Original article Archaeological records indicate a complex history of Pleistoce

Original article Archaeological records indicate a complex history of Pleistocene hunter-gatherer societies in Arabia Les archives arche ´ologiques re ´ve `lent une histoire complexe des socie ´te ´s de chasseurs-cueilleurs du Ple ´istoce `ne en Arabie Knut Bretzke a,b,* a Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tu ¨bingen, Burgsteige 11, 72070 Tu ¨bingen, Germany b Seminar for Prehistoric and Protohistoric Archaeology, University of Jena, Lo ¨bdergraben 24a, 07743 Jena, Germany L’anthropologie 126 (2022) 103047 A R T I C L E I N F O Article history: Available online 1 July 2022 Keywords: Paleolithic Arabia Lithic artifacts Pleistocene Hominin dispersals Paleoenvironment A B S T R A C T Paleolithic research on the Arabian Peninsula is still in its early stage. During the last decade, however, an increasing number of field projects were conducted and added significant data to the record. This development in addition to substantial paleoenvi- ronmental research on Pleistocene climate and habitat changes creates a promising setting for research on human evolution in arid landscapes. Here I provide an overview of the main Paleolithic field projects conducted in Arabia and summarize their results.  C 2022 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved. * Correspondence at: Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tu ¨ bingen, Burgsteige 11, 72070 Tu ¨ bingen, Germany. E-mail address: knut.bretzke@uni-tuebingen.de. Available online at www.sciencedirect.com ScienceDirect et e ´galement disponible sur www.em-consulte.com https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anthro.2022.103047 0003-5521/ C 2022 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Research questions addressed to the Paleolithic records of Arabia often circulate around the topic of human dispersal. The discussion frequently narrows down to binary models such as inland vs. coastal dispersals, northern vs. southern route or Arabia as corridor vs. barrier for human dispersal. Arabian Paleolithic research is still in an early stage and hence the limited number of sites and often limited chronometric data makes addressing the expected complexity in the Pleistocene human history a challenging task. It can be argued that Paleolithic research in Arabia has recently reached a level where the simple binary models that have been put forward in the past decade, can be tested using an increased archaeological record from many parts of the peninsula, which cover a broad range of environmental settings. This paper aims at contributing to the growing awareness of complex histories of Paleolithic hunter-gatherer societies through summarizing Paleolithic research in Arabia (Fig. 1) and highlighting some important results. 2. Geographic background Although often recognized as a vast dry land, climatic conditions vary significantly over the Arabian Peninsula. Moisture sources include Mediterranean cyclones as well as African and Indian monsoon systems. These systems lead to complex seasonal and spatial distribution patterns of precipitation over Arabia, which consequently leads to a mosaic of habitats. Mountainous regions with rainfall enhanced by orographic effects in the southwest and southeast of the Peninsula provide environments clearly distinct from coastal regions or regions with flat topographies, which are often dominated by dune formations such as the Rub’ al-Khali in the south or the Nefud desert in the north of the Arabian Peninsula. Besides distinguishable patterns in seasonality and spatial distribution of precipitation, the amount of water available for the biosphere in Arabia has changed through time significantly (Parker, 2009). The strength of the monsoon for example varied with time due to orbital forcing (Clemens et al., 1991; Menocal, 1995), with glacial periods of the northern hemisphere characterized by low latitude aridity, while increased precipitation is expected to have occurred during past interglacial and interstadial periods as known from the mid-latitudes (Burns et al., 2001, 1998). In periods of peak precipitation, lush vegetation and flourishing fauna developed in landscapes with lakes and perennial rivers (Atkinson et al., 2013; Rosenberg et al., 2012, 2011). The timing and characteristics of developments from lush to hostile conditions, however, remains often speculative. Mots cle ´s : Pale ´olithique d’Arabie Arte ´facts lithiques Ple ´istoce `ne Dispersion des hominines Pale ´oenvironnement R E ´ S U M E ´ La recherche sur le pale ´olithique dans la pe ´ninsule arabique en est encore a ` ses de ´buts. Cependant, au cours de la dernie `re de ´cennie, un nombre croissant de projets de terrain ont e ´te ´ mene ´s et ont permis d’ajouter des donne ´es importantes aux archives. Ce de ´veloppement, ajoute ´ aux importantes recherches pale ´oenviron- nementales sur les changements de climat et d’habitat au Ple ´istoce `ne, cre ´e un cadre prometteur pour la recherche sur l’e ´volution humaine dans les paysages arides. Je donne ici un aperc ¸u des principaux projets de terrain sur le Pale ´olithique mene ´ en Arabie et je re ´sume leurs re ´sultats.  C 2022 Elsevier Masson SAS. Tous droits re ´serve ´s. K. Bretzke / L’anthropologie 126 (2022) 103047 2 3. An overview of the Arabian Paleolithic record 3.1. The archaeological record from Southern Arabia Fieldwork in the Jizan and Asir regions of SW Saudi Arabia by a joint UK-Saudi Arabia project recovered artifacts indicating human occupation during Lower, Middle and Upper Paleolithic periods (Bailey et al., 2015; Inglis et al., 2014). This indicates a long, but not necessarily continuous occupation history of the region. The supposedly oldest finds include cleavers and handaxes as well as large cutting tools accompanied by discoidal cores. Artifacts of Middle Paleolithic character are the most common in the region. Prepared core technology is present, including radial and convergent variants, as well as few prismatic blade cores (Inglis et al., 2014). Inglis et al. argue that the presence of possible evidence for Upper Paleolithic occupation periods in their study region contrasts with sites in the interior of the Arabian Peninsula that lack assemblages supposedly indicating Upper Paleolithic occupation. Researchers often argue that interior regions became depopulated during hyper-arid episodes, while survival in coastal areas might have been possible (see below). The rare occurrence of finely retouched artifacts and artifacts providing evidence for an increased use-life, explain researchers by the abundance of lithic resources (Inglis et al., 2014). Fig. 1. Regions and fieldwork mentioned in the text. (1) Coastal regions of SW Saudi Arabia (Inglis et al., 2014); (2) SW Yemen (Delagnes et al., 2012; Whalen and Pease, 1991); (3) Hadramaut (Amirkhanov et al., 2019; Caton-Thompson and Gardner, 1939; Inizan and Ortlieb, 1987); (4) Dhofar (Cremaschi and Negrino, 2002; Hilbert, 2013; Hilbert et al., 2012; Rose et al., 2011, 2018, 2019a, b; Whalen et al., 2002); (5) Central Oman (Biagi, 1994; Jagher et al., 2011); (6) Northern Oman (Beshkani et al., 2017a, b; Bonilauri et al., 2015); (7) United Arab Emirates (Armitage et al., 2011; Bretzke et al., 2018, 2020, 2022; McBrearty, 1993, 1999; Scott-Jackson et al., 2009; Wahida et al., 2009); (8) Qatar (Inizan, 1978; Kapel, 1967; Scott-Jackson et al., 2015); (9) Central Saudi Arabia (Crassard and Hilbert, 2013; Crassard et al., 2019; Scerri et al., 2018; Shipton et al., 2018); (10) Northern Saudi Arabia (Groucutt et al., 2015, 2016, 2018, 2021; Hilbert et al., 2014; Jennings et al., 2016; Petraglia et al., 2012); (11) Inland SW Saudi Arabia (Crassard et al., 2013; Edens, 2001; Groucutt et al., 2015; McClure, 1994). Re ´gions et travaux de terrain mentionne ´s dans le texte. (1) Re ´gions co ˆtie `res du sud-ouest de l’Arabie saoudite (Inglis et al., 2014) ; (2) SW du Yemen (Delagnes et al., 2012 ; Whalen et Pease, 1991) ; (3) Hadramaut (Amirkhanov et al., 2019 ; Caton-Thompson et Gardner, 1939 ; Inizian et Ortlieb, 1987) ; (4) Dhofar (Cremaschi et Negrino, 2002 ; Hilbert, 2013 ; Hilbert et al., 2012 ; Rose et al., 2011, 2018, 2019a, b ; Whalen et al., 2002) ; (5) Oman Central (Biagi, 1994 ; Jagher et al., 2011) ; (6) Nord de l’Oman (Bonilauri et al., 2015 ; Beshkani et al., 2017a, b) ; (7) E ´mirats Arabes Unis (Armitage et al., 2011 ; Bretzke et al., 2018, 2020, 2022 ; McBrearty, 1993, 1999 ; Scott-Jackson et al., 2009 ; Wahida et al., 2009) ; (8) Qatar (Inizan, 1978 ; Kapel, 1967 ; Scott-Jackson et al., 2015) ; (9) Centre de l’Arabie Saoudite (Crassard et Hilbert, 2013 ; Crassard et al., 2019 ; Scerri et al., 2018 ; Shipton et al., 2018) ; (10) Nord de l’Arabie Saoudite (Groucutt et al., 2015, 2016, 2018, 2021 ; Hilbert et al., 2014 ; Jennings et al., 2016 ; Petraglia et al., 2012) ; (11) SW inte ´rieur de l’Arabie Saoudite (Crassard et al., 2013 ; Edens, 2001 ; Groucutt et al., 2015 ; McClure, 1994). K. Bretzke / L’anthropologie 126 (2022) 103047 3 Further south in Yemen, a Russian team excavated Al-Guza Cave during their fieldwork in the region between 1984–1986 (Amirkhanov et al., 2019). They conclude from their analysis that chopper dominates the lithic assemblage, while bifacial technology linked to the production of handaxes and cleaver for example is not present at Al-Guza Cave. The Russian team classified their finds as belonging to an Oldowan Industrial complex. Fieldwork by a French team in western Yemen led to excavations at site Wadi uploads/Industriel/ bretzke-2022.pdf

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