Conny Waters – AncientPages.com – Researchers led by Dr. Knut Bretzke from Friedrich Schiller University in Jena have presented the oldest evidence of systematic stone blade production on the Arabian Peninsula.
Map showing the location of site FAY-NE1, Jebel Faya and other Middle Palaeolithic sites providing chronometric information mentioned in the text. Image source
The long, narrow stone tools discovered at the Jebel Faya site in the Emirate of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, have been dated to be approximately 80,000 years old. This dating was achieved through a luminescence process, which measures the last time the minerals in these artifacts were exposed to sunlight or heat.
No doubt, the findings provide significant insights into early human technology and migration patterns in this region.
The discovery reveals new insights into Arabia’s settlement history and the routes Homo sapiens used to leave Africa.
The Jebel Faya archaeological site on the Arabian Peninsula. Image credit: Knut Bretzke
However, as Knut Bretzke said: “No human remains from the Paleolithic period have been found in southern Arabia so far.” He added that the researchers’ findings suggest that South Arabia had a distinctly different influence on the establishment and cultural diversification of Homo sapiens populations in Southwest Asia compared to the northern region of the peninsula.”
Consider the compelling evidence from around 80,000 years ago when a significant shift in Arabia’s climate marked the end of a long phase of favorable conditions that had begun 130,000 years prior.
Retouched artifacts from the stratigraphically youngest Middle Palaeolithic assemblage discovered at Jebel Faya, Emirate of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Image credit: Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2025). Image source
During this era, the entire peninsula thrived with life, supported by permanent rivers and lake formations. Archaeologists have uncovered strikingly similar traditions in stone tool manufacturing across vast regions of Arabia during this time. This discovery strongly suggests a widespread and interconnected culture that flourished under these optimal environmental conditions.
Archaeologists, through their excavation findings, have provided new insights into cultural developments in North and South Arabia.
For the first time, evidence shows that as the region transitioned to a subsequent dry phase, distinct cultural trajectories emerged in these areas. This discovery highlights the impact of environmental changes on societal evolution in ancient times.
The discoveries outlined offer fresh insights into the classification and understanding of the temporal and spatial patterns of early Homo sapiens migration from Africa to Asia. According to Knut Bretzke, the global dispersal of Homo sapiens took place in multiple waves, starting at least 150,000 years ago.
The findings also suggest that approximately 80,000 years ago, one of the migratory waves traversed the southern edge of the Arabian Peninsula. Modern DNA analysis techniques have facilitated the development of an increasingly detailed depiction of these migratory patterns.
Unfortunately, additional comparative DNA analysis is currently not possible in the desert region, Knut Bretzke already said that no human remains from the Paleolithic period have been found in southern Arabia so far.
Prior archaeological excavations have uncovered tool assemblages from the Palaeolithic, Neolithic, and Bronze Age periods. These findings indicate that the region was inhabited between 210,000 and 10,000 years ago.
Written by Conny Waters – AncientPages.com Staff Writer
