An international study led by researchers from Friedrich Schiller University Jena uncovered 80,000-year-old stone blades made by Homo sapiens in Arabia, representing the oldest evidence of systematic stone blade production on the Arabian Peninsula, according to HeritageDaily.
The research paper detailing these findings was published in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Science.
"Our results indicate that South Arabia played a completely different role in the establishment and cultural diversification of Homo sapiens populations in Southwest Asia than the north of the peninsula," said Dr. Bretzke from Friedrich Schiller University Jena. This discovery provides new insights into the history of human habitation in Arabia and the possible routes used by Homo sapiens in their expansion out of Africa, as noted by Bretzke.
Jebel Faya is an archaeological site located near the town of Al Madam in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which has revealed evidence of human occupation from the Palaeolithic to the Bronze Age, spanning 210,000 to 10,000 years ago. Excavations at Jebel Faya have been extensive, reaching depths of up to five meters, and have uncovered tool assemblages from the Palaeolithic, Neolithic, and Bronze Age.
Analyses conducted using luminescence techniques dated the stone assemblage found at Jebel Faya to approximately 80,000 years ago, as reported by Phys.org. The stone tool assemblage from this period is characterized by elongated flakes with parallel edges, mainly manufactured using bidirectional methods, according to HeritageDaily. According to the study authors, these stone tools were made by Homo sapiens and are the oldest evidence of systematic stone blade production on the Arabian Peninsula.
Prior research showed that humans have been living in the region on and off for more than 200,000 years, and with continued research, archaeologists hope to uncover further evidence that will shed more light on the history of the region and the mechanisms that allowed human adaptation to changing climatic conditions.
During that time, Arabia was characterized by the presence of permanent rivers and lake formations, which facilitated human occupation in areas, labrujulaverde.com reports. These favorable conditions led to the emergence of similar traditions in stone tool production across the Arabian Peninsula.
However, with the transition to an extreme arid phase, distinct cultural developments began to emerge in northern and southern Arabia, as noted by labrujulaverde.com. The data obtained at Jebel Faya suggest that one of the migrations of early humans took place along the southern edge of the Arabian Peninsula around 80,000 years ago, potentially pushing them farther north rather than back to Africa. This differentiation in southern Arabia is a key aspect in understanding the chronology and trajectory of early Homo sapiens migrations from Africa to Asia, which occurred in multiple waves beginning at least 150,000 years ago.
Finding that Homo sapiens were firmly established across the Arabian Peninsula suggests they may have also inhabited places between Africa and Asia as they migrated, rather than simply passing through. "If South Arabia was a route for Homo sapiens, then new theories regarding migration from Africa to Asia and other parts of the world need revision."
Despite these advances, researchers face an obstacle: so far, no human remains from the Paleolithic period have been found in southern Arabia. This limitation prevents direct genetic analyses that could provide complementary information about the human populations that once occupied the region, according to labrujulaverde.com. However, the absence of fossilized bones or teeth limits scientists' ability to directly correlate these stone tools with specific genetic lineages, labrujulaverde.com notes. The absence of Paleolithic human remains in southern Arabia may be because they had migrated north by then.
The archaeological project led by Dr. Bretzke includes a team of researchers from the universities of Jena, Tübingen, and Freiburg in Germany, as well as Oxford Brookes University in the United Kingdom. The scientists are working closely with specialists from local authorities in the Emirate of Sharjah, facilitating the excavations and analysis of the archaeological material found.
Jebel Faya has been under study for several years. The stone assemblage found at Jebel Faya, along with many others like it, may have been made by early humans planning to migrate, possibly assuming they would need weapons for protection or hunting. The design of the blades suggests they were made as part of a systematic production effort.