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Stewart M, Andrieux E, Blinkhorn J, Guagnin M, Fernandes R, Vanwezer N, Hatton A, Alqahtani M, Zalmout I, Clark-Wilson R, Al-Mufarreh YSA, Al-Shanti M, Zahrani B, Al Omari A, Al-Jibreen F, Alsharekh AM, Scerri EML, Boivin N, Petraglia MD, Groucutt HS. First evidence for human occupation of a lava tube in Arabia: The archaeology of Umm Jirsan Cave and its surroundings, northern Saudi Arabia. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0299292. [PMID: 38630666 PMCID: PMC11023468 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0299292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2023] [Accepted: 02/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Recent advances in interdisciplinary archaeological research in Arabia have focused on the evolution and historical development of regional human populations as well as the diverse patterns of cultural change, migration, and adaptations to environmental fluctuations. Obtaining a comprehensive understanding of cultural developments such as the emergence and lifeways of Neolithic groups has been hindered by the limited preservation of stratified archaeological assemblages and organic remains, a common challenge in arid environments. Underground settings like caves and lava tubes, which are prevalent in Arabia but which have seen limited scientific exploration, offer promising opportunities for addressing these issues. Here, we report on an archaeological excavation and a related survey at and around Umm Jirsan lava tube in the Harrat Khaybar, north-western Saudi Arabia. Our results reveal repeated phases of human occupation of the site ranging from at least the Neolithic through to the Chalcolithic/Bronze Age. Pastoralist use of the lava tube and surrounding landscape is attested in rock art and faunal records, suggesting that Umm Jirsan was situated along a pastoral route linking key oases. Isotopic data indicates that herbivores primarily grazed on wild grasses and shrubs rather than being provided with fodder, while humans had a diet consistently high in protein but with increasing consumption of C3 plants through-time, perhaps related to the emergence of oasis agriculture. While underground and naturally sheltered localities are globally prominent in archaeology and Quaternary science, our work represents the first such combined records for Saudi Arabia and highlight the potential for interdisciplinary studies in caves and lava tubes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathew Stewart
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
- Extreme Events Research Group, the Max Planck Institutes of Geoanthropology, Chemical Ecology, and Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
| | - Eric Andrieux
- Department of Archaeology, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
| | - James Blinkhorn
- Human Palaeosystems Group, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
| | - Maria Guagnin
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
| | - Ricardo Fernandes
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
- Department of Bioarchaeology, Faculty of Archaeology, University of Warsaw, Warszaw, Poland
- Arne Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia
- Climate Change and History Research Initiative, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
| | - Nils Vanwezer
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
| | - Amy Hatton
- Extreme Events Research Group, the Max Planck Institutes of Geoanthropology, Chemical Ecology, and Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
- Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Department of Geosciences, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Mesfer Alqahtani
- Department of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Iyad Zalmout
- Palaeontology Division, Directorate of Geological Survey, Survey and Exploration Centre, Saudi Geological Survey, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- Museum of Palaeontology, Research Museum Centre, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Richard Clark-Wilson
- Centre for Quaternary Research, Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | | | - Mahmoud Al-Shanti
- Geotourism Department, Saudi Geological Survey, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Badr Zahrani
- Heritage Commission, Ministry of Culture, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | | | | | - Abdullah M. Alsharekh
- Department of Archaeology, College of Tourism and Archaeology, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Eleanor M. L. Scerri
- Human Palaeosystems Group, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
- Department of Classics and Archaeology, University of Malta, Msida, Malta
- Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Nicole Boivin
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
- School of Social Science, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia
- Griffith Sciences, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Michael D. Petraglia
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
- School of Social Science, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia
- Human Origins Program, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., United States of America
| | - Huw S. Groucutt
- Extreme Events Research Group, the Max Planck Institutes of Geoanthropology, Chemical Ecology, and Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
- Department of Classics and Archaeology, University of Malta, Msida, Malta
- Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
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Groucutt HS, White TS, Scerri EML, Andrieux E, Clark-Wilson R, Breeze PS, Armitage SJ, Stewart M, Drake N, Louys J, Price GJ, Duval M, Parton A, Candy I, Carleton WC, Shipton C, Jennings RP, Zahir M, Blinkhorn J, Blockley S, Al-Omari A, Alsharekh AM, Petraglia MD. Author Correction: Multiple hominin dispersals into Southwest Asia over the past 400,000 years. Nature 2022; 602:E15. [PMID: 35013622 PMCID: PMC8810378 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-04289-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Huw S Groucutt
- Extreme Events Research Group, Max Planck Institutes for Chemical Ecology, the Science of Human History, and Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany. .,Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany. .,Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
| | - Tom S White
- Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, UK
| | - Eleanor M L Scerri
- Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.,Pan-African Evolution Research Group, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany.,Department of Classics and Archaeology, University of Malta, Msida, Malta
| | - Eric Andrieux
- Department of Archaeology, Durham University, Durham, UK.,Centre for Quaternary Research, Department of Geography, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, UK
| | - Richard Clark-Wilson
- Centre for Quaternary Research, Department of Geography, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, UK.,Department of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Reading, Reading, UK
| | - Paul S Breeze
- Department of Geography, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Simon J Armitage
- Centre for Quaternary Research, Department of Geography, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, UK.,SFF Centre for Early Sapiens Behaviour (SapienCE), University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Mathew Stewart
- Extreme Events Research Group, Max Planck Institutes for Chemical Ecology, the Science of Human History, and Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
| | - Nick Drake
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany.,Department of Geography, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Julien Louys
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.,College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Gilbert J Price
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Mathieu Duval
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.,Geochronology and Geology, Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre le Evolución Humana, Paseo de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain
| | - Ash Parton
- Human Origins and Palaeoenvironments Research Group, School of Social Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK.,Mansfield College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Ian Candy
- Centre for Quaternary Research, Department of Geography, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, UK
| | - W Christopher Carleton
- Extreme Events Research Group, Max Planck Institutes for Chemical Ecology, the Science of Human History, and Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
| | - Ceri Shipton
- Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London, UK.,Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Richard P Jennings
- School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
| | - Muhammad Zahir
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany.,Department of Archaeology, Hazara University, Mansehra, Pakistan
| | - James Blinkhorn
- Pan-African Evolution Research Group, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany.,Centre for Quaternary Research, Department of Geography, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, UK
| | - Simon Blockley
- Centre for Quaternary Research, Department of Geography, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, UK
| | | | - Abdullah M Alsharekh
- Department of Archaeology, College of Tourism and Archaeology, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Michael D Petraglia
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany. .,Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. .,Human Origins Program, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, USA. .,School of Social Science, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia.
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Masojć M, Kim JY, Krupa-Kurzynowska J, Sohn YK, Ehlert M, Michalec G, Cendrowska M, Andrieux E, Armitage SJ, Szmit M, Dreczko E, Kim JC, Kim JS, Lee GS, Moska P, Jadain MA. The oldest Homo erectus buried lithic horizon from the Eastern Saharan Africa. EDAR 7 - an Acheulean assemblage with Kombewa method from the Eastern Desert, Sudan. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0248279. [PMID: 33755675 PMCID: PMC7989774 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0248279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2020] [Accepted: 02/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Although essential for reconstructing hominin behaviour during the Early Palaeolithic, only a handful of Acheulean sites have been dated in the Eastern Sahara region. This is due to the scarcity of sites for this time period and the lack of datable material. However, recent excavations in the Atbara region (Sudan) have provided unique opportunities to analyse and date Acheulean stone tools. We report here on EDAR 7, part of a cluster of Acheulean and Middle Stone Age (MSA) sites that were recently discovered in the Eastern Desert Atbara River (EDAR) region, located in the Eastern Desert (Sudan) far from the Nile valley. At EDAR 7, a 3.5 metre sedimentary sequence was excavated, allowing an Acheulean assemblage to be investigated using a combination of sedimentology, stone tool studies and optically stimulated luminescence dating (OSL). The site has delivered a complete Acheulean knapping chaine opératoire, providing new information about the Saharan Acheulean. The EDAR 7 site is interpreted as a remnant of a campsite based on the co-occurrence of two reduction modes: one geared towards the production of Large Cutting Tools (LCTs), and the other based on the flaking of small debitage and production of flake tools. Particularly notable in the EDAR 7 assemblage is the abundance of cleavers, most of which display evidence of flake production. Implementation of giant Kombewa flakes was also observed. A geometric morphometric analysis of hand-axes was conducted to verify a possible Late Acheulean assemblage standardisation in the Nubian Sahara. In addition, the analysis of micro-traces and wear on the artefacts has provided information on the use history of the Acheulean stone tools. Sediment analyses and OSL dating show that the EDAR 7 sequence contains the oldest Acheulean encampment remains in the Eastern Sahara, dated to the MIS 11 or earlier. This confirms that Homo erectus occupied the EDAR region during Middle Pleistocene humid periods, and demonstrates that habitable corridors existed between the Ethiopian Highlands, the Nile and the Red Sea coast, allowing population dispersals across the continent and out of it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirosław Masojć
- Institute of Archaeology, University of Wrocław, Wrocław,
Poland
| | - Ju Yong Kim
- Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM), Daejeon,
Republic of Korea
| | - Joanna Krupa-Kurzynowska
- Faculty of Geoengineering, Mining and Geology, Wroclaw University of
Science and Technology, Wrocław, Poland
| | - Young Kwan Sohn
- Department of Geology and Research Institute of Natural Science,
Gyeongsang National University (GNU), Jinju, Republic of Korea
| | - Maciej Ehlert
- Institute of Archaeology, University of Wrocław, Wrocław,
Poland
- Archeolodzy.org Foundation, Wrocław, Poland
| | | | - Marzena Cendrowska
- Institute of Archaeology, University of Wrocław, Wrocław,
Poland
- Archeolodzy.org Foundation, Wrocław, Poland
| | - Eric Andrieux
- Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London, London,
United Kingdom
- Department of Archaeology, Durham University, United
Kingdom
| | - Simon J. Armitage
- Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London, London,
United Kingdom
- SFF Centre for Early Sapiens Behaviour (SapienCE), University of Bergen,
Bergen, Norway
| | | | - Ewa Dreczko
- Institute of Archaeology, University of Wrocław, Wrocław,
Poland
| | - Jin Cheul Kim
- Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM), Daejeon,
Republic of Korea
| | - Ji Sung Kim
- Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM), Daejeon,
Republic of Korea
| | - Gwang-Soo Lee
- Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM), Daejeon,
Republic of Korea
| | - Piotr Moska
- Institute of Physics, Division of Geochronology and Isotope Research of
the Environmental, Silesian University of Technology, Gliwice,
Poland
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Negre D, Robert E, Andrieux E, Cozzone AJ. Ribosomes of streptomycin-treated Escherichia coli contain faulty ribosomal proteins. J Antibiot (Tokyo) 1985; 38:661-4. [PMID: 3894307 DOI: 10.7164/antibiotics.38.661] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
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Abstract
The effect of amino acid starvation on the accuracy of translation of ribosomal proteins was analyzed in a stringent (relA+)/relaxed (relA) pair of E. coli strains. The degree of misreading was estimated from the amount of cysteine erroneously incorporated into individual proteins during arginine starvation of bacteria. Illegitimate incorporation of cysteine was found to occur to a significant extent in several proteins from both the small and the large subunits of ribosomes, in either type of strain.
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Abstract
The effects of amino acid starvation on polysome conformation were analyzed comparatively in stringent (relA+) and relaxed (relA) bacteria by measuring the accessibility in vitro of ribosomal proteins to reductive methylation. In polysomes of stringent cells, the conformational state of two proteins (L13 and L29) appeared significantly changed by starvation. In polysomes isolated from relaxed mutants, the accessibility of five proteins (L5, L13, L29, L31 and L32) was found modified.
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