Evidence of pearl diving found at Neolithic site :

It is commonly thought that the roots of the UAE’s pearling heritage date back to the 19th century. But archaeologists working on Dalma Island suggest people in this region have been diving for pearls for thousands of years. Dr Anjana Reddy, left, and Dr Nurcan Yalman at Dalma, where archaeological work is bringing greater understanding of the Gulf’s Neolithic past to light and helping academics to a clearer picture of a society that has long been hidden [Credit: Mona Al Marzooqi/The National] Excavations on the island, 42 kilometres off the coast of the emirate of Abu Dhabi and 116km from Doha, have discovered the remains of a house thought to belong to Dalma’s first inhabitants. The 7,000-year-old site was excavated in 1993 but archaeologists are now looking at a layer of rubbish that contains clues about the people who lived there, including a large amount of pearl oyster shells. This suggests the shallow banks of pearl beds around the island have been explored by humans for thousands of years, said Dr Mark Beech, head of the coastal heritage and palaeontology section at the Historic Environment Department of the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority. “Prior to oil, pearl oysters were the thing that gave people wealth and it shows that this wealth goes back far into prehistory,” said Dr Beech, whose team includes Dr Anjana Reddy, a coastal heritage archaeologist at the authority, and Dr Nurcan Yalman, research fellow at the Centre for International Heritage Activities in Leiden, the Netherlands. “You are seeing a snapshot in time from 7,000 years ago when someone was sitting just outside the edge of the house, probably in the shade of the roof, opening pearl oysters, looking for pearls.

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This brought back some memories, we couldn't ping our sonar under certain conditions especially when these guys were anchored.
In Bahrain we would travel to the Souk which meant market to find an amazing array of gold ,gems and of course pearls quite cheap depending on your bartering skills, not to mention all kinds of aromatic woods, it was a wild experience the first time I experienced it.

Dude, finish the stories man. I mean the ancient pearl diving is cool but cmon......finish the story man.

That is the story, tangible assets, intrinsic value, pearls hold their value to this day.

originally posted by: Thorneblood
Dude, finish the stories man. I mean the ancient pearl diving is cool but cmon......finish the story man.

Yeah I should put my experiences to paper just wondering if it's interesting enough for thousand experienced the same.lol

a reply to: Spider879

Are pearl oysters any good to eat? Maybe they were just getting them mainly for food.

originally posted by: butcherguy
a reply to: Spider879

Are pearl oysters any good to eat? Maybe they were just getting them mainly for food.

Gee I don't know, that's a great question I am guessing that's how they discovered pearls in the first place, but are the ones that developed pearls editable??..anyone know the answer to the above??

a reply to: Spider879

It is commonly thought that the roots of the UAE’s pearling heritage date back to the 19th century.

Commonly thought by whom, I wonder.

7,000-Year-Old Pearl Found in UAE Cemetery

originally posted by: Astyanax
a reply to: Spider879

It is commonly thought that the roots of the UAE’s pearling heritage date back to the 19th century.

Commonly thought by whom, I wonder.

7,000-Year-Old Pearl Found in UAE Cemetery

Yeah I thought that was an odd statement to make, given our long history of fishing or harvesting oysters.

a reply to: Spider879
Very nice Spider,
Yes pearl oysters are edible, an oyster is an oyster.
On occasion one will find a pearl in commercial oysters.

Shellfish gathering figures heavily in human development, it's easy money, so to speak.
It's an all inclusive activity, the young and the old can gather all of the daily protein in a couple hrs, while the active adults can go off to find the other things no readily available.

And actually one group of oysters, spondylus, the spiny oyster, has figured in trade even before these early pearls. Baltic amber was traded for agean spondylus, and in the new world the coastal people of Columbia, Ecuador, and Peru traded spondylus to the mountain people .

a reply to: Spider879

are the ones that developed pearls edible?

Of course! That's how pearls were discovered in the first place. Someone got one stuck in their throat.

a reply to: Spider879

Do you think that pearl was a nostril plug? One of a pair, the other somehow lost? Inserted to prevent the soul of the deceased from escaping and troubling the living?

originally posted by: Astyanax
a reply to: Spider879

Do you think that pearl was a nostril plug? One of a pair, the other somehow lost? Inserted to prevent the soul of the deceased from escaping and troubling the living?

Could be ancient as well as modern folks did all kind of things with jewelry like coins over the eyes or jade under the tongue, not sure if nostril plugs used in that fashion was an ancient Mesopotamian thing though.