Multiple phases of human occupation in Southeast Arabia between 210,000 and 120,000 years ago

Changing climatic conditions are thought to be a major control of human presence in Arabia during the Paleolithic. Whilst the Pleistocene archaeological record shows that periods of increased monsoon rainfall attracted human occupation and led to increased population densities, the impact of arid conditions on human populations in Arabia remains largely speculative. Here, we present data from Jebel Faya in Southeast (SE) Arabia, which document four periods of human occupation between c. 210,000 and 120,000 years ago. The Jebel Faya record indicates that human occupation of SE Arabia was more regular and not exclusively linked to major humid periods. Our data show that brief phases of increased rainfall additionally enabled human settlement in the Faya region. These results imply that the mosaic environments in SE Arabia have likely formed a population refugia at the end of the Middle and the beginning of the Late Pleistocene.

Jebel Faya and the Middle to Late Pleistocene Transition: Settlement Continuity and Behavioural Flexibility

Abstract. Research suggests that human occupation of Arabia during the Middle and Late Pleistocene (ca 770–12 ka) is largely determined by climate change and restricted to relatively short windows of opportunity during periods of increased precipitation. Questions arise about how human behavioural evolution has factored into the Palaeolithic settlement of Arabia. The scarcity of well-dated and deeply stratified archaeological records covering relevant time periods, however, hinders illuminating this aspect. We present diachronic evidence from Jebel Faya, United Arab Emirates, demonstrating increasing behavioural flexibility and technological continuity at the Middle to Late Pleistocene transition (ca 210–120 ka). We argue that these observations provide support for models considering the existence of population refugia on the Arabian Peninsula. Our results contrast with the prevailing dichotomous view of human presence during humid phases and absence in arid phases. While not denying the importance of climate change for shaping human history in Arabia, we contend that human occupation of southeast Arabia is more continuous than previously thought. We also argue that behavioural evolution is an additional factor that should be considered in models of Pleistocene human occupation of Arabia as well as to gain a better understanding of the global expansion process of our species.Résumé. Les chercheurs suggèrent que l’occupation humaine de l’Arabie au Pléistocène moyen et tardif (vers 770-12 ka) est largement déterminée par le changement climatique et limitée à des fenêtres d’opportunité relativement courtes pendant les périodes de précipitations accrues. Des questions se posent sur la manière dont l’évolution du comportement humain a influencé le peuplement paléolithique de l’Arabie. La rareté des archives archéologiques bien datées et profondément stratifiées couvrant les périodes pertinentes empêche cependant d’éclairer cet aspect. Nous présentons des preuves diachroniques provenant de Jebel Faya, aux Émirats arabes unis, qui démontrent une flexibilité comportementale croissante et une continuité technologique lors de la transition entre le Pléistocène moyen et le Pléistocène supérieur (vers 210-120 ka). Nous soutenons que ces observations appuient les modèles envisageant l’existence de refuges dans la péninsule arabique. Nos résultats contrastent avec la vision prédominante dichotomique d’une présence humaine pendant les phases humides et de son absence pendant les phases arides. Sans nier l’importance du changement climatique dans le façonnement de l’histoire humaine en Arabie, nous soutenons que l’occupation humaine du sud-est de l’Arabie est plus continue qu’on ne le pensait auparavant. Nous soutenons également que l’évolution comportementale est un facteur supplémentaire qui devrait être pris en compte dans les modèles d’occupation humaine pléistocène de l’Arabie ainsi que pour mieux comprendre le processus d’expansion globale de notre espèce

Editors’ Foreword

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