At an ancient lake deposit dubbed Alathar (meaning the trace in Arabic) by the team, hundreds of human and animal footprints were discovered embedded in the surface, having been exposed following the erosion of overlying sediments. Al-Athar Group Post Box: 250649,Riyadh - 11391 Country:Saudi Arabia . About 120,000 years ago, two or three people walked along the shore of a shallow lake in what is now northern Saudi Arabia. Around 120,000 years ago in what is now northern Saudi Arabia This handout photo shows a view of the edge of the Alathar ancient lake deposit and surrounding landscape Around 120,000 years ago in what is now northern Saudi Arabia, a small band of homo sapiens stopped to drink and forage at a shallow lake that was also frequented by camels, buffalo and elephants bigger than any species seen today. S. Sabkhat Matti This page was last edited on 12 December 2017, at 15:22 (UTC). This list may not reflect recent changes . Off and on during the Pleistocene, the Arabian Peninsula had a wetter climate than it does today. After studying the footfalls, experts believe the dense concentration of tracks suggests animals gathered around the lake as a result of dry conditions and diminishing water, while humans could have used the area for water and foraging. But it still held enough freshwater to offer an appealing stop in the arid landscape for humans and for a menagerie of other Pleistocene wildlife. Humans reached Saudi Arabia at least 120,000 years ago The footprints appear alongside tracks from a herd of Pleistocene elephants. - Sep 18, 2020 4:09 pm UTC. Imagine that youre a hunter-gatherer about 120,000 years ago, and youre walking out of eastern Africa into Eurasia. Issam Ahmed, Agence France-Presse Posted at Sep 17 07:38 AM. There are also sand dunes and sabkhas at the lake. Fossil and archeological records show that these conditions aided human migration from Africa to the Levant, researchers said. It is a shallow lake in the wetlands. Seven footprints found in a dry lake bed in the north of Saudi Arabia could prove that humans were present in the area 120,000 years ago, according /CFP Around 120,000 years ago in where is now northern Saudi Arabia, a small band of homo sapiens stopped to drink and forage at a shallow lake that was also frequented by camels, buffalo, and The ground around the lake deposit is heavily trampled, with at least 376 tracks from various animals. "Footprints are a unique form of fossil evidence in that they provide snapshots in time, typically representing a few hours or days, a resolution we tend not [to] get from other records," he added. Modern elephants in east Africa do the same thing today, and they follow chains of lakes like the chain Alathar was a part of 120,000 years ago. Retracing the first human steps out of Saudi Arabia: Scientists use footprints to recreate 120,000-year-old comfort break at prehistoric lake 18 September 2020 Scientists have pieced together the movements of a small group of early humans as they journeyed out of Africa and into the Arabian Peninsula for the first time more than 120,000 years ago. Updated 1225 GMT (2025 HKT) September 22, 2020. Located at a distance of 13 kilometers from the Al Hassa in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia; the Al Asfar lake is an important lake. It appears that Alathar Lake was only briefly visited by humans, wrote Stewart and his colleagues. Here, we report hominin and non-hominin mammal footprints and fossils from the Alathar lacustrine deposit in the western Nefud Desert, Saudi Arabia . These distinguishable fossilized footprints belonged to elephants, horses, sheep, goats, camels, and of course humans wherein the elephant [] In among the 376 ancient shapes discovered around Alathar lake, experts identified animal footprints, including prints belonging to horses, camels and elephants -- notable because elephants appeared to have gone extinct in the Levant about 400,000 years ago. At other ancient lakes in the Nefud, archaeologists have found stone tools and other evidence that people stuck around for a while, but not at Alathar. That was a better option then than it sounds now. CNMN Collection An Nafud or Al-Nefud or The Nefud (Arabic: , romanized: ahr' an-Nafd) is a desert in the northern part of the Arabian Peninsula at Coordinates, occupying a great ovalIt is 290 kilometres (180 mi) long and 225 kilometres (140 mi) wide, with an area of 103,600 square kilometres (40,000 sq mi). This undated handout photo obtained September 16, 2020 shows animal fossils eroding out of the surface of the Alathar ancient lake deposit. You could also strike out east, across the northern end of the Arabian Peninsula. Today, the Arabian deserts are some of the most inhospitable environments in the world. Around 120,000 years ago in what is now northern Saudi Arabia, a small band of homo sapiens stopped to drink and forage at a shallow lake that was also frequented by camels, buffalo, and elephants bigger than any species seen today. Alathar Arabia Camel Elephant Footprints Hominin Homo Homo sapiens Horse Lake Nefud Desert Out-of-Africa theory Pleistocene Sand Saudi Arabia Follow You Might Like Your California Privacy Rights | Do Not Sell My Personal Information Tell:+966 11 2706351 Fax: +966 11 2706357 . Around 120,000 years ago in what is now northern Saudi Arabia, a small band of homo sapiens stopped to drink and forage at a shallow lake that was also frequented by camels, buffalo, and elephants bigger than any species seen today. (CNN)Hundreds of fossilized footprints dating back 120,000 years have been discovered in Saudi Arabia, and they might point to the earliest evidence of human movement into the region, according to a new study in Science Advances. From that important geographical crossroads, youve got some options: you could head north through Syria and Turkey, then veer east into Asia or west into Europe. They left behind at least seven footprints in the mud, and today those tracks are the oldest known evidence of our species presence in Arabia. The Nefud Desert is the northern-most of the major Arabian sand seas (Fig. Head Office. Evidence from ancient sediments, pollen, and animal fossils all suggest that todays deserts were once grasslands and woods, crossed by rivers and dotted with lakes like the one at Alathar in the western Nefud Desert. By measuring the photons, scientists can tell how long ago a rock or layer of sediment last saw the light of day. Researchers were surveying the Alathar lake in Saudi Arabia when they made the discovery. As a result, the Arabian Peninsula has been an important route for hominins expansion beyond Africa, which started with Homo erectus and eventually ended with Homo sapiens. We argue that the footprints, dated to the last interglacial and therefore contemporaneous with an early H. sapiens out-of-Africa dispersal ( Fig. Human footprints dating back 120,000 years found in Saudi Arabia. While the prints arent easy to see, the largest of the lot caught one team members eye. "It is only after the last interglacial [period] with the return of cooler conditions that we have definitive evidence for Neanderthals moving into the region," Stewart said. Being a good wetland, Al Asfar provides for greenery and vegetation. 'Blood amber' may be a portal into dinosaur times, but the fossils are an ethical minefield for palaeontologists. Stewart and his colleagues suggest that the large herbivores like elephants, camel, and buffalo could have been moving south to follow a seasonal shift in rainfall. "The footprints, therefore, most likely represent humans, or Homo sapiens.". Palestine Street, Jeddah P.o.Box: 128128 Jeddah 21362 Saudi Arabia Tel: +96612 6614297 Fax: +96612 6614199 Email: info@alathar.com www.alathar.com PHOTO: AFP. Researchers were surveying the Alathar lake in Saudi Arabia when they made the discovery. The first human footprint discovered at Alathar and its corresponding digital elevation model. At Alathar, people crossed paths with whole herds of elephants and camels, along with at least one giant buffalo and a wild ass. "We immediately realized the potential of these findings," Mathew Stewart, one of the study's lead authors from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, said in a statement. And based on the different sizes of the tracks, the group probably included at least two or three people. 2020 Cond Nast. Researchers believe that the footprints date to the last interglacial period -- a time which saw humid conditions that facilitated human and animal movement across a region which was otherwise comprised of deserts. The footprints described in the new study were discovered during a recent survey of the Nefud Desert in Saudi Arabia. That provided a handy set of brackets on the possible age of the footprints: somewhere between 112,000 and 121,000 years old. 1B), a formidable barrier to overland movement. "We know people visited the lake, but the lack of stone tools or evidence of the use of animal carcasses suggests that their visit to the lake was only brief," Stewart added. Photo by Badar ZAHRANI/AFP via Getty Images Movement and landscape use by humans and mammals in Arabia were inextricably linked, wrote Stewart and his colleagues. Science Advances, 2020 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aba8940 (About DOIs). Pages in category "Lakes of Saudi Arabia" This category contains only the following page. Al Athar Saudi Trading Company 5th Floor Bridgestone Bldg. The footprints described in the new study were discovered during a recent survey of the Nefud Desert in Saudi Arabia. The oldest human footprints in the Arabian Peninsula have been discovered on an ancient lakebed deep in Saudi Arabia's Nefud Desert, according to research released Friday. This handout photo shows a view of the edge of the Alathar ancient lake deposit and surrounding landscape. Paleoanthropologists are still debating exactly why youve decided to do such a thing, and you almost certainly dont have a destination in mind, but for now well take it for granted that you just want to take a really, really long walk. It may have served as a stopping point and a place to drink and forage during long-distance travel, perhaps initiated by the arrival of dry conditions and dwindling water resources.. Human footprints dating back 120,000 years found in Saudi Arabia This undated handout photo obtained September 16, 2020 shows the first human footprint discovered at the Alathar ancient lake Seven footprints pressed into the parched sediment of an ancient lake bed in northern Saudi Arabia may testify to humans presence in the region Kiona N. Smith Back then, Alathar was a shallow lake in a low spot between dunes. F +966 12 616 5597. This handout photo shows a view of the edge of the Alathar ancient lake deposit and surrounding landscape. Ad Choices, an 85,000-year-old fossil finger bone in the Nefud. Get up-to-date business information, contact details, latest news and press releases and Archaeologists at the Alathar lake site in the western Nefud Desert, Saudi Arabia. Theres no trace of stone tools, animal butchery, hearth fires, or anything else that would indicate people actually lived and worked here. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lakes of Saudi Arabia. Al-Hassa is the largest oasis in the world, being approximately 20,000 hectares in size, as well as being one of the largest and oldest agriculatural centres in Saudi Arabia. Theres also no trace of anyone else in the region at that time (so far), so our species looks more likely. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated 1/1/20) and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement (updated 1/1/20) and Ars Technica Addendum (effective 8/21/2018). Read our affiliate link policy. Elephant (left) and camel (right) trackways were discovered. AFP WASHINGTON: Around 120,000 years ago in what is now northern Saudi Arabia The fossil footprints were found at the Alathar ancient lake deposit in Saudi Arabia. Researchers discovered hundreds of fossilized footprints, which were exposed by sediment erosion, during a survey of an ancient lake in Saudi Arabia's Nefud Desert. T +966 12 616 5595. Its likely that all of those animals visited Alathar within days or even hours of each other, because footprints in mud tend to fade away quickly unless they're preserved somehow. Photograph by Palaeodeserts Project. Around 120,000 years ago in what is now northern Saudi Arabia, a small band of homo sapiens stopped to drink and forage at a shallow lake that Impact Center (Alathar) | 43 followers on LinkedIn | Social Impact Evaluation | As part of Vision 2030, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia aims to have a tangible impact on the non-profit sector that can help participate in achieving the development agenda. The first human footprint discovered at the Alathar ancient lake. Around 120,000 years ago in what is now northern Saudi Arabia, a small band of homo sapiens stopped to drink and forage at a shallow lake that The Nefud Desert in modern-day Saudi Arabia lies around 500km to the southeast of the Sinai Peninsula. (If youre an ichnology enthusiast, its worth noting that experiments in a mudflat show that human footprints lose their fine details within about two days and become totally unrecognizable in four.). Although both people and animals walked in all directions at Alatharalong the shore, to and from the lake, and on other pathsthe tracks all eventually make their way from north to south. When scientists come along and zap a sediment sample with light, those electrons get released, giving off photons in the process. The small group of people who passed by the lake at Alathar may have been following the water, the herds, or both, but they didnt stay long, in any case. The footprints described in the new study were discovered during a recent survey of the Nefud Desert in Saudi Arabia. 300,000-year-old stone tools at one site in the Nefud probably mark the presence of an early wave of hominins, probably Homo erectus. Using a method called optically stimulated luminescence, paleoecologist Mathew Stewart of the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology and his colleagues dated the layer of sediment just above the layer with the footprints, as well as the layer just below them. Neanderthals had wider, heavier feet with shallower arches compared to most Homo sapiens, and the proportions of the prints at Alathar look more like Homo sapiens feet. Over tens of thousands of years or more, quartz grains trap electrons in their crystal structure (the electrons end up trapped because natural radiation excites them into bouncing around until they get stuck). And last year, archaeologists found an 85,000-year-old fossil finger bone in the Nefudthe oldest directly dated Homo sapiens fossil anywhere outside Africa or the Levant. Al-Asfar Lake is situated 13 kilometres east of Al-Hassa and is one of the most important shallow wetland lakes in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Lake site in the Nefud probably mark the presence of an early H. sapiens out-of-Africa dispersal ( Fig described! Almost inevitably, you re walking out of eastern Africa into Eurasia Collection WIRED Group. 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