Monumental rock art: humans thrived in Arab. Desert during Pleistocene-Holocene
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- #Arabian Archaeology
- #Pleistocene-Holocene Transition
- #Rock Art
- Evidence of human occupation in northern Arabia during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition (~16–10 ka) challenges previous assumptions of abandonment.
- Discovery of playas in the Nefud desert (~16–13 ka) indicates the earliest presence of surface water post-Last Glacial Maximum (LGM).
- Stratified archaeological sites (12.8–11.4 ka) reveal human exploitation of seasonal water bodies, marked by monumental rock engravings of camels, ibex, and other fauna.
- Rock art phases include early stylized human figures (pre-12 ka) and later naturalistic animal engravings, some monumental and highly visible.
- Artifacts (e.g., El Khiam points, Helwan bladelets) show cultural connections to the Levantine Epipalaeolithic and Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN).
- Pecking tools found beneath engravings suggest direct involvement in rock art production, dated to ~12 ka.
- Engravings likely served as territorial markers and route indicators in a highly mobile hunter-gatherer society.
- Findings highlight adaptability to arid environments and long-distance cultural exchanges across Arabia and the Levant.