Understanding the evolution of the Holocene Pluvial Phase and its impact on Neolithic populations in south‐east Arabia

Abstract

The early to mid‐Holocene has long been recognised as a period of wetter climate with widespread lacustrine development and vegetation expansion throughout south‐east Arabia. Recent palaeoclimate data has, however, transformed our understanding of the Holocene Pluvial Phase (HPP) and evidence presented in this paper demonstrates that climate was neither homogeneous during the period, nor were shifts between pluvial and arid episodes synchronous across the region. This dynamic setting provided the backdrop for human expansion during the Neolithic, and in turn raises important questions about the interactions between these populations and the natural environment in south‐east Arabia.