An early MIS 3 pluvial phase in Southeast Arabia: Climatic and archaeological implications

Abstract

Climatic changes in Arabia are of critical importance to our understanding of both monsoon variability and the dispersal of anatomically modern humans (AMH) out of Africa. The timing of dispersal is associated with the occurrence of pluvial periods during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 (ca. 130-74ka), after which, arid conditions between ca. 74 and 10.5 ka are thought to have restricted further migration and range expansion within the Arabian interior. Whilst a number of records indicate that this phase of aridity was punctuated by an increase in monsoon strength during MIS 3, uncertainties regarding the precision of terrestrial records and suitability of marine archives as records of precipitation, mean that the occurrence of this pluvial remains debated. Here we present evidence from a series of relict lake deposits within southeastern Arabia, which formed at the onset of MIS 3 (ca. 61-58 ka). At this time, the incursion of monsoon rainfall into the Arabian interior activated a network of channels associated with an alluvial fan system along the western flanks of the Hajar Mountains, leading to lake formation. Multiproxy evidence indicates that precipitation increases intermittently recharged fluvial systems within the region, leading to lake expansion in distal fan zones. Conversely, decreased precipitation led to reduced channel flow, lake contraction and a shift to saline conditions. These findings are in contrast to the many other palaeoclimatic records from Arabia, which suggest that during MIS 3, the latitudinal position of the monsoon was substantially further south and did not penetrate the peninsula. Additionally, the occurrence of increased rainfall at this time challenges the notion that the climate of Arabia following MIS 5 was too harsh to permit the further range expansion of indigenous communities.

Developing a framework of Quaternary dune accumulation in the northern Rub' al-Khali, Arabia

“…These two periods of dune formation do not appear as clear peaks in Figure 8 due to the small number of dates and large error bars. A third cluster of dates from late MIS 4 (c. 54-62 ka), which appears as a low, broad peak in Figure 8, suggests a period of dune cementation at this time, indicative of a brief wet phase which is coeval with the alluvial fan record of Parton et al, (2013). This peak is also recorded by the Madinat Zayed Formation and aeolian sands preserved within the Hili Formation (Figure 8).…”

Remote sensing and GIS techniques for reconstructing Arabian palaeohydrology and identifying archaeological sites

“…During some of these periods large lakes formed in northwestern regions such as Mudawwara, Tayma and Jubbah, and in southern regions such as Mundafan and Khujaymah, and in eastern regions such as Saiwan (McClure, 1976(McClure, , 1984Garrard et al, 1981;Petit-Maire et al, 2002Rosenberg et al, 2011Rosenberg et al, , 2012Engel et al, 2011;Petraglia et al, 2011Petraglia et al, , 2012Crassard et al, 2013a). Numerous smaller interdunal and terminal alluvial fan lakes have been reported from the Rub' al-Khali, Nefud and Ramlat as-Sab'atayn (McClure, 1976(McClure, , 1984Schulz and Whitney, 1986;L ezine et al, 1998;Thomas et al, 1998;Rosenberg et al, 2011) and the western Hajar (Parton et al, 2013). The formation of large lakes suggests at least episodic activation of local fluvial systems.…”

“…However, in light of the unreliability of some early radiocarbon dating highlighted by recent studies (Rosenberg et al, 2011(Rosenberg et al, , 2013, and the identification of Pleistocene terraces in more minor drainage elsewhere re-evaluation of some of these dates may be needed, and further Pleistocene terraces, if identifiable, could provide valuable data. There are now a series of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and UraniumeThorium (U/Th) dates indicating that varying levels of fluvial activity have occurred in south-central Arabia during wetter intervals of the midelate Pleistocene (Maizels, 1987;Blechschmidt et al, 2009;Mclaren et al, 2009;Parton et al, 2010Parton et al, , 2013Rose et al, 2011;Sitzia et al, 2012;Atkinson et al, 2013;Parton et al, 2015a), and these provide valuable data on local catchment activity. Information from northern Arabia however, remains limited, and only one of the studies mentioned above is situated in a major trans-Arabian wadi.…”

“…Numerous lakes have been identified and dated through localised field surveys (McClure, 1976(McClure, , 1984Garrard et al, 1981;Schulz and Whitney, 1986;L ezine et al, 1998;Thomas et al, 1998;Petit-Maire et al, 2002Petraglia et al, 2011Petraglia et al, , 2012Engel et al, 2011;Rosenberg et al, 2011Rosenberg et al, , 2012Parton et al, 2013;Crassard et al, 2013a). However, spatially comprehensive mapping of former lacustrine and palustrine features across large areas of the peninsula has not been undertaken (exceptions being analyses reported in Crassard et al, 2013aCrassard et al, , 2013bPetraglia et al, 2012, during the development of the method discussed here).…”

Cultural and human dynamics in southern Arabia at the end of the Middle Paleolithic

“…Nevertheless, the Shi'bat Dihya alluvial formation was deposited at the beginning of MIS 3, which does not belong to the driest climatic phases of the Upper Pleistocene in the Arabian Peninsula (Fig. 3), but corresponds to a period of strengthened influence of the Indian summer monsoon (Clemens and Prell, 2003;Leuschner and Sirocko, 2003;Drake et al, 2013;Parton et al, 2013).…”