Jebel Faya and the Middle to Late Pleistocene Transition
Settlement Continuity and Behavioural Flexibility
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6016575 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Knut Bretzke (0000-0002-5397-7224, corresponding author), Klaus Herkert (0000-0002-6482-6843) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 49-1 |
| Issue | 49-1 |
| Pages | 63-81 |
| Publication date | 2023-06-22 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Paléorient (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0153-9345 • E-ISSN: 1957-701X |
| Publisher | OpenEdition (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.4000/paleorient.2728 |
| OpenAlex | W4386428556 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 49 |
Research suggests that human occupation of Arabia during the Middle and Late Pleistocene (ca 770–12 ka) is largely determined by climate change and restricted to relatively short windows of opportunity during periods of increased precipitation. Questions arise about how human behavioural evolution has factored into the Palaeolithic settlement of Arabia. The scarcity of well-dated and deeply stratified archaeological records covering relevant time periods, however, hinders illuminating this aspect. We present diachronic evidence from Jebel Faya, United Arab Emirates, demonstrating increasing behavioural flexibility and technological continuity at the Middle to Late Pleistocene transition (ca 210–120 ka). We argue that these observations provide support for models considering the existence of population refugia on the Arabian Peninsula. Our results contrast with the prevailing dichotomous view of human presence during humid phases and absence in arid phases. While not denying the importance of climate change for shaping human history in Arabia, we contend that human occupation of southeast Arabia is more continuous than previously thought. We also argue that behavioural evolution is an additional factor that should be considered in models of Pleistocene human occupation of Arabia as well as to gain a better understanding of the global expansion process of our species
Archaeological record · Archaeology · Arid · Biology · Climate change · Early Pleistocene · Environmental change · Flexibility (engineering · Geography · Human settlement · Middle Stone Age · Peninsula · Pleistocene · Population · Settlement (finance · Sociology · Demography · Paleopathology and ancient diseases · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · Species Distribution and Climate Change · Ecology · Geology · Paleontology
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| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2024 - 2025 (2) |
| Highly cited | No |