Factors Controlling the Development of the Mid–Late Holocene Carbonate Coastal Barrier of Bar Al Hikman (Arabian Sea, Oman): A Lucky Break for the Neolithic Communities

Compared to siliciclastic systems, the interplays between factors controlling the deposition of carbonate coastal barrier systems are complex to understand. The 25 x 30 km peninsula of Bar Al Hikman is a modern storm-dominated carbonate-evaporite system on the Arabian Sea coast of Oman. The mid–late-Holocene depositional system of the area provides an example of a regressive carbonate barrier that records climatic and carbonate factory changes. Satellite data, field mapping, sea level reconstruction, and dating suggest the following story:

The small islands of Bar al Hikman, appearing early during the regression before total exposure of the peninsula, may have provided Late Neolithic people with temporary collecting and fishing spots, and even sheltering waypoints between the mainland and the Neolithic establishments on the Masirah island.