Reconnaissance of Prehistoric Sites on the Red Sea Coast of Eritrea, NE Africa

Abstract

A surface reconnaissance was conducted for prehistoric sites along the Gulf of Zula and the Buri Peninsula, on the Red Sea coast of Eritrea. The sites, found in a wide range of geomorphological Settings, belong mainly to Middle Stone Age, Late Stone Age and Neolithic cultural phases. A few Acheulian bifaces were also documented from eroding surfaces. The different contexts suggest intermittent occupation of the area during Late Pleistocene and Holocene times. Middle Stone Age and Late Stone Age sites in close proximity to the present coastline support a model of coastal adaptation by early humans during the Late Pleistocene. Such coastally-adapted humans are thought to have been source populations for human dispersal into Eurasia across the Bab al-Mandab Strait (southern Red Sea).