By Raynald Rivera
DOHA: Qatar Museums yesterday opened a training programme for GCC archaeologists on the techniques of making tools and weapons in the Stone Age.
Under the patronage of its Chairperson H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the workshop is organised in response to a recommendation from the 16th GCC Meeting of Archaeology & Museums Undersecretaries, held in Doha last year.
Running until Thursday at the Museum of Islamic Art, “Techniques of Making Weapons in the Stone Age” aims to educate participants on the history of human settlements in the Gulf, dating back to the prehistoric period, by exploring the different uses of weapons and their importance in both self-defence and for collecting food.
By exploring the history of weapons and their development over thousands of years, the participants will gain insights into the history of people in the Gulf.
The five-day programme, which includes participants from GCC, will be delivered by Faisal Abdullah Al Nuaimi and Khalid Al Sindi.
Ali Jassim Al Kubaisi, Chief Archaeology Officer at Qatar Museums, said: “We are pleased to organise this programme as part of our commitment to implementing the recommendations from the 16th Meeting of Archaeology & Museums Undersecretaries.
“The programme will allow participants to learn about early human settlements in the Gulf region through a number of workshops and field trips which investigate the history of traditional weapons and their development over time,” Al Kubaisi added.
The theoretical side of the programme will focus on the different weapons and tools used in the Gulf in the prehistoric period, including their uses, how to identify and categorise them, and how to identify the raw materials used to make them.
Meanwhile, the practical side will include training on making the different types of weapons and tools, soft and hard forging, trimming through forging or pressing, and how to make the most important tools, including axes, arrowheads, spears and bows.
The programme will conclude with a field trip to a prehistoric archaeological site in Qatar.
It will allow the programme participants to see flints and different tools across the site, as well as understand how the pieces are collected and investigated by experts.
