Nicholas Drake | King's College London (original) (raw)

Papers by Nicholas Drake

Nature, 2021

Pleistocene hominin dispersals out of, and back into, Africa necessarily involved traversing the ... more Pleistocene hominin dispersals out of, and back into, Africa necessarily involved traversing the diverse and often challenging environments of Southwest Asia 1-4. Archaeological and palaeontological records from the Levantine woodland zone document major biological and cultural shifts, such as alternating occupations by Homo sapiens and Neanderthals. However, Late Quaternary cultural, biological and environmental records from the vast arid zone that constitutes most of Southwest Asia remain scarce, limiting regional-scale insights into changes in hominin demography and behaviour 1,2,5. Here we report a series of dated palaeolake sequences, associated with stone tool assemblages and vertebrate fossils, from the Khall Amayshan 4 and Jubbah basins in the Nefud Desert. These findings, including the oldest dated hominin occupations in Arabia, reveal at least five hominin expansions into the Arabian interior, coinciding with brief 'green' windows of reduced aridity approximately 400, 300, 200, 130-75 and 55 thousand years ago. Each occupation phase is characterized by a distinct form of material culture, indicating colonization by diverse hominin groups, and a lack of long-term Southwest Asian population continuity. Within a general pattern of African and Eurasian hominin groups being separated by Pleistocene Saharo-Arabian aridity, our findings reveal the tempo and character of climatically modulated windows for dispersal and admixture.

Acheulean technology and landscape use at Dawadmi, central Arabia, 2018

Despite occupying a central geographic position, investigations of hominin populations in the Ara... more Despite occupying a central geographic position, investigations of hominin populations in the Arabian Peninsula during the Lower Palaeolithic period are rare. The colonization of Eur-asia below 55 degrees latitude indicates the success of the genus Homo in the Early and Middle Pleistocene, but the extent to which these hominins were capable of innovative and novel behavioural adaptations to engage with mid-latitude environments is unclear. Here we describe new field investigations at the Saffaqah locality (206±76) near Dawadmi, in central Arabia that aim to establish how hominins adapted to this region. The site is located in the interior of Arabia over 500 km from both the Red Sea and the Gulf, and at the headwaters of two major extinct river systems that were likely used by Acheulean hominins to cross the Peninsula. Saffaqah is one of the largest Acheulean sites in Arabia with nearly a million artefacts estimated to occur on the surface, and it is also the first to yield stratified deposits containing abundant artefacts. It is situated in the unusual setting of a dense and well-preserved landscape of Acheulean localities, with sites and isolated artefacts occurring regularly for tens of kilometres in every direction. We describe both previous and recent excavations at Saffaqah and its large lithic assemblage. We analyse thousands of artefacts from excavated and surface contexts, including giant andesite cores and flakes, smaller cores and retouched artefacts, as well as handaxes and cleavers. Technological assessment of stratified lithics and those from systematic survey, enable the reconstruction of stone tool life histories. The Acheulean hominins at Dawadmi were strong and skilful, with their adaptation evidently successful for some time. However, these biface-makers were also technologically conservative, and used least-effort strategies of resource procurement and tool transport. Ultimately, central Arabia was depopulated, likely in the face of environmental deterioration in the form of increasing aridity.

We propose a novel method to evaluate regional palaeoclimate that can be used to alleviate the pr... more We propose a novel method to evaluate regional palaeoclimate that can be used to alleviate the problems caused by the discontinuous nature of palaeoenvironmental data found in deserts. The technique involves processing satellite imagery and DEM's to map past rivers, catchments and evaluate the areas and volumes of palaeolakes. This information is used to determine the new Lake Evaluation Index (LEI) that allows a qualitative estimate of the amount of sediment received by lakes and how long-lived those lakes are. Lakes with considerable longevity and large sediment stores are selected for study. Validation is performed using image interpretation of remote sensing data, UltraGPR surveys and fieldwork. These techniques are also used to identify and study spring deposits and fluvial landforms that provide valuable palaeoclimate information. The method is applied to the Fezzan Basin in southern Libya focusing on the Wadi ash Shati and Wadi el-Agial catchments. Results indicate that the palaeohydrology is accurately mapped except within dune fields. We analysed the sedimentology of the key deposits identified by this methodology, developing a chronology using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and radiocarbon dating. We find evidence for relatively humid conditions during MIS 5c/d and e, as well as during the early to middle Holocene. Larger lakes and more extensive river systems were present during MIS 5 than are found during the Holocene, suggestive of greater humidity. The Holocene humid period started at ~11 ka and continued until ~5 ka being interrupted by abrupt periods of aridity at ~8.2 ka and ~6 ka that coincide with North Atlantic cooling. After each of these arid events the climate was less humid than previously, suggesting that they were superimposed upon an overall drying trend. The termination of the Holocene humid period in the Sahara has received much scrutiny in recent years, and sediments of Palaeolake Shati provide a continuous record of this. We do not find evidence to support the hypothesis of either sudden or gradual aridification of the Sahara at ~5 ka, instead we find that that aridity started to develop at ~6.5 ka, whereupon the lake levels oscillated until finally drying-up by 5.3 ka. Most of the other lakes in the Fezzan also dried up at ~ 5ka. We suggest that thousands of years of aridification prior to 5 ka shrunk these lakes so that additional aridity at this time led to their final desiccation. Because lakes are prodigious dust sources this mechanism potentially explains the rapid rise in dust flux to the

The Arabian Peninsula is a key region for understanding climate change and human occupation histo... more The Arabian Peninsula is a key region for understanding climate change and human occupation history in a marginal environment. The Mundafan palaeolake is situated in southern Saudi Arabia, in the Rub' al-Khali (the 'Empty Quarter'), the world's largest sand desert. Here we report the first discoveries of Middle Palaeolithic and Neolithic archaeological sites in association with the palaeolake. We associate the human occupations with new geochronological data, and suggest the archaeological sites date to the wet periods of Marine Isotope Stage 5 and the Early Holocene. The archaeological sites indicate that humans repeatedly penetrated the ameliorated environments of the Rub' al-Khali. The sites probably represent short-term occupations, with the Neolithic sites focused on hunting, as indicated by points and weaponry. Middle Palaeolithic assemblages at Mundafan support a lacustrine adaptive focus in Arabia. Provenancing of obsidian artifacts indicates that Neolithic groups at Mundafan had a wide wandering range, with transport of artifacts from distant sources.

We challenge the view that our species, Homo sapiens, evolved within a single population and/or r... more We challenge the view that our species, Homo sapiens, evolved within a single population and/or region of Africa. The chronology and physical diversity of Pleistocene human fossils suggest that morphologically varied populations pertaining to the H. sapiens clade lived throughout Africa. Similarly, the African archaeological record demonstrates the polycentric origin and persistence of regionally distinct Pleistocene material culture in a variety of paleoecological settings. Genetic studies also indicate that present-day population structure within Africa extends to deep times, paralleling a paleoenvironmental record of shifting and fractured habitable zones. We argue that these fields support an emerging view of a highly structured African prehistory that should be considered in human evolutionary inferences, prompting new interpretations, questions , and interdisciplinary research directions.

Terrestrial and lacustrine Neogene and Quaternary sediments in the Libyan Fezzan provide key evid... more Terrestrial and lacustrine Neogene and Quaternary sediments in the Libyan Fezzan provide key evidence for paleoclimate changes in the central Sahara, associated with Lake Megafezzan. Understanding of Holocene and late Pleistocene deposits is resolved, but the age of older sediments is not. We provide the first high-resolution chronology and stratigraphy of the Neogene deposits in the Fezzan Basin, and so also the central Sahara. The sediments are divided into three unconformity-bounded units, the oldest unit, comprising the Shabirinah and Brak formations, is dated using magnetostratigraphy. The Shabirinah Formation is a succession of lacustrine and fluvial units, locally with humid and arid paleosols, which progressively show evidence of increasing aridity up through the succession. The overlying Brak Formation is a pedogenically modified palustrine limestone at basin margin locations. All these units are dated to the early Aquitanian to late Serravallian in the early to mid-Miocene, having formed prior to major volcanic fields to the east. During the mid-late Aquitanian widespread stromatolitic lake sediments developed in SE Fezzan. In the late Burdigalian palustrine carbonate units developed that typically pass laterally into mixed clastic-paleosol-carbonate units that characterise basin margin situations. The Serravallian-aged Brak Formation is a highstand deposit developed during maximum lake extent, which formed due to restriction of basin drainage to the north and east, due to growth of the Jabal as Sawda volcanic centre and uplift of the SW shoulder of the Sirte Basin. Gradual aridification of the central Sahara occurred from the early Miocene, but this trend was periodically interrupted by humid phases during which Lake Megafezzan developed. The hyperaridity of the central Sahara must have developed after 11 Ma and the main drainage networks from the Fezzan Basin were established before 23 Ma, in the Oligocene indicating the great antiquity of major central Saharan river basins.

Mid-latitude dune fields offer significant records of human occupations in southwest Asia, reflec... more Mid-latitude dune fields offer significant records of human occupations in southwest Asia, reflecting human responses to past climate changes. Currently arid, but episodically wetter in the past, the Nefud desert of northern Saudi Arabia provides numerous examples of human-environment interactions and population movements in the desert belt. Here we describe results from interdisciplinary surveys in the western Nefud that targeted palaeolake deposits identified using satellite imagery. Surveys indicate the presence of thousands of discrete palaeolakes and palaeowetlands, providing valuable palaeoenvironmental records, and numerous archaeological and palaeontological assemblages. Geomorphological investigations suggest that many further deposits remain buried. Forty-six prehistoric archaeological sites have been identified in association with freshwater deposits, spanning the Lower Palaeolithic to the pre-Islamic Holocene. Lower Palaeolithic sites appear concentrated close to raw material sources near the Nefud fringe, despite the presence of freshwater and fauna deeper in the dune field. Middle Palaeolithic occupations extend more broadly, and by the early Holocene humans were at least periodically occupying areas deep in the desert. We present the first records of Neolithic sites in this dune field, including substantial hearth complexes distributed relatively deep within the dunes, potentially indicating increased mobility during this period. Later Holocene sites with stone structures are present around the dune fringes. Our results indicate that, during wet periods of the Pleistocene and Holocene, water in the western Nefud may have been more readily available than elsewhere in northern Arabia due to the high density of depressions where wetlands can form. The high frequency of lakes or marshes appears to have facilitated human occupations and dispersal through the region.

The early part of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 (ca. 60–50 ka) is a crucial period for studying hu... more The early part of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 (ca. 60–50 ka) is a crucial period for studying human demography and behaviour in southwest Asia, and how these relate to climatic changes. However, the archaeological and palaeoenvironmental records for MIS 3 in critical areas such as the Arabian Peninsula remain poorly developed. Here, we present findings from the Al Marrat basin in the Nefud desert, which provides the first clear evidence for both increased humidity and human occupation of the interior of northern Arabia during early MIS 3. A Middle Palaeolithic assemblage, dated by optically stimulated luminescence to ca. 55 ka, was found stratified within a sequence of relict palustrine deposits indicative of shallow water body formation in the Al Marrat basin. Hominin presence in northern Arabia at this time coincides with the intensification and northward displacement of monsoon rainfall systems during a period of maximum insolation. These findings add to a growing corpus of palaeoenvironmental evidence, which indicates that the Arabian interior was neither arid nor unpopulated during early MIS 3, and that hydrodynamic responses to enhanced moisture availability facilitated demographic expansions into the Arabian interior.

The Holocene, 2016

The animal species depicted in the rock art of Shuwaymis, Saudi Arabia, provide a record of Holoc... more The animal species depicted in the rock art of Shuwaymis, Saudi Arabia, provide a record of Holocene climatic changes, as seen by the engravers. Of 1903 animal engravings, 1514 contained sufficient detail to allow identification with confidence. In addition, the stratigraphy of the engravings and the depiction of domesticates provide a broad chronological framework that allows a division into images created during the Holocene humid phase and animals represented after the onset of desert conditions. Despite the large sample size, only 16 animal species could be identified, which represents an extraordinarily narrow species spectrum. Comparison with the scarce faunal record of the Arabian Peninsula shows that all larger animals that are thought to have been present in the area were also depicted in the rock art. The contemporaneous presence of at least four large carnivores during the Holocene humid phase suggests that prey animals were abundant, and that the landscape consisted of a mosaic of habitats, potentially with thicker vegetation along the water courses of the wadis and more open vegetation in the landscape around them. Community Earth System Models (COSMOS) climate simulations show that Shuwaymis was at the northern edge of the African Summer Monsoon rainfall regime. It is therefore possible that Shuwaymis was ecologically connected with southwestern Arabia, and that an arid barrier remained in place to the north, restricting the dispersal of Levantine species into Arabia.

Quaternary Science Reviews, 2011

Major hydrological variations associated with glacial and interglacial climates in North Africa a... more Major hydrological variations associated with glacial and interglacial climates in North Africa and the Levant have been related to Middle Paleolithic occupations and dispersals, but suitable archaeological sites to explore such relationships are rare on the Arabian Peninsula. Here we report the discovery of Middle Paleolithic assemblages in the Nefud Desert of northern Arabia associated with stratified deposits dated to 75,000 years ago. The site is located in close proximity to a substantial relict lake and indicates that Middle Paleolithic hominins penetrated deeply into the Arabian Peninsula to inhabit landscapes vegetated by grasses and some trees. Our discovery supports the hypothesis of range expansion by Middle Paleolithic populations into Arabia during the final humid phase of Marine Isotope Stage 5, when environmental conditions were still favorable.

The expansion of Acheulean populations into the Arabian peninsula is a topic of some importance i... more The expansion of Acheulean populations into the Arabian peninsula is a topic of some importance in human evolutionary studies as it provides information about dispersal routes and the adaptive capabilities of early humans. The presence of Acheulean sites in Arabia provides definitive evidence for the dispersal of populations from their African source. And, indeed, the recovery of characteristic tool types such as handaxes, cleavers and picks, provides solid evidence for Acheulean expansion in new territories. Moreover, the identification of spatially dispersed and sometimes dense concentrations of Acheulean sites provides information concerning hominin landscape behaviors and activities. The aim of this chapter is to review two key Acheulean site complexes in Saudi Arabia, those identified along the Wadi Fatimah near the Red Sea, and those found along hillslopes near the modern town of Dawādmi in the center of the peninsula. The results of the archaeological investigations conducted along the Wadi Fatimah and at Dawādmi are of importance to modern investigations as these site complexes currently represent the most convincing evidence for an Acheulean presence in Arabia. In these areas, surveys identified a large number of Acheulean sites across land surfaces and certain sites produced dense artifact accumulations with a range of tool types. At Dawādmi, Whalen and colleagues (1981, 1988) conducted the first systematic surface collections and test excavations of Acheulean sites in Arabia. These investigations were a significant achievement as lithic assemblages were sytematically collected and described and inferences about paleoecological settings were made. Though this work was sometimes mentioned in the broader literature on the Acheulean (e.g., Bar-Yosef, 1998), few Paleolithic archaeologists working outside of Arabia have paid serious attention to this research despite the potential importance of these Acheulean sites. The lack of international interest is probably the result of a combination of factors, including the absence of multidisciplinary studies to determine the age and formation of the sites and publication in regional journals, which were difficult to access for many researchers. The investigators also worked in relative isolation, without placing these rather spectacular occurrences in behavioral context, as Isaac (1984) and others were doing in Africa. Indeed, virtually no interdisciplinary work was conducted on these sites, thus the findings were not properly placed in temporal and paleoenvironmental context, a problem still plaguing knowledge about the Arabian Acheulean.

Quaternary International, 2015

Freshwater availability is critical for human survival, and in the Saharo-Arabian desert belt rep... more Freshwater availability is critical for human survival, and in the Saharo-Arabian desert belt repeated fluctuations between aridity and humidity over the Quaternary mean the distribution of freshwater was likely a primary control upon routes and opportunities for hominin dispersals. However, our knowledge of the spatio-temporal distribution of palaeohydrological resources within Arabia during MideLate Pleistocene episodes of climatic amelioration remains limited. In this paper we outline a combined method for remotely mapping the location of palaeodrainage and palaeolakes in currently arid regions that were formerly subject to more humid conditions. We demonstrate the potential of this approach by mapping palaeochannels across the whole Arabian Peninsula, and palaeolakes and marshes for select regions covering c. 10% of its surface. Our palaeodrainage mapping is based upon quantitative thresholding of HydroSHEDs data, which applies flow routing to Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data, while our palaeolake mapping uses an innovative method where spectral classification of Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery is used to detect palaeolake deposits within endorheic (closed) basins, before modelling maximum lake extents by flooding the basin to the level of the elevation of the highest detected deposit. Field survey in the Nefud desert and the Dawadmi and Shuwaymis regions of Saudi Arabia indicates accuracies of 86% for palaeodrainage mapping, and 96% for identifying former palaeolake basins (73% accuracy of classification of individual deposits). The palaeolake mapping method has also demonstrated potential for identifying surface and stratified archaeological site locations, with 76% of the surveyed palaeolake basins containing archaeological material, including stratified Palaeolithic archaeology. Initial examination of palaeodrainage in relation to archaeological sites indicates a relationship between mapped features and previously recorded Palaeolithic sites. An example of the application of these data for period-specific regional palaeohydrological and archaeological reconstructions is presented for a region of Northern Saudi Arabia covering the southern Nefud desert and adjacent lava fields.

Quaternary Science Reviews 30: 1555-1559, 2011

""Major hydrological variations associated with glacial and interglacial climates in North Africa... more ""Major hydrological variations associated with glacial and interglacial climates in North Africa and the Levant have been related to Middle Paleolithic occupations and dispersals, but suitable archaeological sites to explore such relationships are rare on the Arabian Peninsula. Here we report the discovery of
Middle Paleolithic assemblages in the Nefud Desert of northern Arabia associated with stratified deposits dated to 75,000 years ago. The site is located in close proximity to a substantial relict lake and indicates that Middle Paleolithic hominins penetrated deeply into the Arabian Peninsula to inhabit landscapes vegetated by grasses and some trees. Our discovery supports the hypothesis of range expansion by Middle Paleolithic populations into Arabia during the final humid phase of Marine Isotope Stage 5, when environmental conditions were still favorable.""

Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology, 2016

Pre-Pottery Neolithic assemblages are best known from the fertile areas of the Mediterranean Leva... more Pre-Pottery Neolithic assemblages are best known from the fertile areas of the Mediterranean Levant. The archaeological site of Jebel Qattar 101 (JQ-101), at Jubbah in the southern part of the Nefud Desert of northern Saudi Arabia, contains a large collection of stone tools, adjacent to an Early Holocene palaeolake. The stone tool assemblage contains lithic types, including El-Khiam and Helwan projectile points, which are similar to those recorded in Pre-Pottery Neolithic A and Pre-Pottery Neolithic B assemblages in the Fertile Crescent. Jebel Qattar lies ,500 kilometres outside the previously identified geographic range of Pre-Pottery Neolithic cultures. Technological analysis of the typologically diagnostic Jebel Qattar 101 projectile points indicates a unique strategy to manufacture the final forms, thereby raising the possibility of either direct migration of Levantine groups or the acculturation of mobile communities in Arabia. The discovery of the Early Holocene site of Jebel Qattar suggests that our view of the geographic distribution and character of Pre-Pottery Neolithic cultures may be in need of revision.

Between the Levant and the Indian sub-continent only a few Acheulean sites have been documented, ... more Between the Levant and the Indian sub-continent only a few Acheulean sites have been documented, hampering models of hominin dispersals. Here we describe the first Acheulean sites to be discovered in the Nefud Desert of northern Arabia. The four sites occur in a variety of settings including adjacent to an alluvial fan drainage system, at a knappable stone source, and on the margins of endorheic basins. We discuss the implications of the sites for hominin landscape use, in particular the preferential transport and curation of bifaces to fresh water sources. The bifaces correspond to the Large Flake middle Acheulean in the Levantine sequence. The sites occupy a gap in the distribution of the Acheulean across the Saharo-Arabian arid belt, and as such have implications for dispersal routes between Africa and Asia.

The Arabian Peninsula is a key region for understanding hominin dispersals and the effect of clim... more The Arabian Peninsula is a key region for understanding hominin dispersals and the effect of climate change on prehistoric demography, although little information on these topics is presently available owing to the poor preservation of archaeological sites in this desert environment. Here, we describe the discovery of three stratified and buried archaeological sites in the Nefud Desert, which includes the oldest dated occupation for the region. The stone tool assemblages are identified as a Middle Palaeolithic industry that includes Levallois manufacturing methods and the production of tools on flakes. Hominin occupations correspond with humid periods, particularly Marine Isotope Stages 7 and 5 of the Late Pleistocene. The Middle Palaeolithic occupations were situated along the Jubbah palaeolake-shores, in a grassland setting with some trees. Populations procured different raw materials across the lake region to manufacture stone tools, using the implements to process plants and animals. To reach the Jubbah palaeolake, Middle Palaeolithic populations travelled into the ameliorated Nefud Desert interior, possibly gaining access from multiple directions, either using routes from the north and west (the Levant and the Sinai), the north (the Mesopotamian plains and the Euphrates basin), or the east (the Persian Gulf). The Jubbah stone tool assemblages have their own suite of technological characters, but have types reminiscent of both African Middle Stone Age and Levantine Middle Palaeolithic industries. Comparative inter-regional analysis of core technology indicates morphological similarities with the Levantine Tabun C assemblage, associated with human fossils controversially identified as either Neanderthals or Homo sapiens. Citation: Petraglia MD, Alsharekh A, Breeze P, Clarkson C, Crassard R, et al. (2012) Hominin Dispersal into the Nefud Desert and Middle Palaeolithic Settlement along the Jubbah Palaeolake, Northern Arabia. PLoS ONE 7(11): e49840.

Nature, 2021

Acheulean technology and landscape use at Dawadmi, central Arabia, 2018

The Holocene, 2016

Quaternary Science Reviews, 2011

Quaternary International, 2015

Quaternary Science Reviews 30: 1555-1559, 2011

Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology, 2016