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Recent advances in interdisciplinary archaeological research in Arabia have focused on the evolution and historical development of regional human populations as well as the diverse patterns of cultural change, migration, and adaptations to environmental fluctuations. Obtaining a comprehensive understanding of cultural developments such as the emergence and lifeways of Neolithic groups has been hindered by the limited preservation of stratified archaeological assemblages and organic remains, a common challenge in arid environments. Underground settings like caves and lava tubes, which are prevalent in Arabia but which have seen limited scientific exploration, offer promising opportunities for addressing these issues. Here, we report on an archaeological excavation and a related survey at and around Umm Jirsan lava tube in the Harrat Khaybar, north-western Saudi Arabia. Our results reveal repeated phases of human occupation of the site ranging from at least the Neolithic through to the Chalcolithic/Bronze Age. Pastoralist use of the lava tube and surrounding landscape is attested in rock art and faunal records, suggesting that Umm Jirsan was situated along a pastoral route linking key oases. Isotopic data indicates that herbivores primarily grazed on wild grasses and shrubs rather than being provided with fodder, while humans had a diet consistently high in protein but with increasing consumption of C3 plants through-time, perhaps related to the emergence of oasis agriculture. While underground and naturally sheltered localities are globally prominent in archaeology and Quaternary science, our work represents the first such combined records for Saudi Arabia and highlight the potential for interdisciplinary studies in caves and lava tubes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we seek to integrate theories of music origins and dance with hominin fossil anatomy and the paleoecological contexts of hominin evolution. Based on the association between rhythm in music, dance and locomotion, we propose that early bipedal hominins may have evolved neurobiological substrates different from other great apes due to the rhythmic aspects of bipedal walking and running. Combined with the emancipation of the hands resulting from erect posture, we propose that the neurobiological changes necessary for technological innovation, cultural practices and human musical abilities may have evolved, at least in incipient form, much earlier than previously thought. The consequent ability to synchronize movement and sound production may have also proved beneficial as early bipedal hominins ventured out of late Miocene and early Pliocene woodland and forested habitats and into more open habitats with increased predation risk. We also postulate that, along with bipedalism, paedomorphic morphogenesis of the skull at the base of the hominin clade was a necessary prerequisite for the evolution of vocal modulation and singing in later varieties of hominin. To date research into the evolution of music and dance has yet to be integrated with the fossil and paleoecological evidence of early hominin evolution. This paper seeks to fill this lacuna in the extant literature on human evolution. We also suggest that autocatalytic feedback loops evolving synergistically with hominin erect posture, skull and hand morphology, neurochemical processes and the self-domestication syndrome, have been operative from early hominins some 6 Ma to the present. We document this process by reference to primatological, ethnographic, neurochemical and archaeological data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the part of human nature to explore new locations, to study interesting landscapes, archeology and cultures, and to visit holy and religious sites. Travelling and journey are highly recommended by the Glorious Qur'an. Allah asked us to travel through the earth to take the lessons from His creation. Islam is a complete code of life. Islam spread due to the tourists from North Africa to the Middle East, and from Arabia to China. It is a well-established fact that Islam guide day-to-day activities whether at home or travelling.it recognizes people's right to move from one place to other and encourages travelling for beneficial purposes like health and medication, education, business, trade, entertainment, and fun. learning new things and personal enrichment have both been found to be motivators and desired benefits of travel But It has been proposed that all travel is educational because it broadens the mind and heart as people learn from and interpret experiences. Travelling improves person's knowledge gained from books. Ideas hit when people travel in different places. The mental prospect is broadened. It makes us open-minded in thought. It expands outlook of people. This paper will describe the educative outcomes and benefits of travel. First, meaning and etymology of travel will be defined. than link between traveling and learning benefits will be established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For over a decade, the French mission 'Archaeology of the Arabian Seashores' has been exploring the evolution of the Omani coastline, from hunter–gatherers to the rise of complex societies during the crucial passages from the culmination of the Pleistocene to the Early Bronze Age, passing through the Neolithic. The team extensively surveyed the land spreading from the eastern head of Arabia, Ra's al‐Hadd and Ra's al‐Jinz, to the last villages of Dhofar, including Masirah Island and the Hallaniyyat archipelago, covering 1000 km. Most Final Palaeolithic, Neolithic and Early Bronze Age sites were tested or excavated. A multidisciplinary approach that involves the joint work of archaeologists and geologists was chosen to include the contribution of environmental factors to modifying the equilibriums between the natural environment and human communities through the study of climatic and eustatic fluctuations. The project provided a substantive perspective on the evolution of maritime communities between 10,000 and 2000 bce. Moreover, an interdisciplinary and multiscalar approach for describing and analysing the change in the material culture of this region made it possible to transcend the traditional typology and examine the role of human communities' interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

{AR}تركزت العديد من مواقع الاستيطان البشرى التى تنتمى إلى العصر الحجرى الأوسط، في إريتريا نظرًا للأهمية المحورية لموقعها على ساحل البحر الأحمر، ومنها "عبدور" و"أسفت"، والتى كانتا بمثابة نقطة انطلاق للإنسان القديم من أفريقيا إلى شبه الجزيرة العربية منذ أقدم العصور. تستهدف هذه الورقة البحثية دراسة الصلات الحضارية بين إريتريا وشبه الجزيرة العربية في العصر الحجرى الأوسط اعتمادًا على تحليل المعلومات المستمدة من السجل البشرى الأحفورى، ودراسة الجينات البشرية والأحماض النووية ومدى¬ اختلاطها بين هؤلاء البشر، ومقارنة الأدوات الحجرية التى عثر عليها في كلا المنطقتين ومدى تشابهها، وعلى الرغم من ندرة البقايا الأحفورية للإنسان العاقل في شبه الجزيرة العربية؛ إلا أن مجموعات الأدوات الحجرية التى عثر عليها في بعض المواقع مثل جبل فايا١ بالإمارات العربية المتحدة ومنطقة ظفار بعمان وجبل قطار1 بصحراء النفوذ بالمملكة العربية السعودية وشيعبة دحية١ باليمن شكلت جميعها سجلًا أثريًا قدم معلومات مهمة حول توقيت الانتشار وتوزيع المهن وتطور السلوك البشرى، وأظهرت أوجه التشابه التقنية والنمطية بين هذه الأدوات، ولكن لا زالت الحاجة إلى مزيد من الاكتشافات الجديدة والأدلة الأثرية للتأكيد على أن هذا التشابه الحضارى نتج عن الانتشار المبكر للبشر عبر هذه المناطق وليس مجرد تشابهًا في التكيف مع ظروف بيئية مماثلة {EN} As for the pivotal importance of Eritrea's location in east Africa on the Red Sea coast; It included many human settlement sites belonging to the Middle Stone Age (MSA), such as Abdur and Asfet. This research aims to study the civilized links between Eritrea and the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle Stone Age, based on analysis of the information which was derived from the human fossil record, tudying the human genes and the extent of their mixing between these humans. And compare the stone tools that were found in the two regions and their similarity. Although the fossil specimens of Homo sapiens in the Arabian Peninsula are rare there are groups of stone tools that were found in some sites such as Jebel Faya 1 in the United Arab Emirates, the Dhofar region in Oman, the Nefud desert in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Shi’bat Dihya in Yemen. All formed an archaeological record that provided important information about the timing of migrations and the distribution of occupations of the first humans. It showed technical and pattern similarities between these tools, but more evidence and archaeological discoveries are still needed to emphasize that this cultural similarity resulted from the early dispersal of humans across these regions and not simply a similarity in adaptation to similar environmental conditions.

Remote-sensing analysis of open-source satellite imagery has identified a major, new distribution of undocumented hunting kite structures in northern Arabia. This new data has important implications on the environmental viability of hunting and on possible settlement patterns during the early and middle Holocene. Running across the eastern side of the Nafud Desert in Saudi Arabia, this research has identified star-shaped kites in a distribution that continues on to southern Iraq. From a broader perspective, this new distribution appears to represent a continuation of the well-known arc of kites recorded running principally through southern Syria and eastern Jordan. As well as representing an important archaeological identification in its own right, this new distribution also has important implications in terms of the paleoenvironment of the region, faunal dispersals and human cultural connections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landscape archaeology, as a type of research based on a systemic surface survey and that results in quantifiable datasets of high quality, has started to be practiced in southeastern Arabia only in recent years. In this paper, I will briefly review the short history of landscape archaeology in the area and its relevance. I will then present the approach and methods used in the Wadi al Jizzi Archaeological Project and discuss some of the results obtained to discuss both the potential and problems of the data that the project generated. In particular, I will focus on ephemeral sites and assemblages, data quality and data representativity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Ar] رؤية جديدة لآثار موقع الرجاجيل يقع موقع الرجاجيل الغامض على بعد 10 كيلومترات جنوب غرب سكاكا فى منطقة الجوف بالمملكة العربية السعودية. تضم آثار الموقع 54 مجموعة منفصلة من أعمدة الحجر الرملى المحلية التي تتكون من أكوام دائرية بسيطة من الصخور المهشمة. لا يُعرف سوى القليل عن آثار الرجاجيل، التى تعود إلى العصر الحجرى الحديث والعصر النحاسى (حوالى 6500 إلى 2800 قبل الميلاد)، لأن البحث فى ثقافات الرجاجيل لا يزال فى مراحله الأولى. نظرًا لندرة المصادر، حاول كل باحث تفسير هذا الموقع الحجري بشكل منفصل دون ربطه بالآراء الأخرى. لذا ترسم الورقة البحثية سيناريو يمكن أن يربط بين الوظائف المقترحة واختفاء حضارة الموقع من الولادة إلى الموت من خلال نقطتين: أولاً، يمثل موقع الرجاجيل مستوطنة محلية تضم العديد من المبانى للإسكان والعبادة والأنشطة المدنية. غيّر الرعاة الذين استقروا فى الموقع أسلوب حياتهم من «الرعى» إلى «الواحة». ثانيًا، أدى التغير المناخى الشديد إلى تدهور الموقع بسبب انتشار الجفاف والتصحر تدريجيًا. كما خلفت عاصفة قوية مفترضة الدمار فى منطقة موقع الرجاجيل. فقد سقطت مبانى الموقع فى العاصفة وتضررت إلى أجزاء، كما يمكننا رؤيتها كأكوام حجرية بشكل منفصل فى الموقع. قد تكون هذه الأسباب قد أجبرت السكان على الهجرة من موقع الرجاجيل إلى منطقة أخرى. فى وقت لاحق، قام بعض المسافرين أو البدو المحليين بالتخييم فى الموقع وإعادة استخدام بعض الأعمدة الحجرية كأعمدة خيام (منازل البدو) بينما أعادت استخدام الأعمدة الأخرى كشواهد قبور. فقد عانى موقع الرجاجيل فى أوقات غير معروفة من حرائق عشبية ضخمة، اعتيادية فى المنطقة. يروى موقع الرجاجيل القصة الحقيقية لميلاد وموت حضارة محلية عاشت فى صمت صحراء شبه الجزيرة العربية. [En]The enigmatic site of Rajajil is located precisely 10 km southwest of Sakaka in the Jawf region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The site monuments include fifty-four separated groups of local sandstone pillars comprising simple circular heaps of damaged boulders. Little is known about the Rajajil monuments, which date from the Neolithic and Chalcolithic eras (c. 6500 to 2800 BC), because research into the Rajajil Cultures is still in its early stages. Due to the scarcity of source material, every scholar tried to interpret this megalithic site separately without connecting it with the other views. The paper draws a scenario that could connect the suggested functions and the disappearance of the site's civilization from birth to death through two points: First, the Rajajil site represented a domestic settlement comprising many buildings for housing, worshipping, and civil activities. The shepherds who settled on the site changed their lifestyle from «pastoralization» to «oasisisation». Second, drastic climate change has led to the site's decline because of gradually spreading dryness and aridity. A supposed powerful storm left a trail of devastation in the area of the Rajajil site. The site buildings fell in the storm and were damaged into pieces, as we can see them as cairns separately in the location. Such reasons may have forced the settlers to migrate from the Rajajil site to another area. Later, some travellers or local Bedouins camped the site and reused some stone pillars as tent poles (Bedouins houses) while the other pillars were reused as gravestones. Rajajil suffered from massive grass fires, typical for the area, at unknown times. The Rajajil site tells the true story of the birth and death of a local civilisation that lived in the desert's silence of the Arabian Peninsula.

The Saudi General Department of Antiquities and Museums in 1988 discovered six collective burials at the so-called industrial site "Sanaᶜiye" in Tayma. An Egyptian-style scarab with an inscription of the name of the god Amun was found on the site. The excavation report neglected to study this scarab, its presence in these burials, and its purpose. This scarab was not the only object representing the Egyptian influence, as a Wadjet-eye amulet accompanied it. The report itself has failed to describe and date these objects. The significance of this study is clarified by historically contextualising the data to identify the function of this scarab. Indeed, in Egypt, this object tended to be used as a seal or as a protection amulet. Both functions are considered as the scarab only bears the signs of the name Amun. In addition, this paper attempted to determine the scarab’s date, identifying it to be the reigns of Ramesses III or his successor at the latest. This reflects the Egyptian presence in the Late Ramesside era, in the northwest of the Arabian Peninsula.

The absence of large archaeological settlements in the Eastern Arabian Peninsula suggests that most of the recent wet periods occurring during climate oscillations in these areas were short-lived. However, a ∼ 2-by-3-km buried rectangular feature was discovered opportunistically in the southeast of the Qatar Peninsula while performing radar subsurface mapping of structural conduits for groundwater characterization. The feature is characterized by its unique contrasting patterns of surface and subsurface roughness as well as its organic-rich mixture of soils, as assessed from high-resolution radar and multispectral observations, respectively, and validated with GPR and EM subsurface probing. The above characteristics could be the only remaining evidence for a large primitive settlement due to the harsh erosive setting. To explore the natural or anthropogenic origin of this anomalous feature, we compare its dimensions, structural setting, roughness, and composition to similar formations in the Qatar Peninsula and other arid karst environments. Findings suggest that the feature is texturally and compositionally unique within the Qatar Peninsula, and is not reproduced in other arid karst terrains nor reproduced by the fracture patterns associated with the Qatar-South Fars Arch. We hypothesize that the feature is a karst depression modified by semi-stationary primitive human settlements ∼ 3640 BP or earlier based on radiocarbon dating of in-situ charcoal samples. Moreover, the organic-rich mixture of soil and the occurrence of several symmetrical features observed inside the perimeter suggest that landscaping, farming and irrigation activities could have occurred within the site, further suggesting that long-lasting wet conditions—with sufficient fresh water resources or reliance on karst aquifers—were able to sustain a relatively large primitive settlement not previously witnessed in the region's archaeological record. Future improvements in the resolution and coverage of orbital L-band radar observations, as used above, can provide new insights into understanding prehistoric human occupation under fluctuating climatic conditions and groundwater dynamics in these hyper-arid regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The monumental stone structures of the Arabian Peninsula have been notoriously difficult to date. Due to their visibility in the landscape, they have suffered from extensive robbing and later reuse, which has compromised dating methodologies. In particular, our understanding of when the elaborate "pendants" (also known as "tailed cairns" or "tailed tower tombs") of north‐west Arabia were first constructed has remained incomplete. Recent work undertaken by the Aerial Archaeology in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – Khaybar project provides some of the first radiometric dates for the pendants of Saudi Arabia. These structures can now be dated as far back as the third millennium BCE, revealing for the first time a hitherto undocumented, large‐scale, monumental funerary landscape dating to the Early Bronze Age. These radiocarbon dates bring the advent of the pendant building tradition in line with funerary developments across the wider Arabian Peninsula, and may mark a profound reconfiguring of the wider Harrat Khaybar landscape during the third millennium BCE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates the motif of bull ׳s heads in the arts of some areas of civilizations of the Arabian Peninsula .It deals with the religious and civilizational connotations of their representation, in the civilizations of the Arabian Peninsula, such as the Dilmun civilization on the west coast of the Arabian Gulf; as well as the civilizations of western and southern Arabia. The article will discuss also the possible impact of some civilizations of the Near East especially Mesopotamia, on the Arabian Peninsula in the representation of this motif and its various uses. The date of research is during period from the third millennium B.C. until the end of the first millennium BC. One of the difficulties of research is that the religious significance of the bulls in the arts of Arabian Peninsula cannot be separated from the reverence of the bull itself. The bull considered as a symbol of power and fertilization, especially in agricultural environments. It was also one of the most important animals produced, besides that it was a symbol of the presidency and monarchy.

Iron Age II is considered the classical period of the Iron Age (figure: 2(1) ). This period shows sudden increase in distribution and diversification in settlement pattern, in South-eastern Arabia (2) . The settlements during this period expanded to include inland (3) , mountains (4) and coastal sites (5) . Settlements became more diverse to include non-residential architecture. An appearance of irrigation technology (Falaj) along with camel domestication coincides with this increase. This increase was accompanied by regional (6) (between the varied types of settlements) and transregional contact (with south Arabia) and goods exchange(7) (8) (9) The layout, the location, the structure and the material culture excavated from this period reflects a complex community (10) (11) . This manifested in the appearance of a belief system related to both irrigation and bronze production (the snake cult) (12) , specialized labour in pottery (13) , metal production (14) (15) and administration systems (16) , fortification structures related to the agriculture activity (17) , symbolic (axe heads on the stamp seals) and prestigious goods for elites(18) . This paper argues that irrigation technology was responsible for creating a social elite class. This class was responsible for cyclic production, the expansion and the diversification of settlement patterns using the domestication of the camel.

Between 10 and six thousand years ago the Arabian Peninsula saw the most recent of the 'Green Arabia' periods, when increased rainfall transformed this generally arid region. The transition to the Neolithic in Arabia occurred during this period of climatic amelioration. Various forms of stone structures are abundant in northern Arabia, and it has been speculated that some of these dated to the Neolithic, but there has been little research on their character and chronology. Here we report a study of 104 'mustatil' stone structures from the southern margins of the Nefud Desert in northern Arabia. We provide the first chronometric age estimate for this type of structure – a radiocarbon date of ca. 5000 BC – and describe their landscape positions, architecture and associated material culture and faunal remains. The structure we have dated is the oldest large-scale stone structure known from the Arabian Peninsula. The mustatil phenomenon represents a remarkable development of monumental architecture, as hundreds of these structures were built in northwest Arabia. This 'monumental landscape' represents one of the earliest large-scale forms of monumental stone structure construction anywhere in the world. Further research is needed to understand the function of these structures, but we hypothesise that they were related to rituals in the context of the adoption of pastoralism and resulting territoriality in the challenging environments of northern Arabia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent interdisciplinary archaeological and paleoenvironmental research in the Arabian peninsula is transforming our understanding of ancient human societies in their ecological contexts. Hypotheses about the cultural and demographic impacts of a series of droughts have primarily been developed from the environmental and archaeological records of southeastern Arabia. Here we examine these human-environment interactions by integrating ongoing research from northern Arabia. While droughts and extreme environmental variability in the Holocene had significant impacts on human societies, responses varied across space and time and included mobility at various scales, as well as diverse social, economic and cultural adaptations, such as the management of water resources, the introduction of pastoral lifeways, and the construction of diverse types of stone structures. The long-term story of human societies in Arabia is one of resilience in the face of climate change, yet future challenges include rising temperatures and flash flooding. The history of human responses to climatic and ecosystem changes in Arabia can provide important lessons for a planet facing catastrophic global warming and environmental change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The assemblage of personal adornments made of various materials, excavated from the archaeological site of Inqitat (Al Hamr al-Sharqiya) in the Khor Rori area (Dhofar) in the 2016 and 2017 seasons, spans the entire period of occupation of the site from prehistoric times through the Islamic period. Its significance stems from the location of Inqitat near Sumhuram and its socio-political setting. The use of specific stones suggests links with the Gulf and the eastern Indian Ocean. Furthermore, the discovery of tools used for bead-making demonstrates the existence of a local craft in the case of at least some of the adornments. The long occupation of the site could help to identify typical materials for each period, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of the Dhofar area and its international connections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports briefly on the results of a short reconnaissance at the site of Qumayrah–Ayn 2 (QA 2), a new prehistoric site located in a poorly studied part of the Qumayrah Valley in northern Oman. A survey and limited probing by the Omani–Polish Qumayrah Archaeological Project confirmed the presence of a sediment, approximately 15–20 cm thick, which yielded not just lithics, but also stone installations discovered in situ. One of these installations was evidently a hearth, the other a kind of platform. The lithic assemblage is characterized by a prevalence of flake technology with rare blade products. Predominant in the tools group are side-scrapers, notches and perforators produced by direct-scaled retouch. The most characteristic tools are tanged projectile points made on flakes. The main problem is contextualizing these materials. On the grounds of certain premises they may be associated with the Fasad technocomplex, but not necessarily the pre-Neolithic one as is the case of the classic types. However, a much later chronology is also quite possible.

The archaeological site Qurayyah, situated in the NW of the Tabuk Province of Saudi Arabia, has been repeatedly described as one of the largest and most significant oases of Northwestern Arabia. Human occupation in the oasis started at least from the early Holocene and continued to the Nabatean, Roman and late Byzantine period. The hydrologically favored position results from its specific geomorphological location where the plateaus fade towards the east and the landscape opens towards the Tabuk Basin so that a balanced water supply was ensured. We present a geomorphological map (1:20,000; main map) based on the interpretation of a high-resolution satellite image and detailed control in the field. The map integrates archaeological, hydraulic and natural features in order to show how the people at Qurayyah structured their landscape and developed water management strategies in relation to prevailing geomorphological processes during the incipient phase (Bronze Age) of the oasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the Arabian Peninsula has emerged as a key region for elucidating hominin and faunal evolution and dispersals between Africa and Eurasia. Central to this research is the middle Pleistocene site of Ti's al Ghadah (TAG) which has yielded a diverse and abundant fossil faunal assemblage and the earliest chronometrically dated evidence for hominins in this part of the world. Here, we present the first detailed taphonomic study of the large Unit 5 fossil assemblage from the site. We aim to assess which actor/s were responsible for the accumulation of the assemblage and evaluate evidence that might be consistent with the accumulation of fauna by hominins. We also describe, for the first time, fossils and lithic artefacts from stratigraphic horizons not previously considered, providing taphonomic insights into their accumulation. The taphonomic work shows that the Unit 5 faunal assemblage was accumulated by ambush predators, likely large felids and hominins, in a lake side environment, and that carcasses were subsequently scavenged by more durophagus carnivores such as hyenas and canids. Less can be reliably said regarding the newly described fossil assemblages given their poor preservation and significant wind abrasion, but large carnivores again appear to have played a role, and hominins probably played a role in the accumulation of at least one of these. This study provides the first detail insights into the interplay between hominins, carnivores, and herbivores in Arabia, and suggests that watering holes have been a focus on the Arabian landscape for resources since the middle Pleistocene. • First taphonomic analysis of the middle Pleistocene Ti's al Ghadah fossil assemblage. • Large felids, and probably hominins, ambushed prey in a lakeside setting. • Carnivores such as hyenas and canids subsequently scavenged carcasses. • First insights into hominin-animal interactions in the Pleistocene of Arabia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nubian Levallois technology is the defining characteristic of the Middle Paleolithic or Middle Stone Age technocomplex known as the Nubian Complex. Until recently, this technocomplex was found exclusively in northeastern Africa; however, archaeological surveys conducted across the Arabian Peninsula in the last decade have expanded the known distribution of this technological phenomenon. Since 2009, researchers from separate archaeological missions have mapped sites yielding Nubian cores and debitage, and by extension Nubian technology, in the southern, central and northernmost parts of the Arabia Peninsula. Nubian Complex artifacts in central and southern Arabia were made using different raw materials: in Al-Kharj (central Saudi Arabia) Middle Paleolithic industries were made exclusively on quartzite, while in Dhofar (southern Oman) chert was the only knappable material available for use. Given these differences, we sought to examine the influence of raw material variability on core morphology and size. Contrary to initial hypothesis, this study finds that the differences recorded are not a function of raw material properties. In both areas, Nubian cores were reduced using the same technological systems producing a set of preferential blanks. Rather, the recorded differences from raw material constrains were primarily due to knapping accidents, which occur in higher proportions at quartzite-based assemblages from Al-Kharj (specifically the siret fracture) compared with the chert assemblages from Dhofar. In sum, we argue that raw material had little effect on Nubian Levallois core technology and was not a constraint on Nubian Complex artisans.

In the Oman Peninsula, items of personal ornament are among the most numerous artifacts found at archaeological sites from the Neolithic and Bronze Age. This study focuses on more than 100,000 stone beads (agate, carnelian, lapis lazuli, green softstone, etc.), spanning approximately four millennia, from a morphological, dimensional, and especially technological perspective.Key results include the identification of only two categories of ornamental elements, mainly in the Bronze Age (late 4th-late 2nd millennium BC), one being of substantially higher quality than the other. These two categories reflect the expertise of different workshops located in distinct regions. The majority appears to be of local production, while others, such as some carnelian and lapis lazuli beads, are likely from the Indo-Pakistan region or Iran, respectively.This study permitted the recreation of the main circulation patterns for each mineral material used in the manufacture of beads, both within the Oman Peninsula for those produced locally, and between neighboring regions in the case of imported beads. It is also possible to see the impact of historical context on the circulation of material between the Oman Peninsula and Middle Asia. Elements of personal ornamentation are highly symbolic objects, especially in the Oman Peninsula where these artifacts convey many diverse values: commercial, apotropaic, aesthetic, temporal, sexual, hierarchical, or spiritual

Recent archaeological discoveries indicate that the Arabian Peninsula played an important role in Late Pleistocene hominin dispersals. The presence of Middle Palaeolithic archaeological sites in the Nefud Desert of northern Saudi Arabia demonstrates that hominins moved far inland, probably following networks of ancient lakes and rivers deep into the Arabian interior. These Middle Palaeolithic sites, located close to the spatial and temporal boundary between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens , are critical for our understanding of Late Pleistocene demographic processes and hominin behaviour. Here we present the first detailed analysis of a Middle Palaeolithic lithic assemblage from the north Arabian desert interior. The Late Pleistocene site of Jebel Katefeh-1 (JKF-1) is located beside a palaeolake at Jubbah in the Nefud Desert. The assemblage appears to reflect a relatively short-lived occupation. Reduction produced Levallois flakes of diverse morphologies as well as more expedient small flakes. Our results emphasise that factors such as differential reduction intensity and raw material characteristics need to be considered along with putatively cultural interpretations of Middle Palaeolithic variability. Consideration of assemblage affinities indicates similarities with both the African and Levantine Middle Palaeolithic, perhaps reflecting the location of Jubbah at a crossroads of the highlands of western Arabia, the Levant and the Euphrates/Tigris river system. JKF-1 demonstrates both the potential and the complexity of the Arabian Middle Palaeolithic record in debates on hominin dispersal and adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Arabian Peninsula is situated at an important crossroads for the movement of Pleistocene human populations out of, and into, Africa. Although the timings, routes and frequencies of such dispersals have not yet been confirmed by genetic, fossil or archaeological evidence, expansion into Arabia would have been facilitated by humid periods driven by incursions of monsoon rainfall, potentially from both Indian Ocean and African monsoon systems. Here we synthesise terrestrial and marine core palaeoclimatic data in order to establish the spatial and temporal variability of humid periods in Arabia between late Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 7 and 3. Incursions of monsoon rainfall occurred during periods of insolation maxima at ca. 200–190, 170, 155, 130–120, 105–95, 85–75 and 60–55 ka, providing multiple ‘windows’ of favourable climatic conditions that could have facilitated demographic expansion through Arabia. Strong summer monsoons are generally associated with mid-high latitude interglacials, however, enhanced monsoon convection also brought rainfall into Arabia during global glacial phases, possibly due to a strengthened winter monsoon and a greater influence of southern hemispheric temperature changes. Key periods for dispersal into northern regions of Arabia correspond with the synchronous intensification of both eastern Mediterranean and monsoon rainfall systems at insolation maxima during MIS 7 and MIS 5, which may have facilitated demographic connectivity between the Levant and the Arabian interior. Environmental conditions throughout southern and southeast regions were also favourable to expansion during these times, although strong monsoons in these regions during MIS 6 and MIS 3 suggest further opportunities for demographic expansion and exchange. Terrestrial and marine evidence show that during early MIS 3 (ca. 60–50 ka), a strengthened monsoon led to the activation of interior drainage systems and increased productivity in coastal zones, indicating that favourable environmental conditions existed along both coastal and interior routes at that time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Freshwater availability is critical for human survival, and in the Saharo-Arabian desert belt repeated fluctuations between aridity and humidity over the Quaternary mean the distribution of freshwater was likely a primary control upon routes and opportunities for hominin dispersals. However, our knowledge of the spatio-temporal distribution of palaeohydrological resources within Arabia during Mid–Late Pleistocene episodes of climatic amelioration remains limited. In this paper we outline a combined method for remotely mapping the location of palaeodrainage and palaeolakes in currently arid regions that were formerly subject to more humid conditions. We demonstrate the potential of this approach by mapping palaeochannels across the whole Arabian Peninsula, and palaeolakes and marshes for select regions covering c. 10% of its surface. Our palaeodrainage mapping is based upon quantitative thresholding of HydroSHEDs data, which applies flow routing to Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data, while our palaeolake mapping uses an innovative method where spectral classification of Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery is used to detect palaeolake deposits within endorheic (closed) basins, before modelling maximum lake extents by flooding the basin to the level of the elevation of the highest detected deposit. Field survey in the Nefud desert and the Dawadmi and Shuwaymis regions of Saudi Arabia indicates accuracies of 86% for palaeodrainage mapping, and 96% for identifying former palaeolake basins (73% accuracy of classification of individual deposits). The palaeolake mapping method has also demonstrated potential for identifying surface and stratified archaeological site locations, with 76% of the surveyed palaeolake basins containing archaeological material, including stratified Palaeolithic archaeology. Initial examination of palaeodrainage in relation to archaeological sites indicates a relationship between mapped features and previously recorded Palaeolithic sites. An example of the application of these data for period-specific regional palaeohydrological and archaeological reconstructions is presented for a region of Northern Saudi Arabia covering the southern Nefud desert and adjacent lava fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]