Researchers have uncovered evidence of ancient hominins in the inhospitable deserts of north-eastern Saudi Arabia, a region that was once lush and supportive of life. The findings include stone tools and animal remains dating back up to 100,000 years. This discovery sheds light on early human presence in an underexplored part of the Arabian peninsula.
The arid landscapes of north-eastern Saudi Arabia, situated between Qatar and Kuwait, were once watered by ancient rivers that sustained diverse ecosystems. A team led by Huw Groucutt at the University of Malta explored this understudied area, identifying caves near deposits of chert, a material used by prehistoric humans for tool-making. "Caves are often important locations for archaeological, fossil and climatic records," Groucutt noted.
Over the course of their survey, the researchers examined 79 caves and surrounding sites. One particularly significant location featured more than 400 stone tools scattered across the ground adjacent to a cave. Inside the caves, they found remains of various ancient animals, including reptiles, bats, birds, camels, gazelles, hyenas, and wolves.
Analysis of the stone tools' style indicates that hominins occupied the area between 10,000 and 100,000 years ago. "Hominins have been in Arabia for at least the last 500,000 years – probably in multiple waves of occupation," Groucutt explained. Monika Markowska at Northumbria University, who was not involved in the study, highlighted the implications: "Although today [Arabia] acts as a barrier for species movement, past climate-driven windows of opportunity may have created more favourable conditions for occupation and migration."
The exceptional preservation of thousands of bones offers rare insights into past ecosystems. Michael Petraglia at Griffith University, a team member with long experience in Arabian archaeology, described the work as "one more step towards understanding the caves and rivers, what they contain and what they tell us about life in the dynamic ecosystems of Arabia."
This research, published in PLOS One (DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0337005), provides the first outline of the archaeological record for inland north-east Arabia, challenging previous notions of the region's prehistoric emptiness.