Author Correction: Multiple hominin dispersals into Southwest Asia over the past 400,000 years

Multiple phases of human occupation in Southeast Arabia between 210,000 and 120,000 years ago

“…The Arabian archaeological record supports the view of human occupation linked to periods of increased rainfall 19 . This is best exemplified by the coincidence of peak humid conditions between c. 130 and 75 ka and the well-developed archaeological records from many parts of the peninsula including Saudi Arabia 20 – 22 , the United Arab Emirates 23 and Oman 24 .…”

“…Additional evidence for human occupation of Arabia during wetter periods are known from the timeframe between 240 and 190 ka and between c. 60 and 50 ka and include sites in Saudi Arabia 25 – 27 , Yemen 28 and Oman 29 . The archaeological record securely predating c. 240 ka is not well developed, but evidence from the Nefud (Saudi Arabia) points towards climate driven human occupation between 500 and 55 ka 19 , 30 .…”

“…Due to the lack of data, the opposite, how increasing aridity affected human populations in Pleistocene Arabia, remains largely speculative. Researchers argue on the one hand that the lack of archaeological evidence for human occupation of Arabia in dry periods is linked to pan-Arabian extinctions and the abandonment of settlement in Arabia 19 . While other researchers argue that desiccation led to the contraction of human populations into refugia such as the Gulf basin region, the Dhofar Mountains and adjacent littoral zone as well as the Red Sea coastal plain 33 .…”