Abstract
We report on a preliminary exploration of the submerged landscapes in the Saudi Arabian sector of the southern Red Sea aboard the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR) Research Vessel, AEGAEO, in May–June 2013. The survey sampled areas of the continental shelf down to the shelf margin at ~130 m depth in the vicinity of the Farasan Islands and combined high resolution acoustic techniques with sediment coring to reconstruct features of the now-submerged landscape of potential archaeological significance, including geological structure, topography, palaeoenvironment, and sea-level change. The region is currently of wide interest and significance: to archaeologists because it is currently regarded as one of the primary pathways of dispersal for early human populations expanding out of Africa during the Pleistocene, in which the extensive but now-submerged shelf region may have played a key role; and to marine geoscientists because the Red Sea offers unusual opportunities as a ‘laboratory’ for investigating Pleistocene sea-level change. Preliminary results indicate that the submerged landscape was characterised by a complex topography with fault-bounded valleys and deep basins, some of which may have hosted, at least intermittently, fresh water during periods of lowered sea level.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
AlSharekh AM, Bailey GN (eds) (2014) Coastal prehistory in southwest Arabia and the Farasan Islands: 2004–2009 field investigations. Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, Riyadh
Augustin N, Devey C, Van der Zwan F (In press) A modern view on the Red Sea rift: tectonics, volcanism and salt blankets. In: Rasul N, Stewart I, Nawab Z (eds) The Red Sea, vol Volume 2. Springer, Dordrecht
Bailey GN (2009) The Red Sea, coastal landscapes and hominin dispersals. In: Petraglia M, Rose J (eds) The evolution of human populations in Arabia. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 15–37
Bailey GN (2015) The evolution of the Red Sea as a human habitat in the quaternary period. In: Rasul N, Stewart CF (eds) The Red Sea: the formation, morphology, oceanography and environment of a young ocean basin. Springer, Heidelberg, pp 595–610
Bailey GN, King GCP (2011) Dynamic landscapes and human dispersal patterns: tectonics, coastlines and the reconstruction of human habitats. Quat Sci Rev 30:1533–1553
Bailey GN, Sakellariou D (2012) SPLASHCOS: submerged prehistoric archaeology and landscapes of the continental shelf. Antiquity 86:334. http://antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/sakellariou334/
Bailey GN, King GCP, Flemming NC, Lambeck K, Momber G, Moran LJ, Al-Sharekh AM, Vita-Finzi C (2007a) Coastlines, submerged landscapes and human evolution: the Red Sea basin and the Farasan Islands. J Island Coastal Archaeol 2:127–160
Bailey GN, AlSharekh A, Flemming NC, Lambeck K, Momber G, Sinclair A, Vita-Finzi C (2007b) Coastal prehistory in the southern Red Sea basin: underwater archaeology and the Farasan Islands. Proc Sem Arab Stud 37:1–16
Bailey GN, Reynolds SC, King GCP (2011) Landscapes of human evolution: models and methods of tectonic geomorphology and the reconstruction of hominin landscapes. J Hum Evol 60(3):257–280
Bailey GN, King GCP, Devès M, Hausmann N, Inglis R, Laurie E, Meredith-Williams M, Momber G, Winder I, Alsharekh A, Sakellariou D (2012) DISPERSE: dynamic landscapes, coastal environments and human dispersals. Antiquity 86:334. http://antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/bailey334/
Bailey GN, Devès MH, Inglis RH, Meredith-Williams MG, Momber G, Sakellariou D, Sinclair AGM, Rousakis G, Al Ghamdi S, Alsharekh A (2015) Blue Arabia: Palaeolithic and underwater survey in SW Saudi Arabia and the role of coasts in Pleistocene dispersal. Quat Int 382:42–57. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2015.01.002
Bantan RA, (1999, January) Geology and sedimentary environments of Farasan Bank (Saudi Arabia) southern Red Sea: a combined remote sensing and field study. Ph.D. Thesis, Department of Geology, Royal Holloway, University of London
Bosence DJ (1998) Stratigraphic and sedimentological models of rift basins. In: Purser BH, Bosence DWJ (eds) Sedimentation and tectonics in rift basins: Red Sea-gulf of Aden. Chapman & Hall, London, pp 9–26
Breeze P, Groucutt HS, Drake NA, White TS, Jennings RP, Petraglia MD (2016) Palaeohydrological corridors for homini dispersal in the Middle East ~250–70,000 years ago. Quternary Sci Rev 144:155–185. doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2016.05.012
Dixon JE, Monteleone K (2014) Gateway to the Americas: underwater archeological survey in Beringia and the North Pacific. In: Evans AM, Flatman JC, Flemming NC. (eds) (2014)Prehistoric archaeology on the continental shelf: a global review. Springer, New York, pp 95–114
Erlandson JM, Braje TJ (2015) Coasting out of Africa: the potential of mangrove forests and marine habitats to facilitate human coastal expansion via the southern dispersal route. Quat Int 382:31–41
Evans AM, Flatman JC, Flemming NC (eds) (2014) Prehistoric archaeology on the continental shelf: a global review. Springer, New York
Faught MK (2004) The underwater archaeology of palaeolandscapes, Apalachee Bay, Florida. Am Antiq 69:235–249
Faure H, Walter RC, Grant DR (2002) The coastal oasis: ice age springs on emerged continental shelves. Glob Planet Chang 33:47–56
Grine FE, Fleagle JG, Leakey RE (eds) (2009) The first humans – origin and early evolution of the genus homo. Springer, Dordrecht
Groucutt HS, Petraglia MD, Bailey G, Scerri EML, Parton A, Clark-Balzan L, Jennings RP, Lewis L, Blinkhorn J, Drake NA, Breeze PS, Inglis RH, Devès MH, Meredith-Williams M, Boivin N, Thomas MG, Scally A (2015) Rethinking the dispersal of Homo sapiens out of Africa. Evol Anthropol 24:149–164. doi:10.1002/evan.21455
Hiscock P (2008) Archaeology of ancient Australia. Routledge, London
King GCP, Bailey GN (2006) Tectonics and human evolution. Antiquity 80:265–286
Lambeck K, Purcell A, Flemming N, Vita-Finzi C, Alsharekh A, Bailey GN (2011) Sea level and shoreline reconstructions for the Red Sea: isostatic and tectonic considerations and implications for hominin migration out of Africa. Quat Sci Rev 30:3542–3574
Pearson CE, Weinstein RA, Gagliano SM, Kelley DB (2014) Prehistoric site discovery on the outer continental shelf, Gulf of Mexico, United States of America. In: Evans AM, Flatman JC, Flemming NC. (eds) (2014)Prehistoric archaeology on the continental shelf: a global review. Springer, New York, pp 53–72
Petraglia M, Rose J (eds) (2009) The evolution of human populations in Arabia. Springer, Dordrecht
Petraglia MD, Groucutt H, Parton A, Alsharekh A (eds) (2015) Green Arabia: human prehistory at the cross-roads of continents. Quat Int 382:1–7
Siddall M, Rohling EJ, Almogi-Labin A, Hemleben C, Meischner D, Schmelzer I, Smeed DA (2003) Sea-level fluctuations during the last glacial cycle. Nature 423:853–858
Winder IC, King GCP, Devès MH, Bailey GN (2013) Complex topography and human evolution: the missing link. Antiquity 87:333–349
Winder IC, Devès MH, King GCP, Bailey GN, Inglis RH, Meredith-Williams M (2015) Dynamic landscapes and complex topography as agents in human evolution: the dispersals of the genus homo. J Hum Evol 87:48–65. doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.07.002
Acknowledgements
We thank the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH) for permission to undertake fieldwork, and the President, HRH Prince Sultan bin Salman bin AbdulAziz al Saud, Vice-President, Professor Ali Al-Ghassan, and the Director General, Jamal al Omar, for their support. We also thank HRH Crown Prince Salman bin Abul Aziz Al Saud and the Department of General Survey of the Ministry of Defense for permission to undertake the cruise of R/V AEGAEO. We also thank Lt Fahad Al Shwish, Observer from the Hydrographic Department of the Saudi Ministry of Defense, for his support and valuable assistance in overcoming unexpected logistical difficulties during the cruise, and Captain Theodoros Kanakaris and the crew of R/V AEGAEO for their untiring efforts to ensure the smooth running of the scientific operation during the offshore survey work. The research is funded by the European Research Council through Advanced Grant 269586 DISPERSE under the ‘Ideas’ Specific Programme of the Seventh Framework Programme. This is DISPERSE contribution no. 35.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Bailey, G.N. et al. (2017). Africa-Arabia Connections and Geo-Archaeological Exploration in the Southern Red Sea: Preliminary Results and Wider Significance. In: Bailey, G., Harff, J., Sakellariou, D. (eds) Under the Sea: Archaeology and Palaeolandscapes of the Continental Shelf. Coastal Research Library, vol 20. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53160-1_23
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53160-1_23
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-53158-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-53160-1
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)