10/15/24, 10:24 UAE SST Notes CH 1-
AM 4
Chapter 1 – THE UAE LANDSCAPE AND JEBEL FAYA
1. Why do scientists believe that people travelled from Africa through Jebel Faya as well as
Egypt?
Sea levels were 80 meters lower, making the Red Sea shallower at its mouth and narrower
overall. The Gulf was just a river valley. All these factors make it easier to cross through that
route.
2. How was the climate different at that time on the Arabian Peninsula compared to today?
The Arabian Peninsula was much wetter and received more rainfall.
3. What was the landscape like in Jebel Faya at that time?
Jebel Faya was a lush savannah with streams, rivers and life.
4. Why did people stop coming to Jebel Faya?
The climate dried out.
5. What are the evidences that confirm that humans lived in Jebel Faya?
The people who left Jebel Faya left behind their stone tools.
6. How many years ago humans from Africa crossed the Red Sea to reach Arabia?
130,000 years ago
7. What technology did the people of Jebel Faya use? How did technology improve their lives
and help them survive?
They used stone tools. They could hunt for food and make clothes to protect themselves.
8. Over the next 25 million years, the ocean floor was pushed upwards to form which
mountains in Arabian Plate.
Al-Hajar Mountains.
9. Approximately, how long ago did land which formed the UAE begin to move?
260 million years ago.
10. Complete the following table
Basic Human Needs In Jebel Faya
Food
Fresh Water
Clothing
Shelter
Used stone tools to hunt wild animals and cut their meat
It was a wetter region and received rain. There were streams and rivers.
Used animal hide
Used the mountain rock and lived in small groups of hunters and gatherer
about:blan 1/
k 7
, 10/15/24, 10:24 UAE SST Notes CH 1-
AM 4
Give answers in one word
1. The period from around 2.5 million years ago to the present day-Quaternary Period
2. An archaeological site and limestone hill or escarpment near Al Madam in the Emirate of
Sharjah, the UAE, located about 50 km east of the city of Sharjah, and between the shoreline of
the Gulf and Al Hajar Mountains. – Jebel Faya
3. An Emirati island located in Arabian Gulf approximately 42 kilometres off the coast of Abu
Dhabi.: Dalma Island
4. Two modern day rivers which used to be one river – Tigris and Euphrates
5. The current interglacial period which started around 15000 years ago-Holocene Epoch
6. The Arabic name for a valley - Wadi
7. Landforms which contain fertile soil washed down from mountains - Alluvial Plains
8. A cold dry period when ice covers more of the earth’s surface – Glacial Period
9. The exploration of an archaeological site through a systematic process of digging and recording.
- Excavation
10. Paleontologists are the scientists that study: Fossils
Read the passage carefully and answer the questions given below:
The buildings, roadways, and cities of the United Arab Emirates are built on a landscape that has
changed greatly over the last 500 million years. Clues to these changes are scattered across the
country today. When you drive to the east coast, you can see the jagged and smooth peaks of the
mountains. These are the result of geological processes that have taken millions of years and are
still continuing today.
Before, these mountains were formed, today's UAE was part of a much larger landmass called
Gondwana. Gondwana was separated from Asia by an enormous ancient ocean called the Tethys.
Traces of this very ancient landscape can be found at Jebel Dhanna in Al Dhafra. Around 260
million years ago, the land that was to form the UAE started to move northward. The UAE's
landscape changed even more dramatically 100 million years ago. At that time, the UAE lay on
the edge of what is called the Arabian Plate. The plate began to move and came into contact with
the ocean floor. Often this collision results in the ocean floor being pushed under the land surface,
but on this occasion the ocean was pushed on top of the Arabian Plate. Over the next 25 million
years, more and more of the ocean floor was pushed upwards to form mountains. Eventually,
these mountains emerged from the sea and today they form the rugged Al-Hajar mountains.
Traces of this very ancient landscape can be found at Jebel Dhanna in Al Dhafra Abu Dhabi.
Another major geological feature of the UAE is the desert; however, deserts in the UAE are much
younger than the mountains. Some of the sand dunes that you see today were formed only in the
last 20,000 years. Remains of this time have been found in the Baynunah Formation in Al-Dhafra
Region of Abu Dhabi. The Baynunah Formation is a geological area created by the land and rivers
that once flowed through the region. Some of the rivers seem to have been quite large and had
many channels. One river, near the coastal town of Mirfa, is thought to have been over 100 meters
wide. The remains of animals and plants, now turned into fossils, have been discovered in
outcrops of the Baynunah Formation. Paleontologists are scientists that study fossils. They have
studied the Baynunah Formation to learn important information about the way today's animals
have developed
Wadis became very important for humans living in the region later, as they made it possible to
move across the mountains. They also contained fertile soil in which crops could be grown. The
rain carried large amounts of soil and rocks away from the mountains. This soil was deposited in
a lower part of the land and slowly created flat landforms called alluvial plains. These plains can
be seen today on the edge of the mountains from Ra's AlKhaimah southward to Al-Ain, and on
the eastern coast. The rainfall also filtered underground, where it was stored for thousands of
years until humans developed ways of using it.
about:blan 2/
k 7
AM 4
Chapter 1 – THE UAE LANDSCAPE AND JEBEL FAYA
1. Why do scientists believe that people travelled from Africa through Jebel Faya as well as
Egypt?
Sea levels were 80 meters lower, making the Red Sea shallower at its mouth and narrower
overall. The Gulf was just a river valley. All these factors make it easier to cross through that
route.
2. How was the climate different at that time on the Arabian Peninsula compared to today?
The Arabian Peninsula was much wetter and received more rainfall.
3. What was the landscape like in Jebel Faya at that time?
Jebel Faya was a lush savannah with streams, rivers and life.
4. Why did people stop coming to Jebel Faya?
The climate dried out.
5. What are the evidences that confirm that humans lived in Jebel Faya?
The people who left Jebel Faya left behind their stone tools.
6. How many years ago humans from Africa crossed the Red Sea to reach Arabia?
130,000 years ago
7. What technology did the people of Jebel Faya use? How did technology improve their lives
and help them survive?
They used stone tools. They could hunt for food and make clothes to protect themselves.
8. Over the next 25 million years, the ocean floor was pushed upwards to form which
mountains in Arabian Plate.
Al-Hajar Mountains.
9. Approximately, how long ago did land which formed the UAE begin to move?
260 million years ago.
10. Complete the following table
Basic Human Needs In Jebel Faya
Food
Fresh Water
Clothing
Shelter
Used stone tools to hunt wild animals and cut their meat
It was a wetter region and received rain. There were streams and rivers.
Used animal hide
Used the mountain rock and lived in small groups of hunters and gatherer
about:blan 1/
k 7
, 10/15/24, 10:24 UAE SST Notes CH 1-
AM 4
Give answers in one word
1. The period from around 2.5 million years ago to the present day-Quaternary Period
2. An archaeological site and limestone hill or escarpment near Al Madam in the Emirate of
Sharjah, the UAE, located about 50 km east of the city of Sharjah, and between the shoreline of
the Gulf and Al Hajar Mountains. – Jebel Faya
3. An Emirati island located in Arabian Gulf approximately 42 kilometres off the coast of Abu
Dhabi.: Dalma Island
4. Two modern day rivers which used to be one river – Tigris and Euphrates
5. The current interglacial period which started around 15000 years ago-Holocene Epoch
6. The Arabic name for a valley - Wadi
7. Landforms which contain fertile soil washed down from mountains - Alluvial Plains
8. A cold dry period when ice covers more of the earth’s surface – Glacial Period
9. The exploration of an archaeological site through a systematic process of digging and recording.
- Excavation
10. Paleontologists are the scientists that study: Fossils
Read the passage carefully and answer the questions given below:
The buildings, roadways, and cities of the United Arab Emirates are built on a landscape that has
changed greatly over the last 500 million years. Clues to these changes are scattered across the
country today. When you drive to the east coast, you can see the jagged and smooth peaks of the
mountains. These are the result of geological processes that have taken millions of years and are
still continuing today.
Before, these mountains were formed, today's UAE was part of a much larger landmass called
Gondwana. Gondwana was separated from Asia by an enormous ancient ocean called the Tethys.
Traces of this very ancient landscape can be found at Jebel Dhanna in Al Dhafra. Around 260
million years ago, the land that was to form the UAE started to move northward. The UAE's
landscape changed even more dramatically 100 million years ago. At that time, the UAE lay on
the edge of what is called the Arabian Plate. The plate began to move and came into contact with
the ocean floor. Often this collision results in the ocean floor being pushed under the land surface,
but on this occasion the ocean was pushed on top of the Arabian Plate. Over the next 25 million
years, more and more of the ocean floor was pushed upwards to form mountains. Eventually,
these mountains emerged from the sea and today they form the rugged Al-Hajar mountains.
Traces of this very ancient landscape can be found at Jebel Dhanna in Al Dhafra Abu Dhabi.
Another major geological feature of the UAE is the desert; however, deserts in the UAE are much
younger than the mountains. Some of the sand dunes that you see today were formed only in the
last 20,000 years. Remains of this time have been found in the Baynunah Formation in Al-Dhafra
Region of Abu Dhabi. The Baynunah Formation is a geological area created by the land and rivers
that once flowed through the region. Some of the rivers seem to have been quite large and had
many channels. One river, near the coastal town of Mirfa, is thought to have been over 100 meters
wide. The remains of animals and plants, now turned into fossils, have been discovered in
outcrops of the Baynunah Formation. Paleontologists are scientists that study fossils. They have
studied the Baynunah Formation to learn important information about the way today's animals
have developed
Wadis became very important for humans living in the region later, as they made it possible to
move across the mountains. They also contained fertile soil in which crops could be grown. The
rain carried large amounts of soil and rocks away from the mountains. This soil was deposited in
a lower part of the land and slowly created flat landforms called alluvial plains. These plains can
be seen today on the edge of the mountains from Ra's AlKhaimah southward to Al-Ain, and on
the eastern coast. The rainfall also filtered underground, where it was stored for thousands of
years until humans developed ways of using it.
about:blan 2/
k 7
