The Holocene humid period in the Nefud Desert: Hunters and herders in the Jebel Oraf palaeolake basin, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Archaeological surveys and excavations in the Jebel Oraf palaeolake basin, northwestern Saudi Arabia, have identified a well-preserved early-to mid-Holocene landscape. Two types of occupation site can be distinguished: nine small and ephemeral scatters from single occupation phases on the slopes of sand dunes and three hearth sites indicative of repeated occupation on palaeolake shorelines. In Highlights  Well preserved Neolithic landscape in the Nefud Desert of northern Saudi Arabia  Evidence for changes in landscape use across the transition to herding  Two lake high stands show seasonal use of the area by early pastoralists  Rock art documents the presence of wild camel in the Iron Age  Lithic industry indicative of contacts with the Levant over several millennia

Human responses to climate and ecosystem change in ancient Arabia

“…In addition, the abundance of hearth sites likely illustrates a high degree of mobility in the Arabian interior, reflecting the seasonal exploitation of water sources and vegetation in the extensive sand seas. To date, no architectural remains dating to this period have been documented in the Nefud Desert, and even the use of tents cannot be proven as sites lack postholes, and hearths were likely only in use for a very short period of time (61,62).…”

“…Understanding of the impacts of the Dark Millennium arid phase in northern Arabia is in its infancy, though the absence of paleolake deposits in the Nefud Desert at this time is suggestive of aridity in northern Arabia (35). Nonetheless, our ongoing archaeological investigations at the Jebel Oraf rockshelter (62) in the Jubbah basin date human occupations to between ∼5.6 and 5.3 ka (Fig. 2C), falling squarely within the Dark Millennium.…”

“…2C). At the nearby Jebel Oraf rockshelter, archaeological deposits were dated to 8.0 to 7.0 ka (62) (Fig. 2C).…”

“…The presence of fragmentary finds of Bos sp. at Jebel Oraf 2 (61,62) and at the Jebel Oraf rockshelter, together with the presence of caprid at Alshabah (63) and at the Jebel Oraf rockshelter, indicates that these groups likely incorporated domesticates into their economy.…”

Marking the sacral landscape of a north Arabian oasis: a sixth-millennium BC monumental stone platform and surrounding burials

“…Groucutt & Petraglia 2012;Crassard & Drechsler 2013;Magee 2014), research has focused predominantly on lithic technology, rock art, palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental conditions and infrequently encountered stratified seasonal campsites (e.g. Gebel 2013Gebel , 2016Jennings et al 2013;Guagnin et al 2017Guagnin et al , 2018Guagnin et al , 2020Scerri et al 2018;Zielhofer et al 2018). The lack of focus on stone monuments is due mostly to the relatively late exploration of the region, the first surveys dating to the 1970s (Adams et al 1977;Parr et al 1978;Zarins et al 1979).…”