The first human fossil of Arabia was recovered from the Al Wusta site in the Nefud Desert of Saudi Arabia. The fossil finger was examined by a group of experts, showing that it fit with our own species, Homo sapiens. The finger was directly dated, as were the sediments on site, to approximately 85,000 years ago. This finding was extremely important, in that it demonstrated that the migration of early populations of early humans was geographically more widespread than previously believed. The fossil finger was associated with Middle Palaeolithic technology, together with fossils of mammals, including hippo. During the time of human occupation, the site would have been on the shores of a freshwater lake, surrounded by grasslands and dunes. For more information, see the extensive news coverage linked on our Media page.
News
Green Arabia award
June 12th, 2018
The Green Arabia Project was honoured to receive the Dr. Abd..[more]
Green Arabia Drilling Workshop
September 29th, 2017
A number of interdisciplinary scientists recently met at the..[more]
Publications
Reconstructing ancient rivers and lakes in Arabia
March 21st, 2016
Freshwater availability is critical for human survival, [...]
Acheulean landscapes in the Arabian Peninsula
March 1st, 2016
Our systematic survey of Acheulean occupation evidence at Da[...]
Media
American Scientist reports on project findings
August 20th, 2015
American Scientist reports on how the Palaeodeserts Project [...]