A Nubian Complex Site from Central Arabia: Implications for Levallois Taxonomy and Human Dispersals during the Upper Pleistocene

Rémy Crassard,Yamandú Hieronymus Hilbert,Luísa Maria Sousa Mesquita Pereira

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0069221

Rémy Crassard, Yamandú Hieronymus Hilbert + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0069221

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Abstract

Archaeological survey undertaken in central Saudi Arabia has revealed 29 surface sites attributed to the Arabian Middle Paleolithic based on the presence of Levallois blank production methods. Technological analyses on cores retrieved from Al-Kharj 22 have revealed specific reduction modalities used to produce flakes with predetermined shapes. The identified modalities, which are anchored within the greater Levallois concept of core convexity preparation and exploitation, correspond with those utilized during the Middle Stone Age Nubian Complex of northeast Africa and southern Arabia. The discovery of Nubian technology at the Al-Kharj 22 site represents the first appearance of this blank production method in central Arabia. Here we demonstrate how a rigorous use of technological and taxonomic analysis may enable intra-regional comparisons across the Arabian Peninsula. The discovery of Al-Kharj 22 increases the complexity of the Arabian Middle Paleolithic archaeological record and suggests new dynamics of population movements between the southern and central regions of the Peninsula. This study also addresses the dichotomy within Nubian core typology (Types 1 and 2), which was originally defined for African assemblages.

Highlights

The Arabian Middle PaleolithicComprehensive studies of the Arabian Middle Paleolithic are relatively recent, compared to the more established research traditions of Europe, south and east Africa or the Mediterranean Levant
Dated Levallois occurrences are known from various parts of the Arabian Peninsula, namely southwestern Yemen [6], [16], the Emirate of Sharjah [11], southern Oman [12], [20] and northern Saudi Arabia [14], [15], where different types of Levallois reduction have been observed among Arabian Middle Paleolithic assemblages [27,28,29]
Given that the majority of surface scatters identified across the Arabian Peninsula are located in the vicinity of prominent raw material sources [2], [5], [12], [92], [93], these habitually form across considerable chronological depth, often presenting a mixture of diverse typological and technological elements pertaining to diverse lithic industries

Summary

Introduction

The Arabian Middle PaleolithicComprehensive studies of the Arabian Middle Paleolithic are relatively recent, compared to the more established research traditions of Europe, south and east Africa or the Mediterranean Levant. This plasticity in core dorsal surface preparation was acknowledged by Crassard and Thiebaut [27], who differentiate five methods of point production based on Nubian cores from the Hadramawt region in Yemen. Given that the majority of surface scatters identified across the Arabian Peninsula are located in the vicinity of prominent raw material sources [2], [5], [12], [92], [93], these habitually form across considerable chronological depth, often presenting a mixture of diverse typological and technological elements pertaining to diverse lithic industries.

Results

Conclusion