'Mother of the Fire') is a Bronze Age culture that existed around 2600-2000 BCE in the area of the modern-day United Arab Emirates and Northern Oman.

The etymology derives from the island of the same name which lies adjacent to the city of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, which provided early evidence and finds that came to define the period.

[1][2] The Umm Al Nar people were important regional trading intermediaries between the ancient civilisations of Sumer in Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley Harappan culture.

Known to the Sumerians as 'Magan', the area was the source of Sumer's copper and diorite as well as a trading entrepot for other goods from the Indus Valley, including carnelian jewellery.

The key site on the island, today known as Sas Al Nakhl, is protected, but its location between a refinery and a sensitive military area means public access is currently prohibited.

A key indicator of the Umm Al Nar culture is circular tombs typically characterized by well fitted ashlar in the outer wall and multiple human remains within.

[4] The first archaeological excavations in Abu Dhabi began at Umm Al Nar in 1959, twelve years before the foundation of the United Arab Emirates.

[7] They have also revealed what is thought to be the oldest case on record of poliomyelitis, with the distinctive signs of the disease found in the skeleton of a woman from Tell Abraq.

[8] The archaeological record of the Hafit and Umm Al Nar periods show the area of southeastern Arabia formed a locus for a bipolar field of trade between Mesopotamia and the Indus where the people of Magan were intermediaries, suppliers and consumers, but also political agents acting in their own interests.