The expansion of Acheulean hominins into the Nefud Desert of Arabia

Eleanor M L Scerri,Paul S Breeze,Nick Drake,Ian Candy,Tom S White,Huw S Groucutt,Ash Parton,Simon J Armitage,Michael D Petraglia,Marine Frouin,Abdullah M Alsharekh

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-89489-6

Abstract

The Arabian Peninsula is a critical geographic landmass situated between Africa and the rest of Eurasia. Climatic shifts across the Pleistocene periodically produced wetter conditions in Arabia, dramatically altering the spatial distribution of hominins both within and between continents. This is particularly true of Acheulean hominins, who appear to have been more tethered to water sources than Middle Palaeolithic hominins. However, until recently, chrono-cultural knowledge of the Acheulean of Arabia has been limited to one dated site, which indicated a hominin presence in Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 7–6. Here, we report the first dated Acheulean site from the Nefud Desert of northern Saudi Arabia, together with palaeoecological evidence for an associated deep, probably fresh-water, lake. The site of An Nasim features varied and often finely flaked façonnage handaxes. Luminescence ages together with geomorphological and palaeoecological evidence indicates that the associated artefacts date to MIS 9. At present, An Nasim represents the oldest yet documented Acheulean sites in Arabia, and adds to a growing picture of regionally diverse stone tool assemblages used by Middle Pleistocene hominins, and likely indicative of repeated population re-entry into the peninsula in wet ‘Green Arabia’ phases.

Highlights

The Arabian Peninsula is a critical geographic landmass situated between Africa and the rest of Eurasia
An Nasim represents the oldest yet documented Acheulean sites in Arabia, and adds to a growing picture of regionally diverse stone tool assemblages used by Middle Pleistocene hominins, and likely indicative of repeated population re-entry into the peninsula in wet ‘Green Arabia’ phases
The Arabian Peninsula in particular is situated at a critical nexus within the Saharo-Arabian arid belt, and research has demonstrated that this region experienced dramatic environmental oscillations that periodically transformed ecological and hydrological barriers across continents[11,14,15,16,17]

Summary

Introduction

The Arabian Peninsula is a critical geographic landmass situated between Africa and the rest of Eurasia. Elsewhere in Arabia, highly symmetrical and finely trimmed façonnage handaxes have been reported, from palaeolake deposits in the Nefud Desert of northwest Saudi Arabia[21] These are diverse lithic assemblages, ranging from Micoquian-type handaxes to a variety of triangular, sub-triangular and ovate forms ranging in size from ~ 7 cm in length to ~ 20 cm or more[21]. On the basis of their fine-flaking and symmetrical forms, the smallest handaxes were hypothesised to be late, perhaps even representing a transitional phase between the Lower and Middle P alaeolithic[21] While their riverine and lacustrine associations point to significantly wetter conditions, until recently, no handaxe assemblages in the Nefud Desert were closely associated with dated sediment deposits that permitted chronometric assignment. Little is known about the local climatic and environmental conditions that prevailed during different humid phases in a ‘Green Arabia’, and the extent to which they influenced the presence and behaviour of hominin populations

Results

Discussion

Conclusion