Atlantis of the Sands: Evidence of a Previous Civilization in Arabia (original) (raw)
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Climate change and human origins in southern Arabia
Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 2008
Over the past few years, prehistorians have begun to consider South Arabia with increasingly greater interest. As the corpus of genetic data grows, scholars now realize the prominent role the “Arabian Corridor” must have played in modern human origins. Unfortunately, Palaeolithic investigations throughout the peninsula have lagged sadly behind; at the time of writing there are only three dated, stratified Palaeolithic sites that fall within the Upper Pleistocene time period (Shi’bat Dihya, al-Hatab, and Jebel Faya 1). While there are meagre data to discuss the human footprint upon the landscape, we possess abundant information to describe the land itself. This paper is intended to synthesize and present the palaeoenvironmental record throughout the late Quaternary in South Arabia, thereby presenting the landscape across which the earliest humans traversed during the initial expansion from their ancestral homeland. We present the HOPE ENV database, which is a composite sum probability curve that incorporates several hundred proxy signals used to discern ancient climatic conditions. This paper considers shifts in the terrestrial landscape morphology, as well as reconfiguration of the shorelines due to eustatic and isostatic sea levels change. We discuss how this record of environmental change might have affected human emergence, from the first appearance of anatomically modern Homo sapiens to the development of complex civilization in the middle Holocene.
Human responses to climate and ecosystem change in ancient Arabia
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2020
Significance Over the last 12,000 y, humans have faced a variety of challenges from climatic variability, either leading to a wide range of technological, economic and cultural responses, or societal collapse. In southeastern Arabia, ancient droughts appear to have corresponded with the decline of inland occupations and population movements to resource-rich areas on the coast, with transformative societal effects. Data from northern Arabia suggest that Holocene populations responded to environmental challenges through high mobility, managing water sources, and transforming their economies. Though more interdisciplinary archaeological data remain to be gathered from Arabia, these examples illustrate diverse strategies to resilience and provide important lessons for a world in which climate predictions forecast dramatic changes in temperature and precipitation.
From Refugia to Oasis: Living in arid environments from prehistoric times to the present day DES REFUGES AUX OASIS Vivre en milieu aride de la Préhistoire à aujourd'hui Sous la direction de, 2018
The Arabian climate fluctuated between phases of extreme aridity and humidity over the course of the Quaternary. Archaeologists have registered a diverse record of human occupation throughout the mosaic of ecosystems in the Peninsula, regions variably affected by the ebb and flow of precipitation. In some areas, the history of habitation is disjointed, with clear breaks in cultural continuity, while other parts of Arabia exhibit enduring traditions across oscillating climatic phases. In this paper, we explore the evo- lution of local populations and cultures in South Arabia through recent archaeogenetic and archaeological findings. We look at the prehistoric record from the Last Glacial Maximum to the end of the Holocene Climate Optimum. The emerging picture tends to suggest that the indigenous peoples of southern Arabia developed from a local demo- graphic reservoir. The shift to animal husbandry took place here between 9,000 and 8,000 years BP. We evaluate if this transformation was the result of 1) foreign herders spreading into the region, bringing with them domesticated livestock, 2) the indigenous population importing domesticated animals, and/or 3) an independent locus of cattle domestication in South Arabia.
Climate models are potentially useful tools for addressing human dispersals and demographic change. The Arabian Peninsula is becoming increasingly significant in the story of human dispersals out of Africa during the Late Pleistocene. Although characterised largely by arid environments today, emerging climate records indicate that the peninsula was wetter many times in the past, suggesting that the region may have been inhabited considerably more than hitherto thought. Explaining the origins and spatial distribution of increased rainfall is challenging because palaeoenvironmental research in the region is in an early developmental stage. We address environmental oscillations by assembling and analysing an ensemble of five global climate models (CCSM3, COSMOS, HadCM3, KCM, and NorESM). We focus on precipitation, as the variable is key for the development of lakes, rivers and savannas. The climate models generated here were compared with published palaeoenvironmental data such as palaeolakes, speleo- thems and alluvial fan records as a means of validation. All five models showed, to varying degrees, that the Arabia Peninsula was significantly wetter than today during the Last Interglacial (130 ka and 126/ 125 ka timeslices), and that the main source of increased rainfall was from the North African summer monsoon rather than the Indian Ocean monsoon or from Mediterranean climate patterns. Where available, 104 ka (MIS 5c), 56 ka (early MIS 3) and 21 ka (LGM) timeslices showed rainfall was present but not as extensive as during the Last Interglacial. The results favour the hypothesis that humans potentially moved out of Africa and into Arabia on multiple occasions during pluvial phases of the Late Pleistocene.
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.
Multiple phases of human occupation in Southeast Arabia between 210,000 and 120,000 years ago
Scientific Reports, 2022
Changing climatic conditions are thought to be a major control of human presence in Arabia during the Paleolithic. Whilst the Pleistocene archaeological record shows that periods of increased monsoon rainfall attracted human occupation and led to increased population densities, the impact of arid conditions on human populations in Arabia remains largely speculative. Here, we present data from Jebel Faya in Southeast (SE) Arabia, which document four periods of human occupation between c. 210,000 and 120,000 years ago. The Jebel Faya record indicates that human occupation of SE Arabia was more regular and not exclusively linked to major humid periods. Our data show that brief phases of increased rainfall additionally enabled human settlement in the Faya region. These results imply that the mosaic environments in SE Arabia have likely formed a population refugia at the end of the Middle and the beginning of the Late Pleistocene. Presently a vast dry land, human occupation of Arabia is thought to be closely linked to climate change and limited to periods of increased precipitation 1-3. Moisture is derived by both Mediterranean cyclones and through the African and Indian monsoon systems, in particular in the southern and western part of the peninsula 4-6. The strength of the monsoon has varied through time due to orbital forcing 7,8 , with northern hemisphere glacial periods accompanied by low latitude aridity. Such periods of aridity are expected to represent hostile environments that formed an obstacle for human occupation of Arabia 9-11. Increased precipitation occurred during past interglacials and interstadial periods as known from the mid-latitudes 9,12 , triggering the expansion of vegetation and increased faunal diversity in landscapes featuring lakes and perennial rivers in Arabia 13-15. Due to the favorable living conditions during such periods, they are thought to be the most likely periods of intensified Paleolithic settlement in Arabia 14,16-18. The Arabian archaeological record supports the view of human occupation linked to periods of increased rainfall 19. This is best exemplified by the coincidence of peak humid conditions between c. 130 and 75 ka and the well-developed archaeological records from many parts of the peninsula including Saudi Arabia 20-22 , the United Arab Emirates 23 and Oman 24. Additional evidence for human occupation of Arabia during wetter periods are known from the timeframe between 240 and 190 ka and between c. 60 and 50 ka and include sites in Saudi Arabia 25-27 , Yemen 28 and Oman 29. The archaeological record securely predating c. 240 ka is not well developed,
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.
Journal of Late Antique, Islamic and Byzantine Studies 3.1–2, 2024
Establishing plausible causal associations between the impact of climate and/or environment and past human societies presents many challenges, as the case of the decline of the S. Arabian kingdom of Himyar in the sixth century CE indicates. Evidence from a new high-resolution stalagmite record for the last 2,600 years shows that a period of drought in the early sixth century, hardly mentioned in the sources, was of unusual duration and severity. We argue that, while this likely contributed to undermine the sociopolitical resilience of Himyar and thus contributed to the societal changes in the region from the 520s to the late sixth/early seventh century, identifying the exact causal relationships involved is fraught with difficulty.