原文網址：https://www.shh.mpg.de/2040070/petraglia-green-arabia?c=1935799
德國耶拿的馬克思普朗克人類歷史科學研究所、沙烏地文化部遺址委員會以及許多其他沙烏地阿拉伯和各國的研究人員最近在阿拉伯聯合進行的研究，開始把這個亞洲西南最大的國家極為豐富的史前史給記載下來。先前對於此地區的研究主要放在海岸與外圍的林地，但是廣大內陸地區的人類史前史一直以來卻所知甚少。
沙烏地阿拉伯北部的Khall Amayshan 4考古場址。此處發現的證據顯示過去40萬年早期人類曾數度來訪此地，也有找到古代湖泊的痕跡。圖片來源：Palaeodeserts Project
研究主要作者Huw
Groucutt博士是馬克思普朗克極端事件研究小組的領導人，該團隊位於德國耶拿的馬克思普朗克化學生態學研究所。他將這些新發現喻為「阿拉伯考古學上的重大突破」，其中包括了人類40萬年前在阿拉伯地區留下的最古老證據。
他們發現的數千具石器揭露出人類曾數度搬遷至此，也顯示出人類文明隨時間的演變。研究人員在大型沙丘之間的一處凹地，稱為Khall
Amayshan 4 (KAM 4)的場址發現的證據，顯示過去湖泊在此形成的六段時期當中，五次出現了早期人類製造的石器，分別為40、30、20、10和5.5萬年前。每一段人類居住的時期呈現出來的物質文化特徵也不同，記下了舊石器時代早期的阿舍利「手斧」文化轉變成舊石器時代中期以石片為基礎的各類技術。在東方150公里處的Jubbah綠洲也有石器出土，年代為20萬和7.5萬年前。
在Khall
Amayshan 4找到的一具石器「手斧」，年代為40萬年前。圖片來源：Palaeodeserts
Project
綠色阿拉伯
研究人員主要是利用「光螢光定年法」來取得這座考古場址的年代，此技術可以記錄微小的沉積物顆粒距離上次照射到陽光已經過了多久。結果顯示每次有人類居住的時候也是這個地區已知雨量增加的時期。此外，所有的石器組合也都伴隨著淡水湖特有的沉積物一起出土。因此這些發現顯示雖然阿拉伯地區主要的氣候模式為乾燥氣候，但偶爾出現的雨量增加時期會讓各地形成數以千計的湖泊、濕地與河流，成為人類與動物(如：河馬)遷徙的重要路徑。
雖然現在的內夫得沙漠是非常乾燥的地方，但是大型沙丘之間的深沉凹地卻能在降雨偶而增加的時候成為小型湖泊形成的地點。因此，內夫得地區會週期性地從亞洲西南最不適合居住的地方，轉變成茂盛的綠地而屢次讓人群有機會通過。
阿拉伯北部的Jubbah綠洲。過去數十萬年雨量增加的時期人類曾數度來訪此地。圖片來源：Palaeodeserts
Project
更多含意
不同於骨頭和有機物，石器很容易就能保存下來，而且它們的特徵很大一部份是受到經由學習來獲得的文化行為(cultural
behaviour)影響。因此石器可以闡明製造它們的人有什麼樣的背景，並且顯示文化如何在不同地方依循自身獨有的軌跡發展。Khall
Amayshan 4和Jubbah綠洲的發現反映了短暫達到高峰的人口，代表了移民潮的初始階段。
阿拉伯北部每段有人居住的時期展現的物質文化都各自不同，意味著人類族群的來源與進來的途徑都相當多變。這樣的多樣性提供了獨一無二的角度來了解亞洲西南這段時期的文化差異程度，也暗示出當時的人類族群可以再嚴加細分。在某些例子當中，物質的文化差異之大體現出有不同的人族物種同時存在此區域，代表起源自非洲與歐洲的不同人族或許也會在阿拉伯彼此接觸。動物化石也呈現了類似模式：雖然阿拉伯北部的化石紀錄來自非洲的特徵相當顯著，但有些物種是源自北方，還有一些則是長期以來居住在阿拉伯地區的動物。
研究強調出把人族地圖的空白之處填補起來是相當重要的。「阿拉伯長久以來一直被視為空無一物的地方，」Groucutt說。「我們的成果顯示出我們對於世上許多地方的人類演化過程仍然所知甚少，也凸顯出還存在著許多令人驚奇的事物。」
「值得注意的是，有水的時候就會有人，」這項計畫的主持人、馬克思普朗克人類歷史科學研究所的Michael
Petraglia說。「這項成果將阿拉伯放進了人類史前史的世界地圖之中，」他最後補充。
Prehistoric climate change repeatedly channelled
human migrations across Arabia
Recent research in Arabia -- a
collaboration between scientists at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of
Human History in Jena, Germany, the Heritage Commission of the Saudi Ministry
of Culture, and many other Saudi and international researchers -- has begun to
document the incredibly rich prehistory of Saudi Arabia, the largest country in
Southwest Asia. Previous research in the region has focused on the coastal and
woodland margins, while human prehistory in the vast interior areas remained
poorly understood.
The new findings, including the oldest dated evidence
for humans in Arabia at 400,000 years ago, are described as a
"breakthrough in Arabian archaeology" by Dr Huw Groucutt, lead author
of the study and head of the 'Extreme Events' Max Planck Society Research Group
in Jena, Germany, based at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology.
The discovery of thousands of stone tools reveals
multiple waves of human occupation and shows changing human culture over time.
At the site of Khall Amayshan 4 (KAM 4), nestled in a hollow between large
dunes, researchers found evidence for six phases of lake formation, five of
them associated with stone tools made by early humans at around 400, 300, 200,
100, and 55 thousand years ago. Each phase of human occupation is characterised
by a different kind of material culture, documenting the transition from the
Lower Palaeolithic Acheulean 'handaxe' culture to different kinds of stone
flake-based Middle Palaeolithic technologies. Excavations at the Jubbah Oasis,
150 km to the east, also recovered stone tools, dating to 200 thousand and 75
thousand years ago.
Green Arabia
The dating of the archaeological sites -- achieved
primarily through a technique called luminescence dating, which records the
length of time since tiny grains of sediment were last exposed to sunlight -- shows
that each occupation dates to a time when rainfall is known to have increased
in the region. In addition, all of the stone tool assemblages are associated
with the distinctive sediments produced by freshwater lakes. The findings
therefore show that, within a dominant pattern of aridity, occasional short
phases of increased rainfall led to the formation of thousands of lakes,
wetlands, and rivers that crossed most of Arabia, forming key migration routes
for humans and animals such as hippos.
While today the Nefud desert is a very arid region,
deep hollows between the large sand dunes created places for small lakes to
form during occasional increases in rainfall. As a result, the Nefud region was
periodically transformed from one of the most uninhabitable parts of Southwest
Asia into a lush grassland that provided opportunities for repeated population
movements.
Wider
implications
Unlike bones and other organic materials, stone tools
preserve very easily, and their character is largely influenced by learned
cultural behaviours. As a result, they illuminate the background of their
makers and show how cultures developed along their own unique trajectories in
different areas. The Khall Amayshan 4 and Jubbah Oasis findings reflect
short-lived pulses of occupation that represent the initial phases of migration
waves.
Each phase of human occupation in northern Arabia
shows a distinct kind of material culture, suggesting that populations arrived
in the area from multiple directions and source areas. This diversity sheds
unique light on the extent of cultural differences in Southwest Asia during
this timeframe, and indicates strongly sub-divided populations. In some cases
the differences in material culture are so great as to indicate the
contemporary presence of different hominin species in the region, suggesting
that Arabia may also have been an interface zone for different hominin groups
originating in Africa and Eurasia. Animal fossils indicate a similar pattern:
although the north Arabian fossil record shows a prominent African character, some
species came from the north, while others represent long-time residents of
Arabia.
The findings highlight the importance of filling in
the gaps in the hominin map. "Arabia has long been seen as empty place
throughout the past," says Dr. Groucutt. "Our work shows that we still
know so little about human evolution in vast areas of the world and highlights
the fact that many surprises are still out there."
"It's remarkable; every time it was wet, people
were there," says project leader Prof. Michael Petraglia, from the Max
Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. "This work puts Arabia
on the global map for human prehistory," he adds.
原始論文：Huw S.
Groucutt, Tom S. White, Eleanor M. L. Scerri, Eric Andrieux, Richard
Clark-Wilson, Paul S. Breeze, Simon J. Armitage, Mathew Stewart, Nick Drake,
Julien Louys, Gilbert J. Price, Mathieu Duval, Ash Parton, Ian Candy, W.
Christopher Carleton, Ceri Shipton, Richard P. Jennings, Muhammad Zahir, James
Blinkhorn, Simon Blockley, Abdulaziz Al-Omari, Abdullah M. Alsharekh, Michael
D. Petraglia. Multiple hominin dispersals into Southwest Asia over the
past 400,000 years. Nature, 2021; DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03863-y
引用自：Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human
History. "Prehistoric climate change repeatedly channelled human
migrations across Arabia."
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