title: A Nubian complex site from central Arabia: implications for Levallois taxonomy and human dispersals during the upper Pleistocene.
abstract: Archaeological survey undertaken in central Saudi Arabia has revealed 29 surface sites attributed to the Arabian Middle Paleolithic based on the presence of Levallois blank production methods. Technological analyses on cores retrieved from Al-Kharj 22 have revealed specific reduction modalities used to produce flakes with predetermined shapes. The identified modalities, which are anchored within the greater Levallois concept of core convexity preparation and exploitation, correspond with those utilized during the Middle Stone Age Nubian Complex of northeast Africa and southern Arabia. The discovery of Nubian technology at the Al-Kharj 22 site represents the first appearance of this blank production method in central Arabia. Here we demonstrate how a rigorous use of technological and taxonomic analysis may enable intra-regional comparisons across the Arabian Peninsula. The discovery of Al-Kharj 22 increases the complexity of the Arabian Middle Paleolithic archaeological record and suggests new dynamics of population movements between the southern and central regions of the Peninsula. This study also addresses the dichotomy within Nubian core typology (Types 1 and 2), which was originally defined for African assemblages.
authors.affiliation: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique 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: Yamandú Hieronymus
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Hilbert
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001106:Archaeology / Q000379:methods*; D005580:Fossils; D012529:Saudi Arabia
references.citation: Int J Evol Biol. 2011;2011:615094
references.pmid: 21716744
references.citation: Science. 1954 Jul 30;120(3109):183-4
references.pmid: 17833252
references.citation: PLoS One. 2013 Jul 24;8(7):e69665
references.pmid: 23894519
references.citation: PLoS One. 2011;6(11):e28239
references.pmid: 22140561
references.citation: PLoS One. 2012;7(11):e49840
references.pmid: 23185454
references.citation: J Hum Evol. 2011 Oct;61(4):458-79
references.pmid: 21813161
references.citation: Nature. 2001 May 17;411(6835):290-3
references.pmid: 11357127
references.citation: J Hum Evol. 2012 Sep;63(3):452-74
references.pmid: 22766480
references.citation: Science. 2011 Jan 28;331(6016):453-6
references.pmid: 21273486
references.citation: Nature. 2011 Feb 3;470(7332):50-1
references.pmid: 21293370
references.citation: J Hum Evol. 2010 Aug;59(2):188-201
references.pmid: 20659756
references.citation: Evol Anthropol. 2012 May;21(3):113-25
references.pmid: 22718479