su economía más allá del petróleo y espera incrementar sus ingresos por turismo.

Rare artifacts excavated in Kingdom’s Al-Maqar area

By P.K. ABDUL GHAFOUR | ARAB NEWS, Aug 24, 2011 

JEDDAH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah on Tuesday expressed his satisfaction over the discovery of rare antiques during recent excavations that revealed that people in the Arabian Peninsula were interested in horses 9,000 years ago.

Prince Sultan bin Salman, chairman of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, and members of the excavation team briefed the king on the importance of the artifacts that were found in Al-Maqar in the central region of Saudi Arabia.

"The antiquities proved that Al-Maqar was the oldest place in the world so far with people interested in horses," an official statement said, adding that the artifacts also showed the cultural activities of people in the region during the Stone Age.

King Abdullah praised the excavation team and wished them greater successes in their efforts. He also urged the SCTA to publish the results of the excavation that proved that the Arabian Peninsula had precedence in taking care of horses.

Later speaking to reporters, Prince Sultan commended the keenness shown by King Abdullah toward the preservation of the Kingdom's antiquities. He said the excavation of new antiquities reflected the historic and cultural importance of the land of Saudi Arabia.

Prince Sultan underscored the commission's efforts to excavate antiquities in various parts of the country and protect them in a scientific manner. He also disclosed plans to establish new museums in various parts of the kingdom.

"The results of the excavation show that taking care of horses has been an old tradition inherited by Muslims from their forefathers. There is no wonder that during the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his Caliphs special areas had been allocated for breeding and rearing horses," he pointed out.

Ali Al-Ghabban, deputy chairman of SCTA for antiquities and museums, said the organization began excavations in Al-Maqar after receiving information about the area from a Saudi last year, adding Saudi and international experts took part in the excavation.

He said DNA and C-14 tests proved that the artifacts found during the excavation were 9,000 years old. He said the team had found 80 valuable artifacts from the area. Previous excavations showed people in Central Asia took care of horses 5,000 years ago.