title: Beyond the Levant: first evidence of a pre-pottery Neolithic incursion into the Nefud Desert, Saudi Arabia.
abstract: Pre-Pottery Neolithic assemblages are best known from the fertile areas of the Mediterranean Levant. The archaeological site of Jebel Qattar 101 (JQ-101), at Jubbah in the southern part of the Nefud Desert of northern Saudi Arabia, contains a large collection of stone tools, adjacent to an Early Holocene palaeolake. The stone tool assemblage contains lithic types, including El-Khiam and Helwan projectile points, which are similar to those recorded in Pre-Pottery Neolithic A and Pre-Pottery Neolithic B assemblages in the Fertile Crescent. Jebel Qattar lies ∼500 kilometres outside the previously identified geographic range of Pre-Pottery Neolithic cultures. Technological analysis of the typologically diagnostic Jebel Qattar 101 projectile points indicates a unique strategy to manufacture the final forms, thereby raising the possibility of either direct migration of Levantine groups or the acculturation of mobile communities in Arabia. The discovery of the Early Holocene site of Jebel Qattar suggests that our view of the geographic distribution and character of Pre-Pottery Neolithic cultures may be in need of revision.
authors.affiliation: CNRS, Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée, UMR 5133 Archéorient, Lyon, France. remy.crassard@mom.fr
authors.forename: Rémy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Crassard
authors.forename: Michael D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Petraglia
authors.forename: Adrian G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Parker
authors.forename: Ash
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Parton
authors.forename: Richard G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.forename: Zenobia
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Jacobs
authors.forename: Abdullah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alsharekh
authors.forename: Abdulaziz
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Omari
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Breeze
authors.forename: Nick A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Drake
authors.forename: Huw S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Groucutt
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jennings
authors.forename: Emmanuelle
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Régagnon
authors.forename: Ceri
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Shipton
mesh_terms: D001106:Archaeology; D002962:Civilization; D004777:Environment; D006801:Humans; D012529:Saudi Arabia
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