AN OCCUPIED LAVA TUBE IN SAUDI ARABIA AND ASSOCIATED ROCK ART:

Umm Jirsan Cave (lava tube), northwestern Saudi Arabia. Figure 2, Stewart et al.

It has occurred to me that living in a cave is sort of like having pre-fabricated housing. In Europe we assume that during cold times people may have lived in some of the limestone caves for shelter. It has now been established that in Northern Arabia a cave, actually a lava tube, was used as residence by early people, and they wanted art on their walls.

View from within Umm Jirsan Cave (lava tube), northwestern Saudi Arabia. Figure 2, Stewart et al.

Matthew Stewart (2024) described the area and environment. “Evidence for pre-Neolithic occupation is recorded in the rock art of northern Arabia. This includes hunting scenes superimposed by depictions of livestock herds, as well as reference to the HHP in the depiction of fauna (e.g., lesser kudu, African wild ass) that today do not inhabit true deserts. Pre-Neolithic artifacts have also been recovered, though such findings are restricted to just a handful of sites. In the Jubbah Basin, lithics with similarities to the Levantine Geometic Kebaran were found deposited on sediments dated to ca. 12,250 years BP at Al-Rabyah. However, detailed geochronological analysis suggests that this may reflect a minimum age, with similar assemblages in the Levant dating to ca. 18,000–16,250 years BP. Assemblages with similarities to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN; dated to ca. 12,175–8,450 years BP in the Levant) have been documented at Jebel Qattar 101 and Jebel Oraf with finds at the former putatively associated with an adjacent paleolake dated to 8,978–7,900 years BP. Just south of the Nefud Desert at the recently discovered site of Sahout, a backed bladelet of a type common in the Levantine Natufian (where this period dates to ca. 14,900–11,750 years BP), albeit also known from the PPNA (ca. 12,175–11,000 years BP), was found. The presence of archaeological deposits at the site dating to the Neolithic, but also to earlier periods (ca. 13,400–8,800 years BP), and their association with large naturalistic camel engravings, supports earlier hypotheses that this rock art tradition may pre-date the Neolithic.” (Stewart et al. 2024:2) Since the area was inhabited prior to the Neolithic Period, it seems logical to conclude that the creation of rock art predates the Neolithic as well.

Petroglyphs from Umm Jirsan Cave (lava tube), northwestern Saudi Arabia. Figure 6, Stewart et al.

Steward continued with more detail. “Umm Jirsan is located in the Harrat Khaybar, a volcanic area comprised of harrats (singular: harra, Arabic plural: harrat) in north-western Saudi Arabia. Early work by Gilmore and colleagues (1982) reported archaeology ranging from the Lower Palaeolithic through to the Neolithic, the latter including “tabular flint scrapers, blades, bifacial retouch, ground stone, trianguloids . . and “T” shaped notched tools.” (Stewart et al. 2024:4) This is related to the so-called “Black Desert” of Jordan and Syria, vast areas of volcanic lava flows.

Sheep petroglyph from Umm Jirsan Cave, northwestern Saudi Arabia. Figure 6A, Stewart et al.

Goat and two humans with tools on their belts, petroglyph from Umm Jirsan Cave, northwestern Saudi Arabia. Figure 6B, Stewart et al.

Gillian Dohrn quoted Mathew Stewart (2024) on human use of the lava tube. “The distribution of samples suggests that people did not live in the cave for long periods, but stayed there occasionally. Nearby rock art depicts people with goats and sheep. The drawings are difficult to date, but they support the fossil evidence that people used the cave as a place to rest and shelter their herds. Even today, farmers seek shade and water in underground lava tubes for themselves and their animals, says Stewart.” (Dohrn 2024) So this did not provide a permanent residence, but a place of refuge. As cited above water may persist in lava tube pools, and it would be considerably cooler in the hot summer weather.

Long-horned bovine, petroglyph from Umm Jirsan Cave, northwestern Saudi Arabia. Figure 6C, Stewart et al.

Petroglyphs show examples of not only sheep and goats, but long-horned cattle and wild ibex as well. Differential pecking on the images with some areas pecked out completely and others left untouched suggests variations in the color of the animal’s coat.

Ibex petroglyph from Umm Jirsan Cave, northwestern Saudi Arabia. Figure 6D, Stewart et al.

“Our findings point to use of Umm Jirsan by predominantly pastoral populations that had increasing links through time with oasis settlements. The lava tube does not appear to have served as a permanent habitation location, but rather as a site that likely lay on herding routes and that allowed access to shade and water for passing herders and their animals. Prior to this, as well as during pastoral periods, the lava tube was likely also linked with hunting activities, which probably remained a cornerstone of local economies into the Bronze Age. Lava tubes like Umm Jirsan offered a rich resource for human populations living in arid habitats and provide important insights into the resources these populations drew upon to increase their resilience in a challenging environment.” (Stewart et al. 2024:21) So cultures from hunter-gatherers to herders and beyond found this lava tube to be an important resource providing shade and water in an arid environment. This study has advanced knowledge of how people in the past interacted with their world in Northern Arabia.

REFERENCES:

Dohrn, Gillian, 2024, Early Humans Sheltered in this Lava Tube 10,000 Years Ago – And It’s Still in Use Today, 19 April 2024, https://www.scientificamerican.com. Accessed online 21 April 2024.

Stewart. M. Andrieux, E. Blinkhorn, J., Guagnin, M., Fernandes, R., Vanwezer, N., et al., 2024, First evidence for human occupation of a lava tube in Arabia: The archaeology of Umm Jirsan Cave and its surroundings, northern Saudi Arabia, PLoS ONE 19(4): e0299292, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0299292. Accessed online 17 June 2024. 

SECONDARY REFERENCE:

Gilmore M, Al-Ibrahim M, Murad AS, 1982, Comprehensive Archaeological Survey Program. 1. Preliminary Report on the Northwestern and Northern Region Survey 1981 (1401). Atlal. 1982; 6: 9–23.