Publication Date:
2024-03-25
Description:
The Arabian Peninsula was one key area for H. sapiens dispersals out of Africa. Current dispersal models advocate that dispersals via the "southern route" into Arabia occurred during Glacial Termination-II (T-II), when increased monsoon precipitation and reduced sea-level and Bab-al-Mandab width increased the likelihood of crossing. The precise phasing between sea-level and monsoon precipitation is thus key to assess the likelihood of a successful crossing or the behavioural and technological capacities that facilitated crossing. Based on a precisely-dated stalagmite record from Yemen we reveal a distinct phase-lag of several thousand years between sea-level rise and monsoon intensification. Pluvial conditions in southern Arabia during MIS 5e lasted from ~127.7 to ~121.1 ka BP and occurred when sea-levels were already higher than at present. We propose three models for the dispersal of H. sapiens; all have pertinent implications for our understanding of human technological and behavioural capacities during MIS 5e.
Keywords:
African Summer Monsoon; AGE; Arabia; Confidence interval lower limit; Confidence interval upper limit; Distance; environment; Last Interglacial; Monsoon; Mukalla Cave, Yemen; rainfall; Speleothem sample; SPS; Y99; δ13C, calcite; δ18O, calcite
Type:
Dataset
Format:
text/tab-separated-values, 765 data points
Permalink