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A large handaxe from Wadi Dabsa and early hominin adaptations within the Arabian Peninsula

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 December 2017

Frederick W.F. Foulds Open the ORCID record for Frederick W.F. Foulds [Opens in a new window] ,
Andrew Shuttleworth ,
Anthony Sinclair ,
Abdullah M. Alsharekh ,
Saud Al Ghamdi ,
Robyn H. Inglis  and
Geoff N. Bailey
Frederick W.F. Foulds*
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
Andrew Shuttleworth
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
Anthony Sinclair
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, University of Liverpool, 12–14 Abercromby Square, Liverpool L69 7WZ, UK
Abdullah M. Alsharekh
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2627, Riyadh 12372, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Saud Al Ghamdi
Affiliation:
Qatar Museums Authority, QM Tower, P.O. Box 2777, Doha, State of Qatar
Robyn H. Inglis
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, University of York, King's Manor, York YO1 7EP, UK Department of Environmental Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
Geoff N. Bailey
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, University of York, King's Manor, York YO1 7EP, UK
*
*Author for correspondence (Email: [email protected])
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Abstract

The role played by the Arabian Peninsula in hominin dispersals out of Africa has long been debated. The DISPERSE Project has focused on south-western Arabia as a possible centre of hominin settlement and a primary stepping-stone for such dispersals. This work has led to the recent discovery, at Wadi Dabsa, of an exceptional assemblage of over 1000 lithic artefacts, including the first known giant handaxe from the Arabian Peninsula. The site and its associated artefacts provide important new evidence for hominin dispersals out of Africa, and give further insight into the giant handaxe phenomenon present within the Acheulean stone tool industry.

Keywords

Saudi ArabiaPalaeolithicAcheuleanhuman evolutionhandaxeshominin dispersal
Type
Research
Information
Antiquity , Volume 91 , Issue 360 , December 2017 , pp. 1421 - 1434
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2017 

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