The Middle Palaeolithic in the desert and its implications for understanding hominin adaptation and dispersal

Abstract

The mid-latitude desert belt extending from the Atlantic coast of North Africa, through the Middle East and deep into Asia is one of the fundamental environmental and biogeographical features of the modern world. Although today much of this region can only be inhabited as a result of complex cultural adaptations to these arid environments (e.g. irrigation, camel domestication, etc.), a rich variety of archaeological evidence attests to the occupation of the desert belt during the Pleistocene. The aim of this volume of Quaternary International is to explore the Palaeolithic occupation of this desert belt, and highlight these regions as critical to understanding changes in hominin behaviour and demography that have occurred during the Middle and Upper Pleistocene.