Remy Crassard

How have humans colonised the entire planet and reshaped its ecosystems in the process? This unique and groundbreaking collection of essays explores human movement through time, the impacts of these movements on landscapes and other species, and the ways in which species have co-evolved and transformed each other as a result. Exploring the spread of people, plants, animals, and diseases through processes of migration, colonisation, trade, and travel, it assembles a broad array of case studies from the Pliocene to the present. The contributors from disciplines across the humanities and natural sciences are senior or established scholars in the fields of human evolution, archaeology, history, and geography.

The publication "Rescue Excavation along the Yemen LNG Pipeline from Marib to Balhaf" is dedicated to the presentation of the main results of two rescue excavations that the Deutsche Archäologische Institut in Sana'a (DAI) and the Centre Français d'Archéologie et de Sciences Sociales de Sanaa (CEFAS) carried out in 2006. The work was the result of the initiative of the Yemen LNG Company, which was building a gas pipeline from the mineral oil fields in Marib (Block 18) to the new natural gas liquefaction plant and port in Balhaf, on the coast of the governorate of Shabwah.

Although Middle Palaeolithic stratified and dated sites are still rare in Arabia, recent archaeological, palaeoenvironmental, population genetic, geomatic and geochronological studies have noticeably contributed to a re-evaluation of the prehistory of the region. Here, we report the discovery of a stratified open-air Middle Palaeolithic site in central Saudi Arabia, a novelty given the paucity of dated Pleistocene lithic assemblages in the region. The site ofUmmal-Sha’al is located in the Rufa Graben where a substantial number of Middle Palaeolithic surface occurrences have been reported. It contains artefacts produced using Levallois technology, indicative of Middle Palaeolithic human exploitation of locally abundant quartzite raw material. The site comprises two horizons with archaeological finds dating to Marine Isotope Stages 5 and likely 7 or even older. During this period, huntergatherers would have benefited from bodies of water and streams in the vicinity of the site, which were active during humid phases, contributing to the development of a significant biomass. Our discovery supports the hypotheses of an early colonisation of inland Arabia by hominins and of a solid link with North and East African lithic traditions of the Middle Stone Age, which awaits further refinement.

The application of Niche Construction Theory (NCT) to archaeology provides a conceptual framework for the exploration of the evolution of species as both a cause and effect of their activities. This framework is particularly adapted to certain regions of the world in which the trajectories of its human populations are difficult to integrate into models of global dispersal and societal complexity as a result of population resilience to selective biological, ecological and cultural pressures. We apply NCT to the discussion of the Neolithisation of the Southern Red Sea coastal plain in South Arabia and the Afar plain in the Horn of Africa, commonly attributed to diffusion from the Near Eastern agricultural core and Nile valley, respectively, despite contradictions with material culture and human genetic evidence for the region. We identify types of Southwest Arabian and Northeast African human niche construction through explorations of the activities of coastal and lakeside oases populations and human interaction between them from the 8th to the 3rd millennium BP.

Report of two seasons of archaeological survey and excavations in the oasis of al-Kharj (Central Arabia). Geomorphological observations, Prehistorical, Bronze Age and Historical surveys. Excavations of the Late pre-Islamic / Islamic site of al-Yamama.

In a recent article, Malkinson and his colleagues (Malkinson et al., 2017) have put forward a series of hypotheses on the function, seasonality, and chronology of kites discovered on the slopes of Mount Aragats, in Armenia. Among their hypotheses relevant to function, Malkinson et al. propose that the kites without antennae would have been meant for pastoralism, while those with antennae would have been for large herbivore game. In our opinion, this hypothesis appears to be particularly flimsy: it rests on a very incomplete body of evidence, and does not take into consideration the analysis of the morphological and morphometric aspects of these constructions. The question is whether kites with antennae and kites without them have characteristics that are sufficiently apart from one another to consider different functions.

Al-Kharj is located in the central part of the Arabian Peninsula thus providing a new point of reference for regional and intraregional comparisons with other sites known in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. Given the dearth of Palaeolithic sites in the area surrounding the city of al-Kharj, the results presented here greatly expand our knowledge concerning prehistoric occupations and population dispersal across the central portion of Saudi Arabia.

Nubian Levallois technology is the defining characteristic of the Middle Paleolithic or Middle Stone Age technocomplex known as the Nubian Complex. Until recently, this technocomplex was found exclusively in northeastern Africa; however, archaeological surveys conducted across the Arabian Peninsula in the last decade have expanded the known distribution of this technological phenomenon. Since 2009, researchers from separate archaeological missions have mapped sites yielding Nubian cores and debitage, and by extension Nubian technology, in the southern, central and northernmost parts of the Arabia Peninsula. Nubian Complex artifacts in central and southern Arabia were made using different raw materials: in Al-Kharj (central Saudi Arabia) Middle Paleolithic industries were made exclusively on quartzite, while in Dhofar (southern Oman) chert was the only knappable material available for use. Given these differences, we sought to examine the influence of raw material variability on core morphology and size. Contrary to initial hypothesis, this study finds that the differences recorded are not a function of raw material properties. In both areas, Nubian cores were reduced using the same technological systems producing a set of preferential blanks. Rather, the recorded differences from raw material constrains were primarily due to knapping accidents, which occur in higher proportions at quartzite-based assemblages from Al-Kharj (specifically the siret fracture) compared with the chert assemblages from Dhofar. In sum, we argue that raw material had little effect on Nubian Levallois core technology and was not a constraint on Nubian Complex artisans.

In Arabia, the emergence of the first maritime societies of the early Holocene used to be a theme unexplored by archaeology. For the first time, a glimpse of these 9th and 8th millennium BCE communities living on the Omani shores of the Arabian Sea has recently been possible thanks to data from the Natif 2 cave. These hunter-gatherers were selectively foraging the shallow waters of the coast, where small pelagic fish (anchovies and sardines) are abundant and easily captured. Sharks, sometimes up to two metres long, were also taken. This scenario of fishing in shallow waters, clarified in the case of the 9th and 8th millennia BCE, appears to be unusual and original in Arabia. Around 6500 BCE, a major social and economic change occurred: the appearance of the first pastoral Neolithic societies. Arabia then developed an alternative subsistence model in comparison to those of the Levant and the Near East. On the coast, the most favourable areas saw the settlement and anchoring of human groups. This precocious Neolithic expansion also affected the large island of Masirah; by contrast, the small archipelago of the Kuria Muria was conquered and settled much later, at the turning point of the 4th and 5th millennia BCE. From the 6th millennium BCE on, the southeast Arabian coastline was covered by huge shell middens. The integration of these dwelling sites into the landscape was closely related to palaeo-local and micro-regional geographical conditions. Proximity to ancient estuaries, lagoons, and mangroves was a particularly condition sought by prehistoric populations, who had biotope symbiosis in mind. The site of Suwayh SWY-1 is emblematic of this attraction for coastal humid environments. From the 6th millennium BCE on the range of captured marine fauna appears to be much larger than that of previous times, and affected a huge range of fish species, some of them pelagic, tuna (Scombridae) in particular. Some dwelling sites such as Suwayh 1 seem to focus on specialized fishing, more particularly small and large-sized shark. In Arabia, sea mammals were at times the focus of extensive fishing: the dolphin, but also the dugong in the Arabo-Persian gulf. Arabian communities, however, did not hunt cetaceous mammals (whales), but collected their bones on the seashore. The earliest fishing expeditions for fine pearls in the Ancient World were carried out in the waters of the gulf and the Arabian Sea. These pearls became one of the constitutive elements of the cultural identity of the communities of Arabia. Coastal populations of the Arabian Peninsula also developed their own material culture, often made with materials from the sea: scrapers of Amiantis umbonella, chisels of Cypraecassis Rufa, containers of Lambis truncata sebae or Scapharca inflata, compensating for the lack of all kinds of pottery. During the 6th and 5th millennia BCE, shell work was at its peak in Eastern Arabia. A complete range of fishing hooks made of mother-of-pearl was produced using pearl oysters (Pinctada margaritifera). Some sites of the Gulf and the Arabian Sea were specialised in the production of personal ornaments, generally small discoid beads. The dwelling site of Ra’s Dah — on Masirah Island — that of Akab Island, and perhaps even al-Hallaniyah as well, manufactured a number of products whose volume exceeded the needs of the community. Between the Gulf and the Indian Ocean, these coastal societies finally shared spiritual practices associating distinct marine animals: the sea turtle and the dugong.

En Arabie, l’émergence des premières sociétés maritimes de l’Holocène ancien est encore une thématique inexplorée par l’archéologie. Ces communautés, des IXe-VIIIe millénaires avant notre ère, viennent d’être entrevues pour la première fois sur les rivages omanais de la mer d’Arabie, dans la grotte de Natif 2. Ces chasseurs-collecteurs opèrent un prélèvement dans les eaux peu profondes du rivage, où de petits poissons pélagiques (anchois, sardines) sont abondants et faciles à attraper. Les squales, parfois de plus de deux mètres sont aussi capturés. Ce scénario de pêche en eau peu profonde mis en évidence pour cette période ancienne, s’avère aujourd’hui original en Arabie. Vers 6500 avant notre ère s’opère un changement socioéconomique majeur : l’apparition des premières sociétés pastorales néolithiques. L’Arabie développe alors un modèle alternatif à ceux du Levant et du Proche-Orient. Sur le littoral, les zones les plus propices voient l’établissement, puis l’ancrage, de groupes humains. Cette expansion néolithique précoce touche aussi la grande île de Masirah, en revanche, le petit archipel des Kuria Muria n’est conquis que bien plus tard, au tournant des Ve-IVe millénaires avant notre ère. Dès le VIe millénaire le littoral de l’Arabie du sud-est se couvre de puissants amas coquilliers. L’implantation de ces habitats est étroitement liée aux conditions paléogéographiques locales et micro-régionales. La proximité des anciens estuaires, lagunes et mangroves est particulièrement recherchée par les populations préhistoriques, dans une optique de complémentarité des biotopes. Le site de Suwayh SWY-1 est emblématique de cet attrait pour les milieux humides côtiers. Dès le VIe millénaire avant notre ère, le spectre de la faune marine capturée s’avère bien plus large que précédemment et touche une vaste gamme de poissons dont certains pélagiques, notamment le thon (Scombridae). Certains habitats comme Suwayh 1 semblent s’orienter vers une pêche spécialisée, celle du requin, de petites ou de grandes dimensions. En Arabie, les mammifères marins sont l’objet d’une pêche parfois assidue : le dauphin, mais aussi le dugong dans le golfe Arabo-persique. En revanche, les communautés d’Arabie ne chassent pas les grands cétacés, mais collectent leurs ossements sur les rivages
Les toutes premières pêches aux perles fines dans l’Ancien Monde sont pratiquées dans les eaux du golfe et de la mer d’Arabie. Ces perles deviennent un des éléments constitutifs de l’identité culturelle des communautés d’Arabie. Les populations côtières omanaises développent aussi une culture matérielle propre, souvent dans des matériaux marins : racloir en Amiantis umbonella, ciseau en Cypraecassis Rufa, contenants en Lambis truncata sebae ou Scapharca inflata palliant l’absence de toute céramique. Au cours des VIe -IVe
millénaires, le travail de la coquille marine est à son apogée en Arabie orientale. Toute une gamme d’hameçons en nacre est produite à partir de la nacre de l’huître perlière (Pinctada margaritifera). Certains sites du golfe et de la mer d’Arabie s’orientent vers la production de parures, généralement de petites perles discoïdes. L’habitat de Ra’s Dah – île de Masirah – celui de l’île d’Akab et peut-être d’al-Hallaniyah réalisent un nombre de produits dont le volume excède les besoins de la communauté. Entre golfe et océan Indien, ces sociétés littorales partagent enfin des pratiques d’ordre spirituel associant certains animaux marins : la tortue marine et le dugong.

Since 2013, the authors have conducted archaeological surveys across the Al-Jawf province in northern Saudi Arabia. In the past  two seasons, 48 sites were mapped and characterized by the presence of Levallois technology and, therefore, attributed to the Middle Paleolithic of Arabia. Preferential Levallois reduction using different methods of dorsal core preparation have been found at these sites. The technological variability includes Nubian Levallois methods, preferential Levallois with centripetal preparation, as well as recurrent centripetal reduction methods. In Arabia, sites with Nubian Levallois reduction are known from southern Oman, eastern Yemen, and central Saudi Arabia, while in Africa this reduction method has been identified across much of the northeastern continent. Preferential Levallois with centripetal preparation and recurrent centripetal Levallois methods have been found across Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. Outside of Arabia, these methods have been found in many regions across the Old World. In this paper, we present the results from technological analyses on the Middle Paleolithic assemblages from the newly discovered Al-Jawf sites. The technological data are used to place these sites into a wider regional framework, assessing whether connections with known lithic industries from across the Near East and northeastern Africa can be surmised.

Kites have often been interpreted as traps built for hunting purposes. This is based on ethnographic parallels, and recurrent references of the habitat range of animals and possible migration routes. Faunal remains from limited zones and from a selection of sites around kites were studied, particularly from northern Syria and eastern Jordan. When considering the wide distribution of kites in the Middle East and Central Asia, some patterns of animal exploitation and hunting strategies are explored in testing the hypothesis of a cynegetic function of the kites across these regions. As a component of the Globalkites project, the zooarchaeological analyses are used  to investigate data regarding the function of kites by reconsidering faunal assemblages recorded around their distribution area, as well as by mapping the historical animal distribution in the Near East and Caucasus. The function of kites is discussed on a large scale, through intensive analyses of the subsistence economy, animal habitat and hunting activities carried out by regional human communities. Cross-referencing these variables with the surrounding environment, settlement patterns and animal ethology and their role in ancient societies, leads to an assessment of the current hypothesis on the function of kites.

In the last few years, the number of inventoried kites has increased fivefold, and the known distribution zone has been greatly extended across the Near East, Arabia, the Caucasus and Central Asia. High-resolution satellite images provide substantial amounts of data that can be subjected to geomatics analysis. The resulting spatial data is used to identify regional differences.We present here a study of these kite structures at the global, regional and local scales, carried out by means of GIS. The recognition of a number of morphological characteristics, without any subjective attribute, leads to a geographically referenced inventory that clearly distinguishes five main regions. This paper suggests a method to define the morphology of the kites, which will be further augmented with cross-variables including the surrounding environment, settlement distribution, animal exploitation and ethology, providing a base for future studies.

Desert kites are found across a vast region. This paper presents a detailed description of kites from the Harrat al-Shaam region (Jordan) and proposes a comparative study, as well as an analysis of the morphology and organisation of kites known from Mount Aragats (Armenia) and the Ustyurt Plateau (Kazakhstan). A complete inventory of the structures in each region highlights their architectural characteristics and their spatial distribution in the landscape. Some preliminary results were obtained by comparing both regions: the core area in eastern Jordan, and peripheries—sometimes very distant— such as in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Chronological data were also compared, when available. All these different and complementary aspects were finally combined with satellite imagery analyses. The interactive process between satellite images and fieldwork observations has enriched both approaches, while yielding preliminary key elements of interpretation for a better understanding of the kite phenomenon on a global scale.

Kites are remnants of long stone walls that outline the shape
of a child’s kite. But the kites are huge, their big size makes them often clearly visible on high-resolution satellite images. Identified at first in the Near East, their area of distribution is getting larger and larger. This wide distribution gives new dimensions in the interpretation of these structures. Consequently, a large scale recognition of kites will help archeologists to understand the functionality of these enigmatic constructions.
In this paper, we investigate how the satellite imagery can be exploited in this purpose using a graph representation of the kites. We propose a similarity measure and a kite identification process that can highlights the preservation state of the kites. We also construct from real images a benchmark of kite graphs that can be used by other researchers.

Kites in Armenia were recently discovered, and investigations into their construction, typology and dating are ongoing. With these discoveries, it has become necessary to investigate a series of unsolved questions. In order to test the functions of kites, we conducted a synthesis describing the occurrence and habitat range of Late Pleistocene and Holocene wild ungulates in Armenia. Wildlife is discussed by emphasizing animal behavior and distribution, along with the hunting strategies adopted by the communities that inhabited Armenia.
In spite of the fact that wild ungulates did not contribute largely to the daily meat intake or to the major raw products needed by humans since their domestication (around 6000 cal. BC), wild  goats, gazelle and red deer were the animals most frequently hunted in Armenia in different time periods and in a variety of landscapes. Hypotheses put forward suggest that these preferences might be linked to using kites as traps for herds at different seasons of the year and on different altitudes, between 3000 and 500 BC.

The Empty Quarter (or Rub' al Khali) of the Arabian Peninsula is the largest continuous sandy desert in
the world. It has been known for several decades that Late Pleistocene and Holocene deposits, representing
phases of wetter climate, are preserved there. These sequences have yielded palaeontological
evidence in the form of a variety of vertebrate and invertebrate fossils and have been dated using various
radiometric techniques. However, evidence for human presence during these wetter phases has until
now been ephemeral. Here, we report on the first stratified and dated archaeology from the Empty
Quarter, recovered from the site of Mundafan Al-Buhayrah (MDF-61). Human occupation at the site,
represented by stone tools, has been dated to the later part of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 using
multiple luminescence dating techniques (multigrain and single grain OSL, TT-OSL). The sequence consists
primarily of lacustrine and palustrine sediments, from which evidence for changing local environmental
conditions has been obtained through analysis of fossil assemblages (phytoliths and nonmarine
molluscs and ostracods). The discovery of securely-dated archaeological material at ~100 to
80 ka in the Empty Quarter has important implications for hypotheses concerning the timing and routes
of dispersal of Homo sapiens out of Africa, which have been much debated. Consequently, the data
presented here fill a crucial gap in palaeoenvironmental and archaeological understanding of the
southern Arabian interior. Fossils of H. sapiens in the Levant, also dated to MIS 5, together with Middle
Palaeolithic archaeological sites in Arabia and India are thought to represent the earliest dispersal of our
species out of Africa. We suggest that the widespread occurrence of similar lithic technologies across
southern Asia, coupled with a growing body of evidence for environmental amelioration across the
Saharo-Arabian belt, indicates that occupation of the Levant by H. sapiens during MIS 5 may not have
been a brief, localized ‘failed dispersal’, but part of a wider demographic expansion.

Freshwater availability is critical for human survival, and in the Saharo-Arabian desert belt repeated fluctuations between aridity and humidity over the Quaternary mean the distribution of freshwater was likely a primary control upon routes and opportunities for hominin dispersals. However, our knowledge of the spatio-temporal distribution of palaeohydrological resources within Arabia during MideLate Pleistocene episodes of climatic amelioration remains limited. In this paper we outline a combined method for remotely mapping the location of palaeodrainage and palaeolakes in currently arid regions that were formerly subject to more humid conditions. We demonstrate the potential of this approach by mapping palaeochannels across the whole Arabian Peninsula, and palaeolakes and marshes for select regions covering c. 10% of its surface. Our palaeodrainage mapping is based upon quantitative thresh- olding of HydroSHEDs data, which applies flow routing to Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data, while our palaeolake mapping uses an innovative method where spectral classification of Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery is used to detect palaeolake deposits within endorheic (closed) basins, before modelling maximum lake extents by flooding the basin to the level of the elevation of the highest detected deposit. Field survey in the Nefud desert and the Dawadmi and Shuwaymis regions of Saudi Arabia indicates accuracies of 86% for palaeodrainage mapping, and 96% for identifying former palae- olake basins (73% accuracy of classification of individual deposits). The palaeolake mapping method has also demonstrated potential for identifying surface and stratified archaeological site locations, with 76% of the surveyed palaeolake basins containing archaeological material, including stratified Palaeolithic archaeology. Initial examination of palaeodrainage in relation to archaeological sites indicates a relationship between mapped features and previously recorded Palaeolithic sites. An example of the application of these data for period-specific regional palaeohydrological and archaeological re- constructions is presented for a region of Northern Saudi Arabia covering the southern Nefud desert and adjacent lava fields.

Numerous palaeoenvironmental and archaeological studies from southern Arabia (Yemen and Oman) have revealed strong relations between phases of human settlements and climate change linked to the Indian monsoon system. Analyses on speleothems, cave fills, lacustrine deposits and palaeo-mangroves have shown that during the Early to Mid-Holocene, a humid Optimum culminated around 9000-8000 cal BP. New results on inland speleothems and cave sediments fromthe Jebel Qara (southern Oman) are crucial in our depiction of Early and Mid-Holocene climatic evolution and cultural dynamics of the region. These aspects are discussed here, based on new archaeological surveys, excavations, geoarchaeological and micromorphological studies, aiming to better understand connections with Terminal Pleistocene and Early Holocene autochthonous cultures of southern Arabia. Our results suggest that the final Pleistocene was marked by strong aridity, which promoted a widespread thermoclastism within rock shelter and deposition of aeolian sand; in contrast, the transition towards the Holocene is marked (since c.12,000 cal BP) by a progressive increasing in environmental humidity, which permitted the formation of thick strata of peridesert loess. After this phase, the environmental humidity of the Jebel increased and permitted the existence of a large community of land snails; the latter were exploited by Early Holocene hunter-gatherers who lived in the rock shelters between c. 10,500e9500 cal BP and left consistent accumulations of land shells (escargotières). The maximum of Holocene humidity was reached between 9000 and 8000 cal BP; regional aquifer were recharged and the deposition of calcareous tufa at the entrance of caves started, lasting up to c. 4500 cal BP. C and O stable isotopes from calcareous tufa highlights, in accordance with several regional records, the progressive decline of the intensity of the Indian Ocean monsoon and the transition towards arid conditions. In this phase, the area was abandoned and archaeological communities possibly relocated along the coast of central and southern Oman, where they exploited the mangrove environment.

Prehistoric research in the Arabian Peninsula is in its infancy, and it has long been treated as an empty spot on the archaeological world map. While information about Arabian prehistory is still relatively scarce, archaeological sites are, in fact, abundant. Archaeological sites are found in many places across Arabia, usually represented by stone tool industries.

This paper argues that the wide geographical distribution of desert kites, which are huge archaeological structures of stone visible from satellite images, must be more broadly acknowledged as a momentous factor in the study of their variability and function. This is important so that researchers can more accurately understand and interpret their impact on biodiversity, landscapes and subsistence patterns. The first results and perspectives of the Globalkites research project are discussed and presented. Often considered as hunting traps, the kites could have also been used for animal husbandry. In a broader archaeological context, where kites seem to have been operating from the Neolithic to recent historical times, we propose an interdisciplinary approach at the crossroads of anthropology (archaeology and ethnology), geomatics and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), geostatistics, mathematics and computerized data processing and geoarchaeological and bioarchaeological sciences (isotope studies, paleoclimatology, archaeozoology…). The principal aims of the project are to clearly articulate the variability of the structures and their relationship with the function and chronology of the kites. It is also crucial to discuss the wide distribution of these structures across the Middle East and Central Asia as a global phenomenon and the ideas that explain the dispersal and movements of people and/or traditions must be addressed.

During the 2013 fieldwork of the French archaeological mission along the shores of the Arabian Sea, mancala games were discovered on the seashore of Salalah at the site of Ad-Dahariz. They are cup-hole carvings made directly into rock slabs and distributed in six distinct zones of the site. They usually consist of fourteen cup-holes aligned in two lines of seven, two supplementary holes being sometimes present on each side. They are the first of their kind in South Arabia and can be compared to similar configurations of carved games elsewhere in Arabia, such as at Jebel al-Jassasiya, Qatar. This paper presents the potential origins of this game in the region, as well as a plausible dating of their use.

High-resolution satellite imagery publicly accessible on the Internet (e.g. Google Earth, Microsoft Bing) greatly facilitates the observation of large archaeological structures. This is particularly the case for 'desert kites', dry-stone constructions comprising long convergent walls with an associated enclosure. Recent publications have significantly increased the number of known kites, including in regions where they had never before been reported (e.g. Kennedy 2012; Kempe & Al-Malabeh 2013). Previous research projects have been numerous (e.g. Helms & Betts 1987; Échallier & Braemer 1995) but isolated and at a regional scale only. Additionally, researchers were regularly faced with a scarcity of archaeological material, which often had no clear stratigraphic relationship to the kite structures. Thus,
apart from a few isolated cases (Holzer et al. 2010), key issues such as dating kites and understanding their function have not been satisfactorily resolved. Hypotheses have been proposed based on historical evidence, rock carvings and faunal remains, some of them from sites interpreted as mass killing sites. These data are still insufficient, however, due to the unsystematic nature of the studies, and the current hypotheses cannot explain such a large spatial distribution (from the Arabian Peninsula to the Aralo-Caspian region) and presumably long chronology (from the Neolithic to sub-contemporary times).

Across both sides of the Red Sea archaeological sites exhibiting a specific type of Levallois reduction, entitled the Nubian Method, have been reported (Rose et al. 2011; Usik et al. 2012; Crassard and Hilbert 2013). In Northeast Africa and across central and southern Arabia, this reduction method was applied for the production of Nubian Points, which are preferential blanks with predetermined elongated and convergent outlines. Distinct characteristics of this production method are: A) the preparation of the cores distal to medial guiding ridge by a combination of distal and centripetal removals administered from a specially prepared distal striking platform and; B) the predominantly triangular to sub-triangular outline of the cores themselves. The presence of the Nubian Levallois technology in North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula cannot be explained by simple technological convergence or recurrent autochthonous invention. Archaeological investigations conducted across Arabia indicate a considerable amount of technological and demographic permeability between Northeast Africa, the southern and central portions of the Peninsula from the MIS 5d (115 -105 ka. BP) onward. The point of entry for expansion is yet to be determined. The Southern Dispersal Rout, via the Bab al Mandeb, cannot be ruled out, neither can an incursion through the north of the Peninsula, over Sinai, be fully rejected given the premature state of research across northern Saudi Arabia.
Here we discuss the implications of the newly discovered site of Al-Kharj 22 in central Arabia, an important point of reference for tracking the expansion of the Nubian Complex and Anatomically Modern Humans across Arabia. Based on technological analysis undertaken on samples from across Arabia we also suggest a revision of the original Nubian Levallois taxonomy, which was originally proposed by Guichard and Guichard (1965) and based strictly on core typology. Furthermore, possible expansion scenarios into and across the Arabian Peninsula are discussed.

Along the 150-km coastline of Masirah, 127 archaeological sites were discovered through surveys carried out in January–February 2012. The island is the largest off the Sultanate of Oman and possesses great archaeological potential, especially for the Neolithic period, Bronze Age, and Iron Age. Shell middens, some of which are very large, and many small workshops are related to the production of ornaments in shell or stone. The site of Ra’s Dah (SM-10) has proved to be the oldest identified Neolithic occupation in Oman today. Finally, more than 250 km south of Ra’s al-Hadd, the discovery of two Early Bronze Age sites, dating to the Umm an-Nar period, considerably increases the area of the ‘Magan Civilization’, and with it that of the diffusion of goods from the Indus Civilization.

"Pre-Pottery Neolithic assemblages are best known from the fertile areas of the Mediterranean Levant. The archaeological
site of Jebel Qattar 101 (JQ-101), at Jubbah in the southern part of the Nefud Desert of northern Saudi Arabia, contains a
large collection of stone tools, adjacent to an Early Holocene palaeolake. The stone tool assemblage contains lithic types,
including El-Khiam and Helwan projectile points, which are similar to those recorded in Pre-Pottery Neolithic A and Pre-
Pottery Neolithic B assemblages in the Fertile Crescent. Jebel Qattar lies ,500 kilometres outside the previously identified
geographic range of Pre-Pottery Neolithic cultures. Technological analysis of the typologically diagnostic Jebel Qattar 101
projectile points indicates a unique strategy to manufacture the final forms, thereby raising the possibility of either direct
migration of Levantine groups or the acculturation of mobile communities in Arabia. The discovery of the Early Holocene
site of Jebel Qattar suggests that our view of the geographic distribution and character of Pre-Pottery Neolithic cultures may
be in need of revision."

The Arabian Peninsula is a key region for understanding climate change and human occupation history in a marginal environment. The Mundafan palaeolake is situated in southern Saudi Arabia, in the Rub’ al-Khali (the ‘Empty Quarter’), the world’s largest sand desert. Here we report the first discoveries of Middle Palaeolithic and Neolithic archaeological sites in association with the palaeolake. We associate the human occupations with new geochronological data, and suggest the archaeological sites date to the wet periods of Marine Isotope Stage 5 and the Early Holocene. The archaeological sites indicate that humans repeatedly penetrated the ameliorated environments of the Rub’ al-Khali. The sites probably represent short-term occupations, with the Neolithic sites focused on hunting, as indicated by points and weaponry. Middle Palaeolithic assemblages at Mundafan support a lacustrine adaptive focus in Arabia. Provenancing of obsidian artifacts indicates that Neolithic groups at Mundafan had a wide wandering range, with transport of artifacts from distant sources.

Archaeological survey undertaken in central Saudi Arabia has revealed 29 surface sites attributed to the Arabian Middle Paleolithic based on the presence of Levallois blank production methods. Technological analyses on cores retrieved from Al-
Kharj 22 have revealed specific reduction modalities used to produce flakes with predetermined shapes. The identified modalities, which are anchored within the greater Levallois concept of core convexity preparation and exploitation, correspond with those utilized during the Middle Stone Age Nubian Complex of northeast Africa and southern Arabia. The discovery of Nubian technology at the Al-Kharj 22 site represents the first appearance of this blank production method in central Arabia. Here we demonstrate how a rigorous use of technological and taxonomic analysis may enable intra-regional comparisons across the Arabian Peninsula. The discovery of Al-Kharj 22 increases the complexity of the Arabian Middle Paleolithic archaeological record and suggests new dynamics of population movements between the southern and central regions of the Peninsula. This study also addresses the dichotomy within Nubian core typology (Types 1 and 2), which was originally defined for African assemblages.

This paper focus on the Holocene palaeogeography of the Ja’alan coast from the 6th to the 4th millennium cal. BC, integrating the dynamics of mangroves, lagoons, khors-estuaries and deltas, with sea-level change and the evidence from Neolithic shell middens. The distribution and maturation of mangrove ecosystems along the Arabian coasts has varied considerably, affected by physical forces such as sea-level changes, climate, tidal amplitude and duration as well as the quantity of freshwater inflow associated with the monsoon systems along the Arabian coast. Palaeo-mangroves and lagoons, today replaced by large sabkhas, appear to be correlated to mid-Holocene fossil deltas and estuaries that currently function episodically, depending on the rhythm of winter rains. All these parameters have determined and impacted the location of settlement networks and the economic strategies of the first Arabian farmers along the eastern Arabian coast. The mid-Holocene sea-level highstand stability (5th millennium BC) can be considered to be an optimum period for mangrove development and can be correlated with Neolithic sites around the mangroves. The decline of mangroves since 3000/2500 cal. BC and further degradation is mainly attributed to the prevailing arid climate that reduced summer monsoon effects in the tropical area by favoring the extension of sabkhas. We discuss these aspects based on new archaeological surveys, excavations and geoarchaeological studies.

"The Arabian Peninsula has long been considered as a region devoid of long-term human settlement until
the Holocene period, as a result of drastic climatic changes throughout the Pleistocene. It might be
expected that the area was deserted during hyper-arid and arid periods, and populated by new migrant
groups during humid events, according to a “push and pull” phenomenon. Although this scenario may be
perfectly valid for a large part of the Peninsula, a set of recent data points to the persistence of populations
in several regions, which may have served as refugia for human groups who developed their
own technological traditions. Such a scenario is suggested by:
(1) The succession of dense human occupations under arid conditions between ca. 60 and 50 ka, in the
Wadi Surdud basin, a small sedimentary basin in the foothills of the Yemeni Western Highlands. This
archaeological site complex encompasses several successive human settlements characterized by
a Middle Paleolithic tradition which significantly differs from the Middle Paleolithic and Middle Stone
Age contemporaneous traditions from neighboring regions;
(2) The regional diversity of the Middle Paleolithic throughout the Saharo-Arabian arid belt duringMIS
3, expressed by an array of local techno-typological facies that likely relate to distant and disconnected
source regions where populations contracted when climate worsened.
Together with a set of high-resolution archaeological contexts recently discovered in the Arabian
Peninsula and dated to MIS 5, these data suggest that the major human expansion waves which occurred
in the region during the Upper Pleistocene are correlated with the wet phases of MIS 5, while populations
probably contracted into a few refugia areas at the beginning of MIS 3."

"The Shi’bat Dihya 1 site in western Yemen, dated by optically stimulated luminescence
to 55 ka, provides insight into the Middle Paleolithic peopling of
the Arabian Peninsula. The archaeological layer is interstratified within thick,
sandy silt floodplain deposits filling a piedmont basin. Luminescence dates, lack
of soil development, and gypsum precipitation indicate a high accretion rate of
the floodplain during Marine Isotope Stage 3, in connection with a (semi)-arid
environment. Rapid overbank sedimentation was likely a result of the remobilization
of loess material deposited on the Yemeni Great Escarpment at the
periphery of the adjacent Tihama coastal sand desert or of other sources. Fabric
and size analyses of the lithic artifacts, together with spatial projections, indicate
site modifications by floods. Primary modifications include (1) selective
accumulation of medium-sized lithic pieces as a result of hydraulic sorting, (2)
bimodal orientation of artifacts, and (3) ripple-like arrangement of lithics and
bone/tooth fragments. The overrepresentation of teeth may also be a consequence
of sorting. Although floods have distorted the original site patterning,
long-distance transport of artifacts by water can be excluded, as indicated by
relatively high refitting rate, close proximity of artifacts derived from the same
block of raw material, and lack of abrasion of the pieces. Therefore, the site is
considered “geologically” in situ because its remobilization by water occurred
shortly after human abandonment. This study also stresses that the effective
preservation of a site cannot be assessed without careful taphonomic study,
even in a potentially favorable depositional context such as silty alluvium."

"The recovery at Shi’bat Dihya 1 (SD1) of a dense Middle Paleolithic human occupation dated to 55 ka BP sheds new light on the role of the Arabian Peninsula at the time of the alleged expansion of modern humans out of Africa. SD1 is part of a complex of Middle Paleolithic sites cut by the Wadi Surdud and
interstratified within an alluvial sedimentary basin in the foothills that connect the Yemeni highlands with the Tihama coastal plain. A number of environmental proxies indicate arid conditions throughout a sequence that extends between 63 and 42 ka BP. The lithic industry is geared toward the production of a variety of end products: blades, pointed blades, pointed flakes and Levallois-like flakes with long unmodified cutting edges, made from locally available rhyolite. The occasional exploitation of other local raw materials, that fulfill distinct complementary needs, highlights the multi-functional nature of the occupation. The slightly younger Shi’bat Dihya 2 (SD2) site is characterized by a less elaborate production of flakes, together with some elements (blades and pointed flakes) similar to those found at SD1, and may indicate a cultural continuity between the two sites. The technological behaviors of the SD1 toolmakers present similarities with those documented from a number of nearly contemporaneous assemblages from southern Arabia, the Levant, the Horn of Africa and North Africa. However, they do not directly conform to any of the techno-complexes typical of the late Middle Paleolithic or late Middle Stone Age from these regions. This period would have witnessed the development of local Middle Paleolithic traditions in the Arabian Peninsula, which suggests more complex settlement dynamics and possible
population interactions than commonly inferred by the current models of modern human expansion out of Africa."

Report of the archaeological and geomorphological activities of the Saudi French mission in the oasis of al-Kharj, 80 km South of Riyadh, in the Central Province of Saudi Arabia carried out from January 23 to February 27 2015. It includes chapters on:
- The survey and excavation of Middle Palaeolithic sites
- The archaeological survey and excavation of the bronze age necropolis of Umm al-Sa’al [in Arabic]
- The archaeological excavation of the site of al-Yamāma : Great Mosque and sounding in area K17.
- Environmental studies : archaeobotanic and archaeozoological studies in al-Yamāma; palynological study on the palaeolake of al-Hayathim.

Report of the archaeological and geophysical activities of the Saudi French mission in the oasis of al-Kharj, 80 km South of Riyadh, in the Central Province of Saudi Arabia carried out from October 24 to November 29 2013. It includes chapters on:
- The survey on the prehistoric occupation
- The archaeological excavation of a Bronze Age necropolis at Ayn al-Dila
- The exploration of the site of al-Yamāma (geophysical survey, archaeological excavation of the Great Mosque).

"Report displaying the results of the fifth field season of the French-Saudi archaeological Mission in the Province of Najran, Saudi Arabia.
The season was devoted to the study of the rock-art site of Jabal Kawkab and the Neolithic/Palaeolithic sites of al-Mundafan area.
"

Report displaying the results of the fourth field season of the French-Saudi archaeological Mission in the Province of Najran, Saudi Arabia.
The season was devoted to the study of the rock-art site of Khushayba and to the Neolithic/Palaeolithic sites of al-Mundafan area.

Nubian Levallois technology is the hallmark of the Middle Paleolithic/Middle Stone Age technocomplex known as the Afro-Arabian Nubian Complex. Until recently, this technocomplex was found exclusively in northeastern Africa; however, survey activities conducted across the Arabian Peninsula in the last decade have expanded the known distribution of this technological phenomenon. Since 2009, researchers from multiple archaeological missions have been mapping sites yielding Nubian cores and debitage, and by extension Nubian technology, in the southern, central and northernmost parts of the Arabia Peninsula. Nubian Complex Sites in central and southern Arabia show perceptual differences in core assemblage constitutions in terms of the percentage of Nubian Levallois cores; Nubian complex sites in Dhofar, southern Oman, show high amounts of Nubian type 1, 2 and 1/2 while sites in the al-Kharj area, central Saudi Arabia, show similar distributions of Nubian and other types of Levallois cores. Furthermore, Nubian Complex artifacts in central and southern Arabia were made using different raw materials: in Al-Kharj (central Saudi Arabia) Middle Paleolithic industries were made exclusively on quartzite, while in Dhofar (southern Oman) chert was the only knappable material available for use. In this talk we will explore what, if any, influence the availability and variability of raw material has on this aspect of Nubian Middle Paleolithic culture.

Cores, tools and blanks have been collected and analysed. Patination is homogenous and artefacts show no signs of rolling by transport of any sort, indicating that, while not in situ artefacts have not been moved by post-depositional factors. Two types of chert have been used at the site for stone tool production; a bright yellow and a dark brown variant. Cores are strictly unidirectional parallel blade/bladelet cores showing intensive reduction(Fig. 2b). In general specimens have a well discernible hierarchy between working surface, striking platform and back. At the intersection of the striking platforms and the working surface, the discarded specimens show abrasive treatment, a technical feature that enhances the control over the detachment process. Striking platforms are prepared by the removal of core tablets and in few cases short hinged removals. Core working surfaces management takes shape in the preparation of ridges/crests, which are subsequently reduced (Fig. 2a). Tools collected consist of endscrapers, retouched core tablets, large flakes and some laterally retouched blades. Figure 1a. Map showing the location of identified sites Figure 1b. Google image of the sites DAJ-64, 65 and 66. Figure 1c. Photograph of discreet lithic scatter at DAJ-65 Here we present some result of the prehistoric survey campaign undertaken between 2013 and 2015 by the authors as part of the Saudi-Italian-French Archaeological Project at Dûmat al-Jandal (directed by G. Charloux and R. Loreto) in the Al-Jawf region of Northern Saudi Arabia. A total of 136 prehistoric sites have been located, mapped and sampled (Fig. 1a). The identification of three Upper Paleolithic (UP) sites possibly dating to the late MIS 3 is of some importance given the elusive character of this cultural period across the Arabian Peninsula. These sites have been mapped during the survey activities conducted along the Jol Ajrubah area northwest of the city of Dûmat al-Jandal. Sites DAJ-64, 65 and 66 have all been recorded along the edge of the limestone plateau (Fig. 1b). These sites have all been found directly overlooking a box canyon. DAJ-64 was submitted to a selective intensive collection of both blanks and cores. Artefacts are made of fine grained yellow and brown chert of exquisite quality. The surface sites are situated on the edge of the plateau. The site is found across an approximately 30 by 50 meter surface with artefact concentrations representing discreet knapping events (Fig. 1c). The techo-typological affinities of the lithic samples from DAJ-64, 65 and 66 suggests an affiliation of the Al-Jawf UP sites with Levantine stone tool industries, possibly the Early Ahmarian. The presence of UP industries in Al-Jawf indicate that UP pioneers ventured into the arid zones of northern Saudi Arabia, making short incursions into these territories during MIS 3 (Fig. 3). The general low density of UP sites in these areas, however, suggests that occupation was sporadic. In contrast with the high density of Middle Paleolithic sites , which suggest this region was somewhat intensely occupied. MIS 3 sites in South Arabia, Shi'bat Dihya and Jebel Faya, are attributed to the Middle Paleolithic and show no affinity with the Levantine UP or even Early UP. It is possible that the lack of similar sites across Arabia is a function of research intensity and that additional sites will be identified over the course of further research. Alternatively the Nefud Desert served as a environmental barrier, inhibiting the spread of Levantine UP into central and southern Arabia. Further research is needed to test either scenarios. The identification of UP technologies in North Arabia represents a novelty and hints at connections between this area and the Levant. Further research, however, is needed to better understand the nature of the MIS 3 archaeological record of Arabia.

Lithic projectile points are popular objects of analysis as they reflect both aspects of social identity as well as adaptation as weapon system and hunting strategies. Their abundance in the Neolithic assemblages of the Arabian Peninsula, together with the paucity of stratified datable sites, always conferred to these lithic implements an important diagnostic value. Given the limited comparability and flexibility of traditional arrowhead typology all the projectile points will be analysed with a new systematic description and the adoption of quantitative analytical methods. A new univocal, systematic description of projectile points is proposed based on the observation of technological and morphological change through time and space. This approach also makes it possible to establish whether similarities between individual arrowheads, or groups of arrowheads, can be explained by the rise of different lineages as opposed to historical continuity and functional convergence.