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Monumental rock art illustrates that humans thrived in the Arabian Desert during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition

Author

Listed:
  • Maria Guagnin

    (Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology)

  • Ceri Shipton

    (University College London
    Australian National University)

  • Faisal Al-Jibreen

    (Ministry of Culture)

  • Giacomo Losi

    (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST))

  • Amir Kalifi

    (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST))

  • Simon J. Armitage

    (Royal Holloway University of London
    University of Bergen)

  • Finn Stileman

    (University of Cambridge)

  • Mathew Stewart

    (Griffith University)

  • Fahad Al-Tamimi

    (Ministry of Culture)

  • Paul S. Breeze

    (King’s College London)

  • Frans Buchem

    (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST))

  • Nick Drake

    (King’s College London)

  • Mohammed Al-Shamry

    (Ministry of Culture)

  • Ahmed Al-Shammari

    (Ministry of Culture)

  • Jaber Al-Wadani

    (Ministry of Culture)

  • Abdullah M. Alsharekh

    (King Saud University)

  • Michael Petraglia

    (Griffith University
    Smithsonian Institution
    University of Queensland)

Abstract

Dated archaeological sites are absent in northern Arabia between the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and 10,000 years ago (ka), signifying potential population abandonment prior to the onset of the Holocene humid period. Here we present evidence that playas became established in the Nefud desert of northern Arabia between ~16 and ~13 ka, the earliest reported presence of surface water following the hyper-aridity of the LGM. These fresh water sources facilitated human expansions into arid landscapes as shown by new excavations of stratified archaeological sites dating to between 12.8 and 11.4 ka. During the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, human populations exploited a network of seasonal water bodies - marking locations and access routes with monumental rock engravings of camels, ibex, wild equids, gazelles, and aurochs. These communities made distinctive stone tool types showing ongoing connections to the late Epipalaeolithic and Pre-Pottery Neolithic populations of the Levant.

Suggested Citation

  • Maria Guagnin & Ceri Shipton & Faisal Al-Jibreen & Giacomo Losi & Amir Kalifi & Simon J. Armitage & Finn Stileman & Mathew Stewart & Fahad Al-Tamimi & Paul S. Breeze & Frans Buchem & Nick Drake & Moha, 2025. "Monumental rock art illustrates that humans thrived in the Arabian Desert during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-13, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-63417-y
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-63417-y
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Huw S. Groucutt & Tom S. White & Eleanor M. L. Scerri & Eric Andrieux & Richard Clark-Wilson & Paul S. Breeze & Simon J. Armitage & Mathew Stewart & Nick Drake & Julien Louys & Gilbert J. Price & Math, 2021. "Multiple hominin dispersals into Southwest Asia over the past 400,000 years," Nature, Nature, vol. 597(7876), pages 376-380, September.
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