Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41027882›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

Monumental rock art illustrates that humans thrived in the Arabian Desert during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition.

Maria Guagnin, Ceri Shipton, Faisal Al-Jibreen, Giacomo Losi, Amir Kalifi, Simon J Armitage, Finn Stileman, Mathew Stewart, Fahad Al-Tamimi, Paul S Breeze and 7 more

Abstract readHistorical Article
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

17 authors.

Maria GuagninDepartment of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany. guagnin@gea.mpg.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7995-8611
Ceri ShiptonInstitute of Archaeology, University College London, London, UK. c.shipton@ucl.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4224-9467
Faisal Al-JibreenHeritage Commission, Ministry of Culture, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Giacomo LosiPhysical Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
Amir KalifiPhysical Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3041-1401
Simon J ArmitageDepartment of Geography, Royal Holloway University of London, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1480-9188
Finn StilemanDepartment of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Mathew StewartAustralian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Fahad Al-TamimiHeritage Commission, Ministry of Culture, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Paul S BreezeDepartment of Geography, King's College London, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2575-8021
Frans van BuchemPhysical Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
Nick DrakeDepartment of Geography, King's College London, London, UK.
Mohammed Al-ShamryHeritage Commission, Ministry of Culture, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Ahmed Al-ShammariHeritage Commission, Ministry of Culture, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Jaber Al-WadaniHeritage Commission, Ministry of Culture, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Abdullah M AlsharekhDepartment of Archaeology, College of Tourism and Archaeology, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2666-3262
Michael PetragliaAustralian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2522-5727

Funding

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) baseline supportNorges Forskningsråd (Research Council of Norway) 262618
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Dated archaeological sites are absent in northern Arabia between the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and 10,000 years ago (ka), signifying potential population abandonment prior to the onset of the Holocene humid period. Here we present evidence that playas became established in the Nefud desert of northern Arabia between ~16 and ~13 ka, the earliest reported presence of surface water following the hyper-aridity of the LGM. These fresh water sources facilitated human expansions into arid landscapes as shown by new excavations of stratified archaeological sites dating to between 12.8 and 11.4 ka. During the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, human populations exploited a network of seasonal water bodies - marking locations and access routes with monumental rock engravings of camels, ibex, wild equids, gazelles, and aurochs. These communities made distinctive stone tool types showing ongoing connections to the late Epipalaeolithic and Pre-Pottery Neolithic populations of the Levant.

Indexed as

ArchaeologyAnimalsArabiaDesert ClimateEngraving and EngravingsFossilsHistory, AncientHumans

Identifiers

PMID41027882
PMCPMC12485027

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.