Important archaeological discovery in Saudi Arabia where 7 footprints of homo sapiens were found near an ancient lake
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himA group of archaeologists has found some fossilized footprints in Saudi Arabia dating back to about 115 years ago. A truly important discovery that could also provide new details to scientists studying ancient human migrations.
A well-preserved ancient lake deposit in Saudi Arabia's Nefud Desert may contain the oldest human footprints ever to exist on the Arabian Peninsula, say scientists from the Max Planck Institutes for Chemical Ecology and the Science of Human History who discovered them.
It is seven human footprints, found amidst hundreds of prehistoric animal footprints, which are estimated to have about 115.000 years. In total the traces found in the area are 376, in addition to the 7 footprints attributed to hominids, there are 44 of elephants (larger than today) and 107 of camels, the others are perhaps buffaloes and ancient relatives of horses.
The ancient lake area (lake Alathar) which, thanks to the erosion of the overlying sediments allowed the ancient footprints to re-emerge, was probably part of a "prehistoric highway" that attracted all the large animals of the area, forming a corridor interspersed with freshwater rest areas that served to animals but also, obviously, to men who migrated.
Scientists have found very little else than what usually accompanied prehistoric human journeys, such as knife marks or other objects on animal bones. Also for this reason, scientists hypothesize that ancient humans had visited the lake only "in passing".
© Klint Janulis, University of Oxford
The humans who likely left their footprints lived during the last interglacial period which caused humid conditions across the region. The period represented a perfect time for the migration of the first humans and animals as the humidity allowed easier access through the desert regions.
Regarding the discovery of human footprints Mathew Stewart, lead author of the study said:
“We argue for various reasons that these footprints were most likely made by Homo sapiens, which would make them the oldest human footprints outside of Africa. There are other hominid footprint sites that date back to earlier periods, but these are typically attributable to other hominid species such as Neanderthals. We know that humans were moving out of Africa around 120.000 years ago and that Neanderthals weren't present in the region until cooler conditions arrived tens of thousands of years later. Therefore, we argue that the footprints were most likely generated by Homo sapiens ”.
© Klint Janulis, University of Oxford
The finding of these footprints is particularly important in the study of the movements of the first humans.
"The presence of large animals such as elephants and hippos, along with open grasslands and large water resources, may have made northern Arabia a particularly attractive place for humans moving between Africa and Eurasia," the senior author of the study Michael Petraglia.
In practice, the new research, as Steward pointed out, shows that not only coastal areas but "also internal routes, following lakes and rivers, could have been particularly important", in the ancient migration of humans from Africa, he said. Stewart.
Fonte: Science Advanced / National Geographic
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