These Petroglyphs Helped Humans Survive the Desert

TL;DR

Life-sized camel petroglyphs in Saudi Arabia marked water sources 12,000 years ago, doubling previous estimates of human habitation and revealing post-ice-age climate conditions.

Key Points

• 1.Arabian petroglyphs are life-sized animal carvings marking critical water sources. 130 naturalistic engravings of camels, ibex, wild donkeys, and aurochs were found at three Saudi Arabian sites, carved into cliff faces to guide prehistoric humans to surface water (playas) in a harsh desert environment.
• 2.Luminescence dating of a pecking tool nearly doubled the known age of human habitation. A carving tool found beneath two giant camel engravings was dated to ~12,000 years ago — almost double the previous 7,000-year estimate based on fireplace dating — and was found alongside arrowheads and stone-and-shell beads.
• 3.The carvings help solve a prehistoric climate mystery about post-glacial Arabia. Surface water returned to the Arabian peninsula much sooner after the Last Glacial Maximum (25,000–20,000 years ago) than previously assumed, with grasslands and water attracting both animals and humans as conditions warmed and wetted.
• 4.Animal details in the art reveal how wet conditions actually were. Camels depicted in wet-season coats and the presence of water-dependent aurochs (extinct ancestors of cows) suggest significant seasonal or year-round water availability, and researchers may now use such carvings to locate more ancient water sources.