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

Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology

Volumn , Issue 9789048127184, 2010, Pages 39-49

  Parker, Adrian G ^a  

^a OXFORD BROOKES UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Chronology; Climate Change; Dispersal; Pleistocene

Indexed keywords

EID: 84907072810     PISSN: 18779077     EISSN: None     Source Type: Book Series    
DOI: 10.1007/978-90-481-2719-1_3     Document Type: Chapter

References (98)

1. Abed AM, Yasin S, Sadaqaa R, Al-Hawari Z. The paleoclimate of the eastern desert of Jordan during Marine Isotope Stage 9. Quaternary Research 2008;69:458–68
2. Ambrose S. Late Pleistocene human population bottlenecks, volcanic winter, and differentiation of modern humans. Journal of Human Evolution. 1998;34:623–51.
3. Anderson DE, Goudie AS, Parker AG. Global environments through the Quaternary: exploring environmental change. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2007.
4. Anton D. Aspects of geomorphological evolution: paleosols and dunes in Saudi Arabia. In: Jado AR, Zötl JG, editors. Quaternary period in Saudi Arabia. Vol. 2. Sedimentological, hydrogeological, hydrochemical, geomorphological, and climatological investigations of Western Saudi Arabia. Wien: Springer; 1984.
5. Bailey GN, Al-Sharekh A, Flemming NC, Lambeck K, Momber G, Sinclair A, et al. Coastal prehistory in the southern Red Sea basin, underwater archaeology, and the Farasan Islands. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies. 2007a;37:1–16.
6. Bailey GN, Flemming NC, King GCP, Lambeck K, Momber G, Moran LJ, et al. Coastlines, submerged landscapes, and human evolution: the Red Sea basin and the Farasan islands. Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology. 2007b;2:127–60.
7. Barth HJ, Steinkohl F. Origin of winter precipitation in the central coastal lowland of Saudi Arabia. Journal of Arid Environments. 2004;57:101–15.
8. Bray H, Stokes S. Temporal patterns of arid-humid transitions in the southeastern Arabian peninsula based on optical dating. Geomorphology. 2004;59:271–80.
9. Brinkmann R, Ghaleb AO. Late Pleistocene mollisol and cumulic flu-vents near Ibb, Yemen Arab Republic. In: Grolier MJ, Brinkmann R, Blakely JA, editors. The Wadi al-Jubah Archaeological Project: Volume 5 Environmental Research in Support of Archaeological Investigations in the Yemen Arab Republic, 1982–1987. Washington, DC: American Foundation for the Study of Man; 1997. p. 251–8.
10. Brunner U. Geography and human settlements in ancient southern Arabia. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy. 1997;8:190–202.
11. Burns SJ, Matter A, Frank N, Mangani A. Speleothem based paleoclimatic record from Northern Oman. Geology. 1998;26:499–502.
12. Burns SJ, Fleitmann D, Matter A, Neff U, Mangini A. Speleothem evidence from Oman for continental pluvial events during interglacial periods. Geology. 2001;29:623–6.
13. Burns SJ, Fleitmann D, Matter D, Kramers J, Al-Subbary AA. Indian Ocean climate and an absolute chronology over Dansgaard/Oeschger events 9 to 13. Science. 2003;301:1365–57.
14. Caton-Thompson G. Some palaeoliths from South Arabia. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society. 1953;19:189–218.
15. Clark A. Lakes of the Rub’ al Khali. Aramco. 1989;40:28–33.
16. Clark I, Fontes JC. Paleoclimatic reconstruction of northern Oman based on carbonates from hyperalkaline groundwaters. Quaternary Research. 1990;33:320–36.
17. Clemens S, Prell W, Murray D, Shimmield G, Weedon G. Forcing mechanisms of the Indian Ocean monsoon. Nature. 1991;353: 720–5.
18. Cleuziou S, Inizan ML, Marcolongo B. Le peuplement pre-et protohis-torique du systeme fluviatile fossile du Jawf-Hadramawt au Yemen. Paleorient. 1992;18:5–29.
19. Cooke GA. Reconstruction of the Holocene coastline of Mesopotamia. Geoarchaeology. 1987;2:15–28.
20. 14C yr B.P. in rock shelters and caves of Gebel Qara (Dhofar-Oman): Palaeoenvironmental implications. Geoarchaeology. 2005;20:559–79.
21. Dalongeville R, de Medwecki V, Sanlaville P. Évolution du piédmont occidental de l’Oman depuis le Pléistocène supérieur. 116e Congress National Societe Sav., Chambrey, Déserts. PICG. 1991;252: 93–115.
22. Davies C. Quaternary paleohydrology and past climates of the Dhamar Highlands, Yemen. Quaternary Research. 2006;66:454–64.
23. deMenocal P, Ortiz J, Guilderson T, Sarnthein M, Baker L, Yarunsinsky M. Abrupt onset and termination of the African humid period: rapid climate responses to gradual insolation forcing. Quaternary Science Reviews. 2000;19:347–61.
24. Edens C. The Rub’ al Khali ‘Neolithic’ revisited: the view from Nadqan. In: Potts D, editor. Araby the Blest: studies in Arabian archaeology. Copenhagen: Tusculanum Press; 1988. p. 15–43.
25. Edgell HS. Arabian deserts: nature, origins and evolution. The Netherlands: Springer; 2006.
26. Field H. Stone implements from the Rub’al Khali, Southern Arabia. Man. 1958;58:93–4.
27. Fleitmann D, Burns SJ, Mangini A, Mudelsee M, Kramers J, Villa I, et al. Holocene ITCZ and Indian monsoon dynamics recorded in stalagmites from Oman and Yemen (Socotra). Quaternary Science Reviews. 2007;26:170–88.
28. Fogg T, Fogg P, Waltham T. Magharat Qasir Hafit, a significant cave in the United Arab Emirates. Tribulus. 2002;12:5–14.
29. Gardner RAM. Aeolianites and marine deposits of the Wahiba sands: character and palaeoenvironments. Journal of Oman Studies. 1988;Special Report 3:75–94.
30. Garrard AN, Harvey CPD, Switsur VR. Environment and settlement during the Upper Pleistocene and Holocene at Jubbah in the Great Nafud, northern Arabia. Atlal. 1981;5:137–48.
31. Gawthorne-Hardy FJ, Harcourt-Smith WEH. The super-eruption of Toba, did it cause a human bottleneck? Journal of Human Evolution. 2003;45:227–30.
32. Glennie KW, Singhvi AK. Event stratigraphy, palaeoenvironment and chronology of SE Arabian deserts. Quaternary Science Reviews. 2002;21:853–69.
33. Goodall TM. The geology and geomorphology of the Sabkhat Matti region (United Arab Emirates): a modern analogue for ancient desert sediments of north-west Europe. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen; 1995.
34. Goudie AS. Great warm deserts of the world: landscapes and evolution. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2002.
35. Goudie AS, Colls A, Stokes S, Parker AG, White K, Al-Farraj A. Latest Pleistocene dune construction at the north-eastern edge of the Rub’ al Khali, United Arab Emirates. Sedimentology. 2000;47:1011–21.
36. Gupta A, Anderson DM, Overpeck JT. Abrupt changes in the Asian southwest monsoon during the Holocene and their links to the North Atlantic Ocean. Nature. 2003;421:354–6.
37. Hacker et al. Region around Jeddah: geology, geomorphology and climate. In: Jado AR, Zötl JG, editors. Quaternary period in Saudi Arabia, Vol 2. New York: Springer; 1984.
38. Holm DA. Desert geomorphology in the Arabian peninsula. Science. 1960;132:1369–79.
39. Huckreide R, Wieseman G. Der jungpleistozäne pluvial-see von El-Jafr und weitere daten zum Quartär Jordaniens. Geologica et Palaeontologica. 1968;2:73–95.
40. Hughen K, Southon J, Lehman S, Bertrand C, Turnbull J. Marine-derived 14C calibration and activity record for the past 50, 000 years updated from the Cariaco basin. Quaternary Science Reviews. 2006;25:3216–27.
41. Immenhauser A, Dublyansky YV, Verwer K, Fleitman D, Pashenko SE. Textural, elemental, and isotopic characteristics of Pleistocene phre-atic cave deposits (Jabal Madar, Oman). Journal of Sedimentary Research. 2007;77:68–88.
42. Ivanova E, Schiebel R, Singh AD, Schmiedl G, Niebler HS, Hemleben C. Primary production in the Arabian Sea during the last 135000 years. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 2003;197:61–82.
43. Juyal N, Singhvi AK, Glennie KW. Chronology and paleoenvironmental significance of Quaternary desert sediment in southeastern Arabia. In: Alsharhan AS, Glennie KW, Whittle GL, Kendall CGStC, editors. Quaternary deserts and climatic change. Rotterdam: Balkema; 1998. p. 315–25.
44. Kutzbach JE. Monsoon climate of the Early Holocene: climate experiment with the Earth’s orbital parameters for 9000 years ago. Science. 1981;214:59–61.
45. Lancaster N, Singhvi AK, Teller JT, Glennie KW, Pandey VP. Eolian chronology and paleowind vectorsin the northern Rub’ al Khali, United Arab Emirates. XVI INQUA Congress Programs with Abstracts, Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV, 141; 2003.
46. Leuschner DC, Sirocko F. Orbital insolation forcing of the Indian monsoon – a motor for global climate changes? Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 2003;197:83–95.
47. Lézine A, Saliège J, Robert C, Wertz F, Inizan M. Holocene lakes from Ramlat as-Sab’atayn (Yemen) illustrate the impact of monsoon activity in southern Arabia. Quaternary Research. 1998;50:290–9.
48. Lézine A, Tiercelin JJ, Robert C, Saliège JF, Cleuziou S, Inizan ML, et al. Centennial to millennial-scale variability of the Indian monsoon during the Early Holocene from a sediment, pollen and isotope record from the desert of Yemen. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 2007;243:235–49.
49. Maizels JK. Plio-Pleistocene raised channel systems of the western Sharqiya (Wahiba), Oman. In: Frostick L, Reid I, editors. Desert sediments: ancient and modern. London: Geological Society Special Publication 35; 1987. p. 31–50.
50. Masry AH. Prehistory in northern Arabia. The problem of interregional interaction. London: Kegan Paul; 1997.
51. McClure HA. Radiocarbonchronology of Late Quaternary lakes in the Arabian desert. Nature. 1976;263:755–6.
52. McClure HA. ArRubal Khali. In: Al-Sayari SS, Zötl JG, editors. Quaternary period in Saudi Arabia. Vol. 1: Sedimentological, hydrogeological, hydrochemical, geomorphological, and climatological investigations in Central and Eastern Saudi Arabia. Wien: Springer; 1978.
53. McClure HA. Late Quaternary palaeoenvironments of the Rub’ al Khali. Ph.D. dissertation, University of London, London; 1984.
54. McClure HA, Swain FM. The fresh water and brackish water fossil Quaternary Ostracoda from the Rub’ al Khali, Saudi Arabia. Tunis: 6th African Micropalaeontological Colloquium; 1974.
55. Moumani K, Alexander J, Bateman MD. Sedimentology of the late Quaternary Wadi Hasa Marl formation of Central Jordan: a record of climate variability. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 2003;191:221–242.
56. 13C record of the monsoon variability on the Oman continental margin, Arabian Sea. Proceedings of the Indian Academy Science. 2000;109:481–9.
57. Neff U, Burns SJ, Mangini A, Mudelsee M, Fleitmann D, Matter A. Strong coherence between solar variability and the monsoon in Oman between 9 and 6 kyr ago. Nature. 2001;411:290–3.
58. Overpeck J, Anderson D, Trumbore S, Prell W. The southwest Indian monsoon over the last 18000 years. Climate Dynamics. 1996;12:213–25.
59. Overstreet WC, Grolier MJ. Summary of environmental background for the human occupation of the al-Jadidah basin in Wadi al-Jubah, Yemen Arab Republic. In: Grolier MJ, Brinkman R, Blakely JA, editors. Environmental research in support of archaeological investigations in the Yemen Arab Republic, 1982–1987. Washington, DC: American Foundation for the Study of Man; 1996. p. 337–429.
60. Parker AG, Goudie AS. Development of the Bronze Age landscape in the southeastern Arabian Gulf: new evidence from a buried shell midden in the eastern extremity of the Rub’ al Khali desert, Emirate of Ras al-Khaimah, UAE. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy. 2007;18:232–8.
61. Parker AG, Rose J. Demographic confluence and radiation in southern Arabia. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies. 2008;38: 227–44.
62. Parker AG, Eckersley L, Smith MM, Goudie AS, Stokes S, White K, et al. Holocene vegetation dynamics in the northeastern Rub’ al-Khali desert, Arabian peninsula: a pollen, phytolith and carbon isotope study. Journal of Quaternary Science. 2004;19:665–76.
63. Parker AG, Wilkinson TJ, Davies C. The early-mid Holocene period in Arabia: some recent evidence from lacustrine sequences in eastern and southwestern Arabia. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies. 2006a;36:243–55.
64. Parker AG, Goudie AS, Stokes S, White K, Hodson MJ, Manning M, et al. A record of Holocene climate change from lake geochemical analyses in southeastern Arabia. Quaternary Research. 2006b;66: 465–76.
65. Parker AG, Preston G, Walkington H, Hodson MJ. Developing a framework of Holocene climatic change and landscape archaeology for southeastern Arabia. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy. 2006c;17:125–30.
66. Petit-Maire N, Burollet PF, Ballais JL, Fontugne M, Rosso JC, Lazaar A. Paléoclimats Holocènes du Sahara septentionale‚ Dépôts lacus-tres et terrasses alluviales en bordure du Grand Erg Oriental à l’extrême – Sud de la Tunisie. Comptes Rendus. Académie des Sciences. 1999;Series 2(312):1661–6.
67. Petraglia MD, Alsharekh A. The Middle Palaeolithic in Arabia: Implications for modern human origins, behaviour and dispersals. Antiquity. 2003;77:671–84.
68. Petraglia M, Korisettar R, Boivin N, Clarkson C, Ditchfield P, Jones S, et al. Middle Paleolithic assemblages from the Indian subcontinent before and after the Toba Super-eruption. Science. 2007;317:114–6.
69. Philby H. Rub’ al Khali: an account of exploration in the Great South desert of Arabia under the auspices and patronage of His Majesty ‘Abdul ‘Aziz ibn Saud, King of the Hejaz and Nejd and its dependencies. Geographical Journal. 1933;81:1–21.
70. Preusser F, Radies D, Matter A. A 160000 year record of dune development and atmospheric circulation in Southern Arabia. Science. 2002;296:2018–20.
71. Radies D, Hasiotis ST, Preusser F, Neubert E, Matter E. Palaeoclimatic significance of Early Holocene faunal assemblages in wet interdune deposits of the Wahiba Sand Sea, Sultanate of Oman. Journal of Arid Environments. 2005;62:109–25.
72. Rampino M, Ambrose S. Volcanic winter in the Garden of Eden: the Toba supereruption and the Late Pleistocene human population crash. Geological Society of America Special Paper. 2000;345: 71–82.
73. Reichart GJ, Lourens LJ, Zachariasse WJ. Temporal variability in the northern Arabian Sea Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ) during the last 225000 years. Paleooceanography. 1997;13:607–21.
74. Reimer PJ, et al. IntCal04 Terrestrial radiocarbon age calibration, 26–0 ka. Radiocarbon. 2004;46:1029–58.
75. Rose JI. Among Arabian Sands: defining the Palaeolithic of southern Arabia. Ph.D. dissertation, Southern Methodist University, Dallas; 2006.
76. Rose JI. The Arabian corridor migration model: archaeological evidence for hominin dispersals into Oman during the Middle and Upper Pleistocene. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies. 2007;37:219–37.
77. Rose JI, Usik VI. The “Upper Paleolithic” of South Arabia. In: Petraglia MD, Rose JI, editors. The evolution of human populations in Arabia: paleoenvironments, prehistory and genetics. The Netherlands: Springer; 2009. p. 169–85.
78. Sanlaville P. Changements climatiques dans la péninsule Arabique durant le pléistocène supérieur et l’holocène. Paleorient. 1992;18:5–25.
79. Sarnthein M. Sediments and history of the postglacial transgression in the Persian Gulf and northwestern Gulf of Oman. Marine Geology. 1972;12:245–66.
80. Sarnthein M. Sand deserts during the glacial maximum and climatic optimum. Nature. 1978;272:43–6.
81. Schuldenrein J, Clark GA. Landscape and prehistoric chronology of west-central Jordan. Geoarchaeology. 1994;9:31–55.
82. Schultz E, Whitney JW. Upper Pleistocene and Holocene lakes in the An Nafud, Saudi Arabia. Hydrobiologia. 1986;143:175–90.
83. Schulz H, von Rad U, Erlenkeuser H. Correlation between Arabian Sea and Greenland climate oscillations for the past 110000 years. Nature. 1998;393:54–7.
84. Schyfsma E. Climate. In: Al-Sayari SS, Zötl JG, editors. Quaternary period in Saudi Arabia. Vol. 1: sedimentological, hydrogeological, hydrochemical, geomorphological, and climatological investigations in Central and Eastern Saudi Arabia. Wien: Springer; 1978.
85. Sirocko F, Sarnthein M, Lange H, Erlenkeuser H. Atmospheric summer circulation and coastal upwelling in the Arabian sea during the Holocene and last glaciation. Quaternary Research. 1991;36:72–93.
86. Stokes S, Bray H. Late Pleistocene eolian history of the Liwa region, Arabian peninsula. Geological Society of America Bulletin. 2005;117:1466–80.
87. Thamban M, Purnachandra Raoa V, Schneider RR, Grootes PM. Glacial to Holocene fluctuations in hydrography and productivity along the southwestern continental margin of India. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 2001;165:113–27.
88. Uerpmann M. Structuring the Late Stone Age of southeastern Arabia. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy. 1992;3:65–109.
89. Uerpmann M. The Dark Millennium – remarks on the final Stone Age in the Emirates and Oman. In: Potts D, al-Naboodah H, Hellyer P, editors. Archaeology of the United Arab Emirates. Proceedings of the First International Conference on the Archaeology of the U.A.E. London: Trident Press; 2002. p. 74–81.
90. Uerpmann M, Uerpmann HP. Ubaid pottery in the eastern Gulf – new evidence from Umm al-Qaiwain (UAE). Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy. 1996;7:125–9.
91. Vogt B. In search for coastal sites in prehistoric Makkan: mid-Holocene “shell eaters” in the coastal desert of Ras al Khaimah, UAE. In: Kenoyer JM, editor. From summer to Meluhha. Wisconsin Archaeological Report 3; 1994. p. 113–28.
92. Von Rad U, Schulz H, Reich V, den Dulk M, Berner U, Sirocko F. Multiple-monsoon-controlled breakdown of oxygen-minimum conditions during the past 30000 years documented in laminated sediments off Pakistan. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 1999;152:129–61.
93. Weninger B, Jöris O. Towards an absolute chronology at the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in Western Eurasia: a new Greenland Hulu Time-scale based on U/Th ages. Journal of Human Evolution. 2007; In press.
94. Wilkinson TJ. Holocene environments of the high plateau. Yemen. Recent geoarchaeological investigations. Geoarchaeology. 1997;12: 833–64.
95. Wood WW, Imes JL. How wet is wet? Precipitation constraints on late Quaternary climate in the southern Arabian peninsula. Journal of Hydrology. 1995;164:263–8.
96. Wood WW, Rizk ZS, Alsharhan AS. Timing of recharge, and the origin, evolution, and distribution of solutes in a hyperarid aquifer system. In: Alsharhan AS, Wood WW, editors. Water resources perspectives: evaluation management and policy. Amsterdam: Elsevier; 2003. p. 295–312.
97. Zarins J, Ibrahim M, Potts D, Edens C. Saudi Arabian archaeological reconnaissance 1978: the preliminary report on the third phase. Atlal. 1979;3:9–42.
98. Zeuner FE. Neolithic sites from the Rub’ al-Khali, southern Arabia. Man. 1954;54:133–6.