Archaeological culture · c. 2600–2000 BCE
Umm an-Nar culture (Magan)
A Bronze Age culture of what is now the United Arab Emirates and Oman, named after an island next to Abu Dhabi. Its people built circular communal tombs of finely cut stone, often next to towers built around water sources.
The region, usually identified with Magan in Sumerian texts, supplied copper and diorite to Mesopotamia and traded with the Indus Valley civilisation.
See Umm an-Nar culture (Magan) on the map in 2600 BCE
- On the map
- 2600–2000 BCE
How we know
No local writing survives; Sumerian texts mention Magan, usually identified with this region, as a source of copper.
Sites
- Bat, Al-Khutm and Al-Ayn c. 3000–2000 BCE