Australia: Matthew Stewart and Michael Petraglia of Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia and Hugh Groucutt of the University of Malta have made a major and mysterious claim about the ancient human history in Saudi Arabia. Scientists reported that thousands of stone structures can be seen in the landscape of the Arabian Peninsula. On land, you can find plenty of stone tools and ancient fireplaces scattered along the shores of ancient lakes, as well as rock art filled with hunting and shepherding scenes in the surrounding mountains. Scientists have claimed to have found the first evidence of ancient human habitation in a huge lava tube cave in Saudi Arabia.
Scientists said that despite the sites being within sight, archaeologists have only taken dedicated interest in them in the last decade or so. Some structures are now said to be 10,000 years old. However, the dry climate, hot days and cold nights, and strong wind erosion make some of the remains less useful to archaeologists. To date, little has been known about fossils or deeply buried, layered deposits that can open a window into the history of a place. Until recently, no archaeologist had surveyed any of the hundreds of caves and lava tubes recorded in northern Arabia. In 2019 the team began looking at these underground spaces – and a new study published in PLOS One revealed the first documented occupation of a lava tube in the Arabian Peninsula.
How was the lava tube made?
The Umm Jirsan Lava Tube is located in the Harat Khaybar lava field, about 125 kilometers north of the city of Medina. This tube was formed long ago by the cooling of lava. Its length is 1.5 kilometers, and in some parts the height reaches 12 meters and width 45 meters. The first thing you notice when entering the dark and twisting tunnels of the Tube is the huge number of animal remains. Scattered across the floor were piles of bones containing thousands – if not hundreds of thousands – of exceptionally preserved fossils. These bone piles are the work of striped hyenas, who drag the bones underground to eat, hide them in times of food shortage, or process them to feed to cubs. This process, repeated over millennia, has produced some of the most incredible accumulations of fossils seen anywhere in the world. But it’s not all just bones. When the entrances to Umm Jirsan were surveyed, essentially areas where the roof had collapsed, providing access to the lava tube, hundreds of stone artefacts made of obsidian, chert and basalt were uncovered.
10 thousand years of evidence
Radiocarbon dating of charcoal found in the cave, and dating of sediments using a method called optically stimulated luminescence dating, showed that this main occupation phase probably occurred between 7,000 and 10,000 years ago. We also found some interesting objects in the surrounding landscape. These included more stone artefacts and circular structures, as well as a so-called ”I-type” structure. These constructions are believed to date back about 7,000 years, based on their association with large rectangular structures called mustatils, which are believed to have been used for ritual animal sacrifice. We also found the first rock art discovered in the region.
It includes scenes of herding cattle, sheep and goats and even hunting scenes involving dogs. The art has similarities with other rock art from the Neolithic and later Bronze Age in Arabia. Archaeologists have made remarkable discoveries in recent years at sites such as ancient lake beds in Arabia. This discovery at Umm Jirsan adds another important element to the story of Arab societies over time. (The Conversation)
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