The Evolution of Human Populations in Arabia (eBook)

Michael D. Petraglia was born in New York in 1960. He is currently a Senior Lecturer in the Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, University of Cambridge. Over the past 25 years, he has conducted archaeological research in India, Arabia, Europe and North America. He is co-editor of the book, The Evolution and History of Human Populations in South Asia (Springer). Jeffrey Ian Rose was born in Princeton, New Jersey in 1975. Over the past 20 years, he has conducted fieldwork in prehistoric archaeology throughout North America, Europe, and Arabia. He is currently a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Anthropology and Geography at Oxford Brookes University and runs an ongoing archaeological research project in the Sultanate of Oman.

Preface 6
Contents 8
Contributors 10
Chapter 1 14
Tracking the Origin and Evolution of Human Populations in Arabia 14
Introduction 14
History of Prehistoric Research in Arabia 14
Quaternary Environments and Demographic Response 16
Genetics and Migration 18
Paleolithic Archaeology 18
Early/Middle Pleistocene (ca. 2.0 Ma–200 ka) 18
Late Middle and Upper Pleistocene (ca. 200–12 ka) 19
Early Holocene Archaeology (ca. 12–8 ka BP) 20
Human Evolution in Arabia 21
References 23
Chapter 2 27
The Red Sea, Coastal Landscapes, and Hominin Dispersals 27
Introduction 27
Environmental and Archaeological Context 28
Geographical Factors 28
Geology 30
Climate and Environment 31
Archaeological Context 32
Paleoenvironment and Resources 33
Sea-Level Change and the Southern Pathway 33
Terrestrial Resources and Paleoclimate 36
Land Mammals and Topographic Roughness 36
Paleoclimate 39
Coastal Habitats and Marine Resources 42
Conclusion 45
References 45
Chapter 3 50
Pleistocene Climate Change in Arabia: Developing a Framework for Hominin Dispersal over the Last 350 ka 50
Introduction 50
Geography, Geology, and Climate 50
The Question of Chronology 51
Pleistocene Climate Change in Arabia 53
Stages 9–6 (350–130 ka) 53
Stage 5 (130–74 ka) 53
Stage 4 Aridity Onset (75–60 ka) 54
Stage 3 The Debated Pluvial (60–20 ka) 54
Stage 2 Late Glacial Maximum (LGM) and Late Glacial (20–10 ka) 56
Stage 1 Holocene Climate Change in Arabia (10 ka–Present) 57
Conclusions 57
References 58
Chapter 4 61
Environment and Long-Term Population Trends in Southwest Arabia 61
Introduction 61
The Environment of Southwest Arabia During the Late Quaternary 62
Late Pleistocene Environmental Change 63
Holocene Environmental Change 64
Population and Settlement 66
Modern Population and Settlement 66
The Recent Historical Record 67
The Classical Record 67
The Epigraphic Old South Arabian Record 67
South Arabian Settlement and Population: The Archaeological Record 67
The Yemeni Bronze Age 69
The Neolithic 70
The Paleolithic 70
Discussion: Human Settlement and Changing Environments 71
References 74
Chapter 5 78
Mitochondrial DNA Structure of Yemeni Population: Regional Differences and the Implications for Different Migratory Contribut 78
Introduction 78
Background 78
Paleoclimatological and Archaeological Context 79
Geographic Affinities of Yemeni Populations 81
Geographical Distribution of mtDNA Lineages in Yemen 81
Sub-Saharan Haplogroups 82
Macrohaplogroups M and N 84
Conclusions 85
References 85
Chapter 6 88
The Arabian peninsula: Gate for Human Migrations Out of Africa or Cul-de-Sac? A Mitochondrial DNA Phylogeographic Perspective 88
Introduction 88
Mitochondrial DNA Characteristics 89
Macrohaplogroup L in Arabia 89
Macrohaplogroup M in Arabia 90
Macrohaplogroup N in Arabia 90
Macrohaplogroup R in Arabia 91
Mitochondrial Footsteps of the Old World Human Colonization 93
References 94
Chapter 7 97
Bayesian Coalescent Inference from Mitochondrial DNA Variation of the Colonization Time of Arabia by the Hamadryas Baboon (P 97
Background 97
Human Genetic Data and Out-of-Africa Routes and Times 98
Pleistocene Climates and Mammal Dispersals from Africa to Southwest Asia 98
Zoogeography of Arabian Mammals and Afro-Arabian Dispersal Routes 99
Origin and Age of the Hamadryas Baboon in Arabia 100
Reanalysis of the Colonization Time of Arabia Using Bayesian MCMC Methods 101
References 106
Chapter 8 110
Acheulean Landscapes and Large Cutting Tools Assemblages in the Arabian peninsula 110
Introduction 110
The Acheulean of the Wadi Fatimah 111
The Acheulean of Dawa–dmi 113
The Saffa–qah Excavations (206-76, 206-68) 115
Discussion 117
Settings and Environments 117
Stone Tool Quarrying Behavior and Giant Cores 118
Inter-regional Comparison of Acheulean Large Cutting Tools 119
Dispersal Processes 120
Conclusion 122
References 122
Chapter 9 124
A Middle Paleolithic Assemblage from Jebel Barakah, Coastal Abu Dhabi Emirate 124
Introduction 124
Geomorphology of Jebel Barakah 124
Jebel Barakah: Archaeological Localities 126
The Lithic Assemblage 126
Technology and Typology 127
Conclusions 129
References 130
Chapter 10 132
Paleolithic Stone Tool Assemblages from Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates 132
Background 132
The 2006–2007 Field Investigations: Sites and Artifacts 134
Field Investigations in 2006 134
Site ES(F)06A 134
Site ES(F)06B 134
Site ES(F)06C 134
Field Investigations in 2007 134
Site ES(F)06D 134
Site ES(F)07E 135
Site ES(F)07F and ‘Gabbro Hill’ 135
Site ES07S10 135
Site ES07S11 135
Site ES07S13 135
Site ES07S14 136
Site ES07S15 136
Site ES07S16 136
Site ES07S18 136
Site ERM07A 136
The Lithic Assemblages: Sampling and Analysis 136
General Observations 136
Group A1 (ES(F)06D, ES07S10, ES07S14, ERM07A, Gabbro Hill) 139
Group A2 (ES(F)06A, ES(F)06B, ES(F)06C) 139
Group A3 (ES(F)06E, ES07S15) 140
Group B1 (ES(F)06F) 140
Regional Context 141
Conclusion 143
References 144
Chapter 11 146
The Central Oman Paleolithic Survey: Recent Research in Southern Arabia and Reflection on the Prehistoric Evidence 146
Introduction 146
Geographic Setting 146
Climate in the Late Pleistocene 147
Prehistory in Oman 148
Problems of Pleistocene Archaeology in Arabia 149
Lower Paleolithic Sites in the Huqf 149
The 2007 COPS-Survey 150
Outcome of the 2007 Season 151
Cores 152
Small Debitage 152
Light Blades 152
Heavy Blades 153
Flake Tools 153
Heavy Bifacials 153
Small Bifacials 154
Foliates 154
Arrowheads 155
Microliths 155
Chronology 155
Conclusions 155
References 156
Chapter 12 158
The Middle Paleolithic of Arabia: The View from the Hadramawt Region, Yemen 158
Arabia: A New “El Dorado” for Evolutionary Scholars? 158
The Arabian Middle Paleolithic Background 158
Levallois Industries and the Middle Paleolithic: How and Why Study Surface Material in Yemen? 159
Universal Dating of Sites with Levallois Technology? 159
Some Elements Largely in Favor of Pleistocene Dating 159
Levallois Assemblages from Hadramawt: The Contexts 160
The Hadramawt Region 160
The Context of the Discoveries 160
Technological Analysis and Terminology 163
Technological Analysis of Levallois Cores 163
Levallois Assemblages from Hadramawt: The Data 163
The First Synthesis on the Levallois Debitage of Hadramawt: Two Methods, Three Groups and Eight Modalities 163
Interim Conclusions 168
Comparison with Other Levallois Industries from Hadramawt and Elsewhere in Yemen 168
Comparison with Industries of Hadramawt from Other Archaeological Projects 168
The Russian-Yemeni Mission 168
Sites from Shabwa Region 168
Conclusions: Levallois Debitage in Hadramawt 169
What Are the Variable Methods of Levallois Debitage in Yemen? 169
Discussion: Repercussion of the Results from Eastern Yemen 170
Anatomically Modern Humans’ Dispersal Routes Out of Africa 170
What Are the Possible Comparisons with Neighboring Regions? 170
Some Comparisons with Northeastern Africa and the “Nubian Mousterian” 170
Some Comparisons with the Near-East and the Levantine Mousterian 171
Conclusions 172
References 173
Chapter 13 176
The “Upper Paleolithic” of South Arabia 176
Introduction 176
The Arabian Paleoclimate During the Latter Half of the Upper Pleistocene 177
Results of the Central Oman Pleistocene Research Program 179
Al-Hatab Rockshelter (OM.JA.TH.29) 179
Ras Aïn Noor (OM.JA.SJ.32) 182
Dhanaqr (OM.JA.TH.21) 185
Discussion 187
The South Arabian UP 187
Demographic Implications 189
References 190
Chapter 14 193
The Late Pleistocene of Arabia in Relation to the Levant 193
Introduction 193
The Arabian Paleoenvironment 194
The Paleoenvironment Between 30 and 10 ka 195
Late Pleistocene Sites in Arabia 195
Terminology and Nomenclature 195
Identifying and Defining the Late Pleistocene 196
Late Pleistocene Sites 197
The Terminal Pleistocene 200
The Faw Well Material 201
Other Microlithic Sites 202
Summary of the Late Pleistocene 202
Discussion 203
Are We Missing the Arabian Late Pleistocene? 203
Connections to the Levant (and Africa) 204
Conclusions 205
References 206
Chapter 15 210
Holocene (Re-)Occupation of Eastern Arabia 210
Introduction 210
The Arabian Paleolithic and the ‘Paleolithic’ of Eastern Arabia 210
Some Thoughts on Ecology and Subsistence 212
Bridging the Pleistocene–Holocene Divide in Southeastern Arabia: Wadi Wutayya, the Jabal Faya Sites (FAY-NE01 and 10) and Na 213
Recent Discoveries in the Interior of Sharjah (UAE) 214
Links with the Southern Levant 215
Ecological Considerations Regarding Herders Versus Hunters 216
Conclusion 217
References 218
Chapter16 220
Early Holocene in the Highlands: Data on the Peopling of the Eastern Yemen Plateau, with a Note on the Pleistocene Evidence 220
Introduction 220
Pre-Neolithic Evidence from the Wadi at-Tayyilah Basin (Al-A‘rush) 222
Area and General Stratigraphy 222
Site WTH3: Setting, Local Sequence, and Pre-Neolithic Components 227
Other Pleistocene/Holocene Sites in the Thayyilah-Nab Area 231
Pre-Neolithic Evidence from the Wadi Khamar Basin (Jihanah) 232
The Area and Its Depositional–Environmental Sequences 232
Early Holocene and Putative Late Pleistocene Sites 236
A Note on the Paleolithic Evidence from Other Areas of Khawlan 237
Conclusions and Inferences 238
References 240
Chapter 17 242
Southern Arabia’s Early Pastoral Population History: Some Recent Evidence 242
Introduction 242
Southern Arabia 242
The Local Archaeological Record 242
Other Data 243
Rock Art: Animals, Wusum, and Dating 243
Southern Arabia in the Chronology of Early Arabian Pastoralism 244
The RASA Project Background 244
Faunal Distributions in Southern Arabia 245
The Wider Context: Selected Arabian Faunal Assemblages 245
Wild Fauna Distributions Inferred from Vegetative Expectations 247
Wadi Sana’s Vegetative History 247
Geomorphological Evidence 247
Marsh Analog Vegetation in Wadi Harou 247
The Evidence from Manayzah and Shi’b Kheshiya 248
Manayzah 248
Manayzah Fauna 249
Manayzah Tools for Hunting 249
Shi’b Kheshiya 249
Kheshiya Fauna 250
Kheshiya Territories 250
Grazing Limits and Human Behavioral Ecology 251
From Where Were DomesticatesIntroduced? 251
Do the South Arabian (Wadi Sana) Sites Indicate True Pastoralism? 252
Conclusions 252
References 253
Chapter 18 256
Archaeological, Linguistic and Historical Sources on Ancient Seafaring: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Study of Early Ma 256
Introduction 256
Physical Geography and Paleoecology 257
The First Ichthyophagi and the Emergence of Seafaring 262
Expansion and Intensification of Maritime Contact and Exchange in the Early Bronze Age (ca. 3500–2000 BC) 265
Disruption, Transformation and Intensi-fication of Trading Spheres in the Middle and Late Bronze Age (2000–ca. 1200 BC) 268
Transport Innovations and the Emergence of Pan-Arabian and Arabian Sea Trade in the Iron Age 270
The Dispersal of Domesticates into Arabia: Implications for Maritime Contact and Exchange 270
Greco-Roman Period Trade, and the Classical Records 273
Ethnolinguistic Geography and Historical Linguistics 274
Concluding Remarks 276
References 277
Chapter 19 284
Holocene Obsidian Exchange in the Red Sea Region 284
Introduction 284
Geological Obsidian in the Southern Red Sea Zone 284
Arabian Tihamah Obsidian: Arabian or African Origin? 285
Previous Obsidian Research 287
Arabian and African Obsidian Source Areas 288
Arabia 288
Africa 288
Obsidian from the Central Tihamah Survey Area: Analysis 289
Obsidian Analysis and Interpretation 291
Obsidian Microlithic Technologies 292
Obsidian Geometric Microliths 292
The African Example 292
Late Prehistoric Period Geometric Microliths in the Horn of Africa 292
Obsidian Circulation in the Yemeni Highlands and Tihamah 293
References 294
Chapter 20 298
The Paleolithic of Arabia in an Inter-regional Context 298
Introduction 298
Techno-Typological Patterns of Adjacent Regions 301
Lower Paleolithic/Early Stone Age 301
Middle Paleolithic/Middle Stone Age 301
Upper Paleolithic/Mid to Late MSA 302
The Arabian Paleolithic 303
Acheulean 303
Post-Acheulean 303
The West 304
The South 305
The East 306
Conclusions 308
Index 312