Why did ancient humans avoid this lush paradise

October 28, 2026 · 12:00 am 4 sources

Image: Nature

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Wires & papers of record

• Why did ancient humans avoid this lush paradise
  Nature · October 28, 2026 00:00
  Nature, Published online: 28 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-03486-1 A new expedition into the Rub’ al Khali desert finds no evidence of ancient human settlement.
• This Arabian desert was once a lush paradise. Why did ancient humans avoid it?
  Nature · October 28, 2026 00:00
  Nature, Published online: 28 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-03484-3 Expedition revealed that water wasn’t enough for human settlement — plus, proposals to block sunlight get serious.
• Tethered to stone: how rock and water availability shaped early desert occupation
  Nature · October 28, 2026 00:00
  Nature, Published online: 28 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-03263-0 Fresh water in deserts often points to sites with signs of early humans and stone tools. But, in Arabia’s Rub’ al Khali region, water alone does not predict occupation.
• Stone and water governed early human settlement of the desert
  Nature · October 28, 2026 00:00
  Nature, Published online: 28 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11180-5 A geoarchaeological survey of the Rub’ al Khali (the Empty Quarter of Arabia) and spatial modelling of the Arabian Peninsula suggest that human settlement tracked the co-occurrence of water and stone suitable for making…