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Pleistocene Climate Change in Arabia: Developing a Framework for Hominin Dispersal over the Last 350 ka

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The Evolution of Human Populations in Arabia

Part of the book series: Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology ((VERT))

Abstract

Environmental change in Arabia has oscillated between climatic extremes throughout the Quaternary period with evidence for ancient pluvials, apparent in the lacustrine sediments, alluvial fans and gravels, paleosols, and speleothems (e.g., McClure, 1976; Schultz and Whitney, 1986; Parker et al., 2006a, 2006b; Lézine et al., 2007; Fleitmann et al., 2007). Conversely, there are numerous signals that Arabia was also subjected to extremes in aridity, most obviously manifested in the expansive sand seas comprising the Nafud, Rub’ al Khali, and Wahiba deserts, as well as fracture calcites from hyperalkaline springs (Clark and Fontes, 1990) and petrogypsic soil horizons (Rose, 2006).

Evidence for small eroded lake basins comprising marl terraces and hardened evaporitic crusts, with associated freshwater shells and lithic implements scattered around the edges were reported in the Rub’ al Khali during early exploration of the region (e.g., Philby, 1933; Holm, 1960; Clark, 1989). Occurrences of ancient stone tools near relict lake beds in Arabia provided the first evidence for a rich prehistoric past (Caton-Thompson, 1953; Field, 1958). To date, however, the association between humans and environment is still much in its infancy and the precise relationships between human dispersals into and across Arabia is not fully understood. Both environmental and archaeological research has made significant progress in recent years but, to date, no major synthesis has been attempted which provides the environmental backdrop for assessing hominin emergence within the Arabian peninsula. The aim of this chapter is to present an overview of the variable and shifting landscapes in Arabia during the past 350 ka (isotope stage 9 to the present) with particular emphasis on indicators of pluvial conditions (mostly lacustrine sediments and alluvial sediments along with supporting data from other proxy sources). These data provide a useful framework for understanding the role of the climate in influencing Pleistocene hominin dispersals and occupation across the Arabian Corridor – a critical geographic zone that we now know served as a conduit bridging early human populations in Europe, Africa, and Asia (Parker and Rose, 2008).

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  1. Human Origins and Palaeo-Environments (HOPE) Research Group, Department of Anthropology and Geography, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, OX3 0BP, UK

    Adrian G. Parker

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  1. Leverhulme Centre for Human, University of Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Street 13A, Cambridge, CB2 1QH, United Kingdom

    Michael D. Petraglia

  2. Dept. Anthropology & Geography, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, OX3 0BP, United Kingdom

    Jeffrey I. Rose

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Parker, A.G. (2010). Pleistocene Climate Change in Arabia: Developing a Framework for Hominin Dispersal over the Last 350 ka. In: Petraglia, M., Rose, J. (eds) The Evolution of Human Populations in Arabia. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2719-1_3

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