It is certainly not the oldest pearl that ever existed, but it is the oldest known to be harvested and used by people. Discovered in a grave in the United Arab Emirates, this ancient pearl, called the Umm al Quwain pearl, has been discovered to be more than 7,500 years old. The oldest known pearl before this discovery was 5,000 years old.
The tiny pearl measures only 0.07 of an inch in diameter and was placed on a skeleton in a Neolithic graveyard. Archaeologists have found that fully drilled pearls were placed with women while fully drilled pearls were buried with men. Unpierced pearls were at times placed on the deceased’s upper lip.
Since the Arabian pearl is older than anything found in Japan so far, researchers are now wondering whether pearl gathering actually originated in Arabia rather than in Japan. At the time it was gathered, Europe and North Africa were living in the Neollithic period, also known as the New Stone Age, when people were transforming from hunter-gatherers into farmers and animal caregivers.
The discovery provides insight into the origins of pearl oyster hunting, suggesting the practice began in Arabia and not in Japan, as researchers originally thought.
The Neolithic period, also known as the New Stone Age, was marked by the change in human lifestyles from hunter-gatherers to farmers. So far, about 101 Neolithic age pearls have been gathered. This suggests that pearl diving was practiced along at least the southern Mediterranean coast.
