Mounir Arbach

Middle Palaeolithic and Neolithic Occupations around Mundafan Palaeolake, Saudi Arabia: Implications for Climate Change and Human Dispersals

The Arabian Peninsula is a key region for understanding climate change and human occupation history in a marginal environment. The Mundafan palaeolake is situated in southern Saudi Arabia, in the Rub’ al-Khali (the ‘Empty Quarter’), the world’s largest sand desert. Here we report the first discoveries of Middle Palaeolithic and Neolithic archaeological sites in association with the palaeolake. We associate the human occupations with new geochronological data, and suggest the archaeological sites date to the wet periods of Marine Isotope Stage 5 and the Early Holocene. The archaeological sites indicate that humans repeatedly penetrated the ameliorated environments of the Rub’ al-Khali. The sites probably represent short-term occupations, with the Neolithic sites focused on hunting, as indicated by points and weaponry. Middle Palaeolithic assemblages at Mundafan support a lacustrine adaptive focus in Arabia. Provenancing of obsidian artifacts indicates that Neolithic groups at Mundafan had a wide wandering range, with transport of artifacts from distant sources.

Kamna, une cité prospère du Jawf du Yémen du viiie au vie siècle avant J.-C.

La cite de Kamna fait partie des cinq cites-Etats de la region du Jawf au Yemen qui se sont developpees au viiie-vie s. av. J.-C. Les decouvertes epigraphiques fortuites de ces dernieres annees ont largement contribue a ameliorer nos connaissances de l’histoire de cette cite. Les auteurs proposent une reconstitution historique de la periode de prosperite de la cite, au viiie s. av. J.-C., suivie de la periode d’autonomie et d’allegeance au royaume de Saba’, aux viie-vie s. av. J.-C. Cette periode semblerait, d’apres la rare documentation, se poursuivre pendant la seconde moitie du Ier millenaire av. J.-C. Sont egalement etudiees les institutions sociales et religieuses de la cite. Deux nouvelles inscriptions du viiie s. av. J.-C. sont editees en appendice (Kamna 28 et 29).