Plant, pigment, and bone processing in the Neolithic of northern Arabia-New evidence from Use-wear analysis of grinding tools at Jebel Oraf

Archaeological sites with surface hearths are a ubiquitous feature across the arid zones of the Arabian interior. At Jebel Oraf, in the Jubbah basin of the Nefud Desert of northern Arabia, numerous grinding stone fragments were found in association with hearths, though the original purpose of these stones was unclear owing to the poor preservation of faunal and botanic remains. Here we describe results from use-wear analysis on five grinding tools at Jebel Oraf, demonstrating that such artefacts were used during the Neolithic for plant processing, bone processing, and pigment production. Grinding stones were often broken up after initial use and fragments were subsequently re-used for alternative purposes, before finally being placed on hearths or discarded. More specifically, plants were ground or prepared and possibly cooked in the hearths, and bones were processed as well. The analyses also highlight the importance of pigment processing at Neolithic sites and provide a link to painted rock art. The frequent use of pigment in the archaeological record suggests that pigment was widely used, and that Neolithic painted art may have been more common than the surviving images suggest

The Palaeolithic of the northern Red Sea — new investigations in Tabuk and Al-Jawf provinces, Saudi Arabia

The land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula is one of the major routes proposed for hominin dispersal out of Africa for both Homo erectus and H. sapiens populations, and its neighbouring regions are, therefore, key to understanding these dispersals. Directly adjacent to the land bridge, the Saudi Arabian northern Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba coastlines have, until now, been subject to only rapid survey for Palaeolithic archaeology in the 1970s–80s, locating a handful of Palaeolithic artefacts. A twelve-day reconnaissance survey was undertaken by a Saudi-UK team along the northern Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba coast in February 2018 for Palaeolithic artefacts, the results of which are presented in this paper. Thirty-four locations were surveyed, across a range of landscape settings, the majority yielding Acheulean and prepared-core technology lithic artefacts, traditionally ascribed to Homo erectus and H. sapiens populations in Arabia respectively. These observations, while descriptive and necessarily brief, identify a previously undocumented record of Palaeolithic archaeology in a largely unexplored part of Saudi Arabia. The landscape settings in which artefacts were observed provide a geomorphological framework for locating Palaeolithic material in future surveys to realize the potential of the region to understand hominin dispersals from Africa into Arabia and beyond

Blue Arabia : Palaeolithic and Underwater Survey in SW Saudi Arabia and the Role of Coasts in Pleistocene Dispersal

The role of coastal regions and coastlines in the dispersal of human populations from Africa and across the globe has been highlighted by the recent polarisation between coastal and interior models. The debate has been clouded by the use of the single term ‘coastal dispersal’ to embrace what is in fact a wide spectrum of possibilities, ranging from seafaring populations who spend most of their time at sea living off marine resources, to land-based populations in coastal regions with little or no reliance on marine foods. An additional complicating factor is the fact of Pleistocene and early Holocene sea-level change, which exposed an extensive coastal region that is now submerged, and may have afforded very different conditions from the modern coastal environment. We examine these factors in the Arabian context and use the term ‘Blue’ to draw attention to the fertile coastal rim of the Arabian Peninsula, and to the now submerged offshore landscape, which is especially extensive in some regions. We further emphasise that the attractions of the coastal rim are a product of two quite different factors, ecological diversity and abundant water on land, which have created persistently ‘Green’ conditions throughout the vagaries of Pleistocene climate change in some coastal regions, especially along parts of the western Arabian escarpment, and potentially productive marine environments around its coastline, which include some of the most fertile in the world. We examine the interplay of these factors in the Southwest region of Saudi Arabia and the southern Red Sea, and summarise some of the results of recent DISPERSE field investigations, including survey for Palaeolithic sites on the mainland, and underwater survey of the continental shelf in the vicinity of the Farasan Islands. We conclude that coastlines are neither uniformly attractive nor uniformly marginal to human dispersal, that they offer diverse opportunities that were spatially and temporally variable at scales from the local to the continental, and that investigating Blue Arabia in relation to its episodically Green interior is a key factor in the fuller understanding of long-term human population dynamics within Arabia and their global implications

Humid phases on the southwestern Arabian Peninsula are consistent with the last two interglacials

Past environmental and climatic conditions within the Arabian Peninsula are key to understanding the setting for hominin dispersal across the Saharo-Arabian dryland belt. The tufa deposits within the volcanic harrats on the southwest coast of Saudi Arabia fill a significant spatial gap in the distribution of palaeoenvironmental records on the west coast of the Arabian Peninsula adjacent to the Red Sea. In the catchment of Wadi Dabsa in the Harrat Al Birk, there are widespread fossil palustrine to shallow-lacustrine tufa deposits with fluvial elements. Several phases of tufa accumulation, separated by fluvial downcutting, are observable within these powerful palaeoenvironmental proxies. U–Th dating of targeted dense, banded tufa facies, yield ages that are stratigraphically consistent at the landscape scale, and indicate that tufa accumulation occurred during distinct humid phases broadly coeval with the last two warm interglacial Marine Isotope Stages (MIS 7 and MIS 5). For the first time this shows humid intervals in southwest Arabia coincident with the southern coast. There is a simlar pattern emerging further north in the Arabian Peninsula, The Sinai and Levant and further on into continental Europe. Furthermore, tufa δ18O ranges from −14.6 to −1.9‰, covering a range similar to those reported for tufa from north African oasis sites and speleothems elsewhere on the Arabian Peninsula and The Levant. The lowest δ18O values are derived from MIS 5e samples, a pattern in agreement with speleothems in Yemen and Oman, and consistent with an isotopic-enabled climate model simulation for this time slice. The δ13C and Sr isotopic compositions of dated tufa samples indicate deposition from shallow-circulating meteoric water, with no geothermal influence. This, along with the δ18O values, suggest a freshwater supply that was a potable water source in this landscape. The δ13C signatures at Wadi Dabsa are more negative than for parts of north Africa, suggesting Wadi Dabsa may have experienced comparatively higher biomass, thicker soils and wetter conditions with lower evaporative losses. This new record of tufa deposition during the middle and late Pleistocene, suggests for the first time that the west coast of Arabia experienced a similar history of humid phases over the past 250 ka as southern Arabia and the Nefud in the northern interior. These regional changes in hydroclimatic regime occur at timescales coincident with hominin dispersals

Investigating the Palaeolithic Landscapes and Archaeology of the Jizan and Asir Regions, Southwestern Saudi Arabia

The archaeology of the Arabian Peninsula is pivotal to understanding the timing and mode of dispersals of hominin populations from Africa, with growing evidence supporting a Southern Route across the Hanish Sill in the Southern Red Sea. Yet, despite recent key discoveries, our understanding of the hominin occupation of the peninsula remains patchy. This situation is particularly marked in coastal Southwestern Saudi Arabia, a region key in dispersal debates given its proximity to the proposed Southern Route. Identification of the routes and conditions of hominin dispersals from Africa has focussed on reconstructing broad-scale climatic and vegetation zones. Yet physical landscapes are also critical to palaeoenvironmental reconstruction at the local scale. They can moderate or amplify climatic influence, and modify the distribution of plant and animal resources. The DISPERSE project aims to develop systematic methods for reconstructing Palaeolithic landscapes at a variety of geographical scales, and their impact on patterns of human evolution and dispersal. This paper reports the preliminary results of archaeological and geomorphological survey carried out in February-March 2013 in the Jizan and Asir regions, Southwestern Saudi Arabia. Satellite imagery was used to identify areas of potential preservation and visibility of Palaeolithic sites, as well as key geomorphological features to inform landscape reconstruction. ESA, MSA and potentially later artefacts were recorded at a number of locations and geographical settings in the region. These sites are placed within the developing model of landscape evolution, and preliminary hypotheses of hominin landscape use and technological aspects are outlined. These hypotheses will be tested through future survey seasons, ultimately allowing assessment of the factors controlling human occupation and dispersal