Middle Palaeolithic and Neolithic Occupations around Mundafan Palaeolake, Saudi Arabia: Implications for Climate Change and Human Dispersals (original) (raw)
Related papers
PlosOne, 2013
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.
In PLoS ONE 8(7): e69665., 2013
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.
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.
Paléorient, 2020
The Late Pleistocene occupation of Southeast Arabia is well documented in the sequence recorded at Jebel Faya, Emirate of Sharjah (United Arab Emirates). Here the archaeological record suggests pulses of occupation in the region between ca. 125,000 and 10,000 years ago. The large chronological gaps observed between settlement phases are thought to indicate long periods of severe climatic conditions during the Late Pleistocene preventing human occupation over long periods of time. Recent palaeoenvironmental research, however, revealed the occurrence of brief periods with increased potential for human settlement in the region. To test the pulsed occupation scenario developed from the Jebel Faya stratified sequence, we conducted systematic surveys in Suhailah, a region about 50 km north of Jebel Faya. Our results show that besides abundant Holocene material, a number of typo-technologically distinct assemblages of Palaeolithic can be found. Comparisons with the archaeological record from Jebel Faya, led us to conclude that the Suhailah record provides evidence for Palaeolithic occupation phases not recorded in the stratified Faya sequence. We argue that an increased diversity in the archaeological record and potentially more frequent occupations of the central region in Sharjah during the Late Pleistocene, implies that the recently identified brief periods of increased precipitation could have played an important role for human occupation. Résumé. Le peuplement de l'Arabie du Sud-Est durant le Pléistocène supérieur est bien documenté dans la séquence enregistrée à Jebel Faya, émirat de Sharjah (Émirats arabes unis). Ces données archéologiques suggèrent que des vagues d'occupation ont eu lieu dans la région entre environ 125 000 et 10 000 ans. Les importantes lacunes chronologiques observées entre les phases de peuplement pourraient indiquer de longues périodes où des conditions climatiques rigoureuses durant le Pléistocène ont empêché toute occupation humaine. Cependant, des recherches paléoenvironnementales récentes ont révélé l'existence de courtes périodes potentiellement propices au peuplement de la région. Afin de tester le scénario d'occupations intermittentes, élaboré à partir de la séquence stratifiée de Jebel Faya, nous avons entrepris des sondages systématiques à Suhailah, une région située environ 50 km au nord de Jebel Faya. Nos résultats montrent qu'en plus de l'abondant matériel holocène, de nombreux assemblages caractéristiques du Pléistocène ont été identifiés. D'après les comparaisons avec le matériel archéologique de Jebel Faya, les données de Suhailah révèlent des phases d'occupation qui n'ont pas été enregistrées dans la séquence de Faya. Nous soutenons que la diversité accrue des données archéologiques, et peut-être les occupations plus fréquentes de la région centrale de Sharjah pendant le Pléistocène supérieur, impliquent que les brèves périodes de précipitations accrues identifiées récemment auraient pu jouer un rôle important pour le peuplement humain.
Middle to Late Pleistocene human habitation in the western Nefud Desert, Saudi Arabia
The Nefud Desert is crucial for resolving debates concerning hominin demography and behaviour in the Saharo-Arabian belt. Situated at the interface between the Mediterranean Westerlies and African Monsoonal climate systems, the Nefud lies at the centre of the arid zone crossed by Homo sapiens dispersing into Eurasia and the edges of the southernmost known extent of the Neanderthal range. In 2013, the Palaeodeserts Project conducted an intensive survey of the western Nefud, to: (1) evaluate Pleistocene population dynamics in this important region of the Saharo-Arabian belt and (2) contribute towards understanding early modern human range expansions and interactions between different hominin species. Thirteen Lower and Middle Palaeolithic sites were discovered in association with palaeolake basins. One of the sites, T'is al Ghadah, may feature the earliest Middle Palaeolithic assemblage of Arabia. Preliminary analyses show that the Lower and Middle Palaeolithic sites discovered display diverse technological characteristics, indicating that the Nefud was important for population turnovers and exchanges throughout the Pleistocene. Periodic environmental amelioration appears to have attracted hominin incursions into the region, and subsequent ephemeral occupations structured around lakes and, to a lesser extent, raw material sources. However, differences between the Lower and Middle Palaeolithic sites are indicative of greater mobility during the later Pleistocene. A rarity of formal tools, but strong similarities in lithic production techniques, are also suggestive of demographic affinities across the Nefud during the Pleistocene, and perhaps beyond. These preliminary results support the view that the Arabian Peninsula was a critically important region of southwest Asia during the Late Pleistocene, in which demographic responses to climatic amelioration may have structured connectivity across the Saharo-Arabian belt, the Levant and as far as India.
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2018
Although Middle Palaeolithic stratified and dated sites are still rare in Arabia, recent archaeological, palaeoenvironmental, population genetic, geomatic and geochronological studies have noticeably contributed to a re-evaluation of the prehistory of the region. Here, we report the discovery of a stratified open-air Middle Palaeolithic site in central Saudi Arabia, a novelty given the paucity of dated Pleistocene lithic assemblages in the region. The site ofUmmal-Sha’al is located in the Rufa Graben where a substantial number of Middle Palaeolithic surface occurrences have been reported. It contains artefacts produced using Levallois technology, indicative of Middle Palaeolithic human exploitation of locally abundant quartzite raw material. The site comprises two horizons with archaeological finds dating to Marine Isotope Stages 5 and likely 7 or even older. During this period, huntergatherers would have benefited from bodies of water and streams in the vicinity of the site, which were active during humid phases, contributing to the development of a significant biomass. Our discovery supports the hypotheses of an early colonisation of inland Arabia by hominins and of a solid link with North and East African lithic traditions of the Middle Stone Age, which awaits further refinement.