Approximately 12,000 years ago, during the Pleistocene-Chlorocene transition, humans navigated a network of seasonal waters in Northern Arabia, marking significant locations with camels, ibex, wild equids, gazelles, and monumental rock carvings of Auloc, as well as establishing access routes.

As part of the Green Arabia Project, archaeologist Michael Petraglia from Griffith University and his team have uncovered over 60 rock art panels featuring 176 sculptures in three previously unexplored locations.

The sculptures predominantly illustrate camels, ibex, equids, gazelles, and aurochs, comprising 130 life-size and naturalistic figures, with heights exceeding 3 meters and 2 meters.

This sculptural activity occurred between 12,800 and 11,400 years ago, a time when seasonal water bodies re-emerged following a period of severe aridity.

These water sources, identified through sediment analysis, facilitated early human migration into the interior desert and offered rare survival opportunities.

“These large-scale sculptures are not just rock art; they likely represent assertions of existence, access, and cultural identity,” noted Dr. Maria Guanine, an archaeologist at the Max Planck Institute.

“Rock art signifies water sources and movement routes, potentially indicating territorial rights and intergenerational memory,” added Dr. Seri Shipton, an archaeologist at the University of London.

In contrast to previously known sites where sculptures were hidden in crevices, the Jebel Mleiha and Jebel Arnaan panels were carved on the face of a towering 39-meter cliff, making them visually dominant.

One panel required ancient artists to ascend narrow ledges to create their work, emphasizing the effort and significance attributed to the imagery.

Various artifacts, including Levantine-style Erkiam, Hellwan stone points, green pigments, and dental beads, indicate extensive connections to pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) populations in the Levant.

Nevertheless, the size, content, and arrangement of these Arabian sculptures distinguish them from others.

“This unique form of symbolic representation reflects a distinct cultural identity evolved to thrive in harsh, arid environments,” stated Dr. Faisal Al Ghibrien, a heritage researcher at the Saudi Ministry of Culture.

“The project’s interdisciplinary approach aims to bridge significant gaps in the Northern Arabian archaeological record between the last Glacial Maximum and the Holocene, shedding light on the resilience and innovation of early desert communities,” remarked Dr. Petraglia.

The team’s paper has been published in the journal Nature Communications.

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M. Guanine et al. 2025. Monumental rock art indicates that humans thrived in the Arabian desert during the Pleistocene and Holocene transitions. Nature Communications 16, 8249; doi:10.1038/s41467-025-63417-y