A new study by a British archaeologist says that the first human settlement in Oman began about 125,000 years ago. Dr Jeffrey I Rose, Institute of Archaeology and Antiquity, University of Birmingham, UK, said this during a lecture here yesterday on “Oman at the Dawn of Time: The Archaeology of Human Origin in Southern Arabia.”
Speaking to Oman local media, Dr Jeffrey said it is commonly agreed by archaeologists that originally the human expansion began from Africa, perhaps from Ethiopia or Kenya. But until recently experts believed that early human species moved from Africa to Australia. According to this study, in the journey of human expansion, the first modern humans followed the rivers into Arabia 125,000 years ago, more specifically Wadi Aybut in Dhofar, in response to improved environmental conditions.
For years, Dr Jeffrey and his seven-member team were exploring as to what was the role of Arabia in the human expansion and subsequent behavioural revolution? When and why did man first leave Africa? “At long last, after a decade of searching, we found a site in Wadi Aybut with stone tools that represent the footprints of the human expansion,” said Dr Jeffrey. Archaeological researches establish that human race has the same origin.
There is more genetic variability among 55 chimpanzees than the entire human species. “While we may be numerous, we are also homogenous,” remarked. Human genetic diversity decreases in proportion to the geographic distance from Africa. According to human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), the human family tree is comprised of 3 main ‘branches’: haplogroups M, N, and R. These branches stem from an ancestral ‘trunk’ of the tree called haplogroup L3.
Genetic evidence indicates humans branched from the L3 trunk sometime after 70,000 years ago. “We have yet to determine from where this fluorescence emanated”, said Dr Jeffrey (picture above). All modern humans are derived from an ancestral lineage rooted in Africa bearing mtDNA haplogroup L3. The first divergence from the ancestral “trunk” is mtDNA haplogroup M, found among populations in east Africa, north Africa and south Asia.
Followed shortly thereafter by a divergence of mtDNA haplogroup N, a predominantly European and western Asian branch. The earliest anatomically modern human fossils have been unearthed in east Africa around 190,000 years ago. The earliest art object has been found in South Africa dated to 77,000 BP; this discovery heralds the onset of the human behavioural revolution. This is accompanied by a suite of innovations such as bone tools, harpoons, and perforated shell beads.
By 60,000 years ago, the first human beings successfully navigated the waters of the Pacific to reach Australia and New Guinea. Two human burials were discovered at Lake Mungo in Australia, signalling more complex human behaviour. Modern humans did not expand into Europe until about 40,000–30,000 years ago. By 30,000 years ago, intricate and well-made art objects begin to show up at archaeological sites in Europe.
“We were no longer simple grassland hunters, but had developed new subsistence strategies including fishing, plant processing, primitive seafaring, along with art and some form of religious practice,” said Dr Jeffrey. What was the role of Arabia in the human expansion and subsequent behavioural revolution? When and why did we first leave Africa? His research shows that climate change would have played a critical role in determining the nature of the human expansion.
Were they “pushed” due to deteriorating conditions in Africa, or pulled due to ameliorating conditions in Arabia? Arabia is dominated almost exclusively by two weather regimes: Westerlies and the Indian Ocean Monsoon System. In order to reconstruct ancient climatic conditions, Dr Jeffrey compiled a database of environmental proxy signals from 350,000 years ago to present. A sum probability curve of cumulative proxy signals shows three wet-phases around 125,000 BP, 50,000 BP, and 10,000 kya BP.
If there was a large population expansion from east Africa into Arabia, “we can test this hypothesis by looking at archaeological evidence along the routes of dispersal, particularly the coastal migration model. “We began the season excavating a massive cave in the verdant Wadi Darbat situated on the coastal plain, above a waterfall and perennial river system. But thre were no artefacts. “For the entire month of February, we recorded null site after null site along the coastal plain and in the mountains of Dhofar.
“We were a bit more successful locating prehistoric sites on the Nejd Plateau”. High density stone tool scatters spread across large areas attest to the extent of prehistoric human occupation in Oman. In some cases, these stone tool scatters stretch across tens of kms, as far as the eye can see on March 22, with one week left to go in the season, Dr Jeffrey and his team decided to check an unexplored area in Wadi Aybut, near the village of Mudayy.
At long last, after a decade of searching, they found a site in Wadi Aybut with stone tools that represent the footprint of the human expansion. The artefacts demonstrate a specific method of making stone tools first discovered in Africa in the 1960’s called “Nubian Complex.” Over 130 Nubian cores were collected from a relatively small area encompassing approximately 400 square metres. Dates of the Nubian Complex range between 125,000 and 75,000 years ago.
At this time, early humans adapted to the Saharo-Arabian phytogeographic zone expanded their range in response to the improved climatic conditions. The conclusion is that the first modern humans followed the rivers into Arabia 125,000 years ago in response to improved environmental conditions. The process of aridification and lower sea levels leaves some hunter-gatherer groups stranded in environmental refugia around Arabia during subsequent environmental downturns.
Source: Global Arab Network