Abstract
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.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1555-1559 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS |
Volume | 30 |
Issue number | 13-14 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jun 2011 |
Keywords
- Paleolithic
- Paleolake
- Arabia
- Optically stimulated luminescence
- MODERN HUMAN ORIGINS
- EARLY-MODERN HUMANS
- HOMO-SAPIENS
- AFRICA
- PLEISTOCENE
- QUATERNARY
- CLIMATE
- SPELEOTHEMS
- DISPERSAL
- EVOLUTION