A Nubian Complex Site from Central Arabia: Implications for Levallois Taxonomy and Human Dispersals during the Upper Pleistocene

Abstract

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.

Middle Palaeolithic find spots with Nubian cores from the Southern Negev and the Arava, Israel

“…Within this arid region movements of hunter-gatherer groups across the landscape were most likely facilitated by climatic wet phases. In central Arabia these wet phases are documented in fluvial-lacustrine archives (Breeze et al 2016;Crassard et al 2013;Rosenberg et al 2011;. Negev Humid periods (NHP) are recorded in speleothems (Vaks et al 2006;.…”

“…The Nubian technology is a specific variant of the Levallois technology (GoderGoldberger et al 2016, Guichard & Guichard 19651968;Usik et al 2013;Van Peer 1992) found within Middle Paleolithic techno-complexes at surface sites across the western High Desert in Egypt (Chiotti et al 2009;Olszewski et al 2005), the central Negev highlands (Goder-Goldberger et al 2016) and Arabia (Crassard & Hilbert 2013;Hilbert et al 2016;Rose et al 2011;Usik et al 2013). Common to these finds is a technological package composed of the Levallois Nubian technology alongside both Levallois centripetal and bidirectional modes of production.…”

“…Although sparse, all dated assemblages containing Nubian technology are assigned to MIS5 (Mercier et al 1999;Rose et al 2011;Schmidt et al 2015;Van Peer & Vermeersch 2007;Van Peer et al 2010). The distinctive technological characteristics, geographical extent and chronology advocate using the Nubian technology as a possible marker for human dispersals and interactions between Eastern Africa the Nile valley the southern Levant and Arabia (Crassard & Hilbert 2013;Goder-Goldberger et al 2016;Hilbert et al 2017;Rose et al 2011;Usik et al 2013).…”

The Middle Paleolithic of the Levant

“…В материалах вышележащего слоя Е были выде-лены три фации, или три индустриальных комплекса: 1) ябрудийский, ориентированный в основном на по-лучение отщепов и изготовление скребел типа кина; 2) ашельский, связанный с изготовлением преимуще-ственно бифасов, скребел и отщепов; 3) амудийский, предназначенный для изготовления пластин и орудий верхнепалеолитического типа [Copeland, 2000]. В на-чале 1980-х гг.…”

“…Обнаруженная в районе палеоозера Джаббах в Аравии индустрия с радиальной системой первич-ного расщепления технологически близка к средне-палеолитической индустрии Леванта типа Табун С, а короткие с широким фасетированным основанием леваллуазские острия, сколотые с однонаправлен-ных конвергентных рабочих поверхностей нуклеусов в Джебель Катефех 1, близки к технологически левал-луазским остроконечникам типа Табун В [Crassard, Hilbert, 2013]. Д. Роуз и Э. Маркс объясняют это либо культурной диффузией, либо вторжением левантий-ских мустьерских (неандертальских.…”