Early–Middle Holocene environmental changes and pre-Neolithic human occupations as recorded in the cavities of Jebel Qara (Dhofar, southern Sultanate of Oman)

Abstract

International audienceNumerous 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 from the 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. 10,500–9500 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

Comprehensive view of the population history ofArabia as inferred by mtDNAvariation

“…The subsequent Holocene transition in Arabia started ∼12 ka and is marked by a progressive increase in environmental humidity (Cremaschi et al, ). The early Holocene, with Neolithic food‐producing techniques, is characterized by more intensive cultural contacts with neighboring regions, in particular marine commercial routes (Boivin et al, ).…”

Geomorphology of the Jebel Qara and coastal plain of Salalah (Dhofar, southern Sultanate of Oman)

“…Climate data for the Pleistocene are scanty and mainly inferred by geomorphological observations. Several high-to medium-resolution stable isotope palaeoclimatic records from stalagmites and calcareous tufa have provided information on Holocene climatic fluctuations in southern Arabia (Burns, Matter, Frank, & Mangini, 1998;Cremaschi et al, 2015Cremaschi et al, , 2018Fleitmann et al, 2003Fleitmann et al, , 2004Fleitmann et al, , 2007Zerboni et al, in press). In the Early-Middle Holocene, a rapid northward displacement in the latitudinal position of the summer Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and the associated monsoonal belt promoted a large amount of rainfall.…”

“…Many rock shelters and caves are located along the steep slopes in the southern part of the Jebel ; they are the result of underground dissolution and many of them can be interpreted as inland notches (Shtober-Zisu, Amasha, & Frumkin, 2015). Rock shelters are especially common along the Jenikermat and Darbat Wadis (Figure 5), where they host characteristic natural and anthropogenic deposits dating to the Early and Middle Holocene and described in Cremaschi et al (2015). Thick and complex deposits of calcareous tufa (flowstones, columns, stalactites, cement) occur within caves, overlying and cementing anthropogenic strata ( Figure 6).…”

Green Arabia: Human prehistory at the Crossroads of Continents

“…13 ka, suggesting continuity of hunting and gathering populations at the transition between the Terminal Pleistocene and Early Holocene. In an upland area south of the Dhofar plateau, in Oman, Cremaschi et al (2015) conducted interdisciplinary archaeological investigations demonstrating the presence of hunter-gatherers in caves and rockshelters situated at Jebel Qara. Interestingly, the onset of Early Holocene humidity, owing to increased monsoon intensity, promoted the development of a large community of land snails that was exploited by human groups for subsistence, as indicated by anthropogenic accumulations in the caves and rockshelters.…”