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Royal Commission for AlUla Announces Discovery of Over 200,000-Year-Old Hand Axe

RCU announced that the archeological excavation teams at the Qurh site in AlUla have found a hand axe dating back to the Paleolithic Age. SPA
RCU announced that the archeological excavation teams at the Qurh site in AlUla have found a hand axe dating back to the Paleolithic Age. SPA
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Royal Commission for AlUla Announces Discovery of Over 200,000-Year-Old Hand Axe

RCU announced that the archeological excavation teams at the Qurh site in AlUla have found a hand axe dating back to the Paleolithic Age. SPA
RCU announced that the archeological excavation teams at the Qurh site in AlUla have found a hand axe dating back to the Paleolithic Age. SPA

Saudi Arabia’s Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) has announced that the archeological excavation teams at the Qurh site in AlUla Governorate have found a hand axe dating back to the Paleolithic Age, estimated to be more than 200,000 years old.
It is a strong tool, made of soft basalt stone 51.3 cm long, that could have been used for cutting or chopping. Studies are still conducted to identify the purpose of its use.
Qurh is one of the historical sites that have gained prominence in the early Islamic periods. It was one of the most important urban sites in the Arabian Peninsula, rich with secrets and historical and archeological treasures.
The ancient tool was discovered by a team of archeologists from the heritage consultancy TEOS Heritage, which is exploring the area around Qurh, south of AlUla, looking for evidence of man's existence in ancient times. The team has found several archeological discoveries dating back to the early Islamic period, but this new discovery, the hand axe, is considered to mark a new chapter in the history of humanity in and outside the Arabian Peninsula.
RCU is currently overseeing 11 other specialized archeological projects in AlUla and Khyber, all part of its efforts to discover the secrets of ancient times. The commission attaches great importance to archeological discoveries as part of its AlUla comprehensive development plan to become a world-leading destination for natural and cultural heritage.

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Trinidad and Tobago Reckons with Colonialism in a Debate on Statues, Signs and Monuments of Its Past 

A vandalized statue of Christopher Columbus towers over Columbus Square in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. Officials in the Caribbean island nation are reviewing on whether to remove statues, signs and monuments that reference European colonization. (AP)
A vandalized statue of Christopher Columbus towers over Columbus Square in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. Officials in the Caribbean island nation are reviewing on whether to remove statues, signs and monuments that reference European colonization. (AP)
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Trinidad and Tobago Reckons with Colonialism in a Debate on Statues, Signs and Monuments of Its Past 

A vandalized statue of Christopher Columbus towers over Columbus Square in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. Officials in the Caribbean island nation are reviewing on whether to remove statues, signs and monuments that reference European colonization. (AP)
A vandalized statue of Christopher Columbus towers over Columbus Square in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. Officials in the Caribbean island nation are reviewing on whether to remove statues, signs and monuments that reference European colonization. (AP)

In a small auditorium in the seaside capital of Trinidad and Tobago, Christopher Columbus and other colonial-era figures came under scrutiny late Wednesday in a lengthy debate punctuated by snickers, applause and outbursts.

The government had asked residents of the diverse, twin-island nation in the eastern Caribbean if they supported the removal of statues, signs and monuments with colonial ties and how those spaces should be used instead. One by one, people of African, European and Indigenous descent stepped up to the microphone and responded.

Some suggested a prominent Columbus statue be placed in a museum. Others requested it be destroyed and that people be allowed to stomp on the dusty remains. One man encouraged officials to round up statues of colonial figures and create a “square of the infamous.”

The majority of the more than two dozen people who spoke, and dozens of others commenting online, supported removal of colonial-era symbols and names.

“It’s an issue about how after 62 years of independence ... we continue to live in a space that reflects the ideals and the vision and the views of those who were our colonial masters,” said Zakiya Uzoma-Wadada, executive chair of the islands’ Emancipation Support Committee.

Trinidad and Tobago is the latest nation to embrace a global movement that began in recent years to abolish colonial-era symbols as it reckons with its past and questions if and how it should memorialize it as demands for slavery reparations grow across the Caribbean.

The public hearing was held just a week after the government announced it would redraw the nation’s coat of arms to remove Christopher Columbus’ three famous ships — the Pinta, the Niña and the Santa María – and replace it with the steelpan, a popular percussion instrument that originated in the Caribbean nation.

Others pushed for further changes on Wednesday night.

“What the hell is the queen still doing on top of the coat of arms? Please let us put her to rest,” said Eric Lewis, who identifies as a member of the First Peoples, also known as Amerindians.

Trinidad and Tobago was first colonized by the Spanish, who ruled it for nearly 300 years before ceding it to the British, who governed it for more than 160 years until the islands’ independence in 1962. The colonial imprint remains throughout streets and plazas, with a statue of Christopher Columbus dominating a square of the same name in the capital of Port of Spain.

The islands’ National Trust calls it “one of the greatest embellishments of our town,” but many differ.

“It’s disrespectful to those who were the victims of him. The people suffered tremendously,” said Shania James as she called for the statue to be placed in a museum. “His atrocities should not be forgotten.”

But a handful of people dismissed concerns about how their ancestors were treated, including tour guide Teresa Hope, who is Black.

“They survived, and I survived, and we will keep on moving,” she said, adding that if the actions of historical figures were scrutinized, “everything would get knocked down.”

Rubadiri Victor, president of the Artists’ Coalition, said his country should instead erect statues and monuments to honor some of the more than 200 Trinbagonians who represent the best of the islands.

“We are stumbling and tripping over heroes,” he said. “To have produced so much genius, and that lineage is nowhere present in the landscape.”

Among the suggestions of people to honor was Nobel Prize-winning author V.S. Naipaul; Cyril Lionel Robert James, a historian and journalist; and Kwame Ture, who helped spearhead the Black Power movement in the US Others suggested that prominent Amerindians and more local women be honored, including Patricia Bishop, an educator and musician and Beryl McBurnie, a teacher credited with promoting and saving Caribbean dance.

The debate was scheduled to continue soon in the sister island of Tobago, with the government having received nearly 200 submissions overall so far on what it should do.