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Stewart M, Andrieux E, Blinkhorn J, Guagnin M, Fernandes R, Vanwezer N, Hatton A, Alqahtani M, Zalmout I, Clark-Wilson R, Al-Mufarreh YSA, Al-Shanti M, Zahrani B, Al Omari A, Al-Jibreen F, Alsharekh AM, Scerri EML, Boivin N, Petraglia MD, Groucutt HS. 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 2024; 19:e0299292. [PMID: 38630666 PMCID: PMC11023468 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0299292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2023] [Accepted: 02/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Recent advances in interdisciplinary archaeological research in Arabia have focused on the evolution and historical development of regional human populations as well as the diverse patterns of cultural change, migration, and adaptations to environmental fluctuations. Obtaining a comprehensive understanding of cultural developments such as the emergence and lifeways of Neolithic groups has been hindered by the limited preservation of stratified archaeological assemblages and organic remains, a common challenge in arid environments. Underground settings like caves and lava tubes, which are prevalent in Arabia but which have seen limited scientific exploration, offer promising opportunities for addressing these issues. Here, we report on an archaeological excavation and a related survey at and around Umm Jirsan lava tube in the Harrat Khaybar, north-western Saudi Arabia. Our results reveal repeated phases of human occupation of the site ranging from at least the Neolithic through to the Chalcolithic/Bronze Age. Pastoralist use of the lava tube and surrounding landscape is attested in rock art and faunal records, suggesting that Umm Jirsan was situated along a pastoral route linking key oases. Isotopic data indicates that herbivores primarily grazed on wild grasses and shrubs rather than being provided with fodder, while humans had a diet consistently high in protein but with increasing consumption of C3 plants through-time, perhaps related to the emergence of oasis agriculture. While underground and naturally sheltered localities are globally prominent in archaeology and Quaternary science, our work represents the first such combined records for Saudi Arabia and highlight the potential for interdisciplinary studies in caves and lava tubes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathew Stewart
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
- Extreme Events Research Group, the Max Planck Institutes of Geoanthropology, Chemical Ecology, and Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
| | - Eric Andrieux
- Department of Archaeology, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
| | - James Blinkhorn
- Human Palaeosystems Group, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
| | - Maria Guagnin
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
| | - Ricardo Fernandes
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
- Department of Bioarchaeology, Faculty of Archaeology, University of Warsaw, Warszaw, Poland
- Arne Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia
- Climate Change and History Research Initiative, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
| | - Nils Vanwezer
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
| | - Amy Hatton
- Extreme Events Research Group, the Max Planck Institutes of Geoanthropology, Chemical Ecology, and Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
- Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Department of Geosciences, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Mesfer Alqahtani
- Department of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Iyad Zalmout
- Palaeontology Division, Directorate of Geological Survey, Survey and Exploration Centre, Saudi Geological Survey, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- Museum of Palaeontology, Research Museum Centre, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Richard Clark-Wilson
- Centre for Quaternary Research, Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | | | - Mahmoud Al-Shanti
- Geotourism Department, Saudi Geological Survey, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Badr Zahrani
- Heritage Commission, Ministry of Culture, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | | | | | - Abdullah M. Alsharekh
- Department of Archaeology, College of Tourism and Archaeology, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Eleanor M. L. Scerri
- Human Palaeosystems Group, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
- Department of Classics and Archaeology, University of Malta, Msida, Malta
- Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Nicole Boivin
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
- School of Social Science, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia
- Griffith Sciences, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Michael D. Petraglia
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
- School of Social Science, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia
- Human Origins Program, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., United States of America
| | - Huw S. Groucutt
- Extreme Events Research Group, the Max Planck Institutes of Geoanthropology, Chemical Ecology, and Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
- Department of Classics and Archaeology, University of Malta, Msida, Malta
- Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
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2
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Sirak K, Jansen Van Rensburg J, Brielle E, Chen B, Lazaridis I, Ringbauer H, Mah M, Mallick S, Micco A, Rohland N, Callan K, Curtis E, Kearns A, Lawson AM, Workman JN, Zalzala F, Ahmed Al-Orqbi AS, Ahmed Salem EM, Salem Hasan AM, Britton DC, Reich D. Medieval DNA from Soqotra points to Eurasian origins of an isolated population at the crossroads of Africa and Arabia. Nat Ecol Evol 2024; 8:817-829. [PMID: 38332026 PMCID: PMC11009077 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-024-02322-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2024]
Abstract
Soqotra, an island situated at the mouth of the Gulf of Aden in the northwest Indian Ocean between Africa and Arabia, is home to ~60,000 people subsisting through fishing and semi-nomadic pastoralism who speak a Modern South Arabian language. Most of what is known about Soqotri history derives from writings of foreign travellers who provided little detail about local people, and the geographic origins and genetic affinities of early Soqotri people has not yet been investigated directly. Here we report genome-wide data from 39 individuals who lived between ~650 and 1750 CE at six locations across the island and document strong genetic connections between Soqotra and the similarly isolated Hadramawt region of coastal South Arabia that likely reflects a source for the peopling of Soqotra. Medieval Soqotri can be modelled as deriving ~86% of their ancestry from a population such as that found in the Hadramawt today, with the remaining ~14% best proxied by an Iranian-related source with up to 2% ancestry from the Indian sub-continent, possibly reflecting genetic exchanges that occurred along with archaeologically documented trade from these regions. In contrast to all other genotyped populations of the Arabian Peninsula, genome-level analysis of the medieval Soqotri is consistent with no sub-Saharan African admixture dating to the Holocene. The deep ancestry of people from medieval Soqotra and the Hadramawt is also unique in deriving less from early Holocene Levantine farmers and more from groups such as Late Pleistocene hunter-gatherers from the Levant (Natufians) than other mainland Arabians. This attests to migrations by early farmers having less impact in southernmost Arabia and Soqotra and provides compelling evidence that there has not been complete population replacement between the Pleistocene and Holocene throughout the Arabian Peninsula. Medieval Soqotra harboured a small population that showed qualitatively different marriage practices from modern Soqotri, with first-cousin unions occurring significantly less frequently than today.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kendra Sirak
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
| | | | - Esther Brielle
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Bowen Chen
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Iosif Lazaridis
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Harald Ringbauer
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Matthew Mah
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Swapan Mallick
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Adam Micco
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Nadin Rohland
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Kimberly Callan
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Elizabeth Curtis
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Aisling Kearns
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ann Marie Lawson
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - J Noah Workman
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Fatma Zalzala
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - David Reich
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
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Friis G, Smith EG, Lovelock CE, Ortega A, Marshell A, Duarte CM, Burt JA. Rapid diversification of grey mangroves (Avicennia marina) driven by geographic isolation and extreme environmental conditions in the Arabian Peninsula. Mol Ecol 2024; 33:e17260. [PMID: 38197286 DOI: 10.1111/mec.17260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2022] [Revised: 11/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2024]
Abstract
Biological systems occurring in ecologically heterogeneous and spatially discontinuous habitats provide an ideal opportunity to investigate the relative roles of neutral and selective factors in driving lineage diversification. The grey mangroves (Avicennia marina) of Arabia occur at the northern edge of the species' range and are subject to variable, often extreme, environmental conditions, as well as historic large fluctuations in habitat availability and connectivity resulting from Quaternary glacial cycles. Here, we analyse fully sequenced genomes sampled from 19 locations across the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea and the Persian/Arabian Gulf (PAG) to reconstruct the evolutionary history of the species in the region and to identify adaptive mechanisms of lineage diversification. Population structure and phylogenetic analyses revealed marked genetic structure correlating with geographic distance and highly supported clades among and within the seas surrounding the Arabian Peninsula. Demographic modelling showed times of divergence consistent with recent periods of geographic isolation and low marine connectivity during glaciations, suggesting the presence of (cryptic) glacial refugia in the Red Sea and the PAG. Significant migration was detected within the Red Sea and the PAG, and across the Strait of Hormuz to the Arabian Sea, suggesting gene flow upon secondary contact among populations. Genetic-environment association analyses revealed high levels of adaptive divergence and detected signs of multi-loci local adaptation driven by temperature extremes and hypersalinity. These results support a process of rapid diversification resulting from the combined effects of historical factors and ecological selection and reveal mangrove peripheral environments as relevant drivers of lineage diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillermo Friis
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology (CGSB) and Mubadala ACCESS Center, New York University - Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - Edward G Smith
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
| | - Catherine E Lovelock
- School of Environment, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Alejandra Ortega
- Red Sea Research Center (RSRC) and Computational Bioscience Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Alyssa Marshell
- Department of Marine Science and Fisheries, College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Carlos M Duarte
- Red Sea Research Center (RSRC) and Computational Bioscience Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - John A Burt
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology (CGSB) and Mubadala ACCESS Center, New York University - Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
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Bolster AL, JeanLouis HJ, Gregoricka LA, Ullinger JM. Estimating adult age categories in commingled skeletons with Transition Analysis 3. Am J Biol Anthropol 2024; 183:e24890. [PMID: 38112163 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24890] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2023] [Revised: 11/16/2023] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 12/20/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES We estimate adult age frequencies from Unar 1 and Unar 2, two late Umm an-Nar (2400-2100 BCE) tombs in the modern-day Emirate of Ras al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. These collective tombs each contained hundreds of skeletons in commingled, fragmented, and variably cremated states. Previous studies placed the vast majority of this mortuary community in a generalized "adult" category, as have most analyses of similar tombs from this period. We sought to test how adult age estimation methods compare in identifying young, middle, and old-age individuals in commingled assemblages. MATERIALS AND METHODS We employed Transition Analysis 3 (TA3) and traditional age estimation methods to generate adult age frequencies for each tomb. We compared these frequencies between tomb contexts as well as by method. RESULTS Unar 1 and Unar 2 had similar adult age frequencies within each method, but TA3 age frequencies included significantly more middle and older adult individuals than those generated by traditional methods. DISCUSSION These results support findings of earlier iterations of transition analysis in regard to sensitivity in old adult age estimation, compared with traditional methods. Our findings indicate a potential use of TA3 in reconstructing age frequencies and mortality profiles in commingled skeletal assemblages. Increasing our understanding of everyday life in the distant past necessitates better understandings of adult age, and here, we illustrate how age estimation method choice significantly changes bioarchaeological interpretations of aging in Bronze Age Arabia. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS Adult age estimation using TA3 revealed significantly more middle and older adults than traditional methods in two commingled tombs. Similar mean maximum likelihood point estimates by side and across skeletal elements were found between tombs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alyssa L Bolster
- Department of Anthropology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
| | | | - Lesley A Gregoricka
- Department of Sociology, Anthropology, & Social Work, University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama, USA
| | - Jaime M Ullinger
- Department of Sociology & Anthropology, Quinnipiac University, Hamden, Connecticut, USA
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Anker A. Alpheid shrimps of the genera Athanas Leach, 1814, Athanopsis Coutire, 1897 and Pseudathanas Bruce, 1983 of the coasts of the Arabian Peninsula (Malacostraca: Decapoda: Caridea). Zootaxa 2023; 5383:179-215. [PMID: 38221252 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5383.2.5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 01/16/2024]
Abstract
Several species of alpheid shrimps belonging the genera Athanas Leach, 1814, Athanopsis Coutire, 1897 and Pseudathanas Bruce, 1983 (Decapoda: Caridea) are reported based on material collected on the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia and in Oman. Athanas claereboudti sp. nov. is described based on specimens from Masirah Island and Bandar Khayran east of Muscat, Oman, whereas A. iranicus Anker, Naderloo & Marin, 2010, A. minikoensis Coutire, 1903, A. parvus De Man, 1910, and a species tentatively identified as A. cf. dentirostris Anker, Jeng & Chan, 2001, are reported from various Omani localities. In the genus Athanopsis, four species are reported, including one species new to science: A. brevirostris Banner & Banner, 1981 from Saudi Arabia, A. dawa sp. nov. and A. rubricinctuta Berggren, 1991 from Masirah Island, Oman, and A. tarahomii Marin, Sheibani & Sari, 2014 from Saudi Arabia. The records of A. rubricinctuta and A. tarahomii represent second findings and significant extensions of their previously known ranges for these species. An important error in the description and illustration of the colour pattern of A. tarahomii is corrected, whereas the colour pattern of A. brevirostris is compared again with that of A. saurus Anker, 2011; the latter species is newly recorded from New Caledonia. The taxonomic identity of A. platyrhynchus Coutire, 1897, the type species of the genus from Djibouti, remains somewhat problematic. Finally, the monotypic genus Alberta Kazmi & Kazmi, 2010 established for Alberta banneri Kazmi & Kazmi, 2010 is placed in the synonymy of Pseudathanas Bruce, 1983 and Pseudathanas banneri (Kazmi & Kazmi, 2010) comb. nov. is reported from Muscat, Oman, for the first time since its original description. The generic diagnoses of Athanas, Athanopsis and Pseudathanas are emended to accommodate new or transferred species. All species reported are illustrated in colour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arthur Anker
- Universidade Federal de Pelotas (UFPEL); Departamento de Ecologia; Zoologia e Gentica; Instituto de Biologia; Campus Universitrio Capo do Leo; RS; 96010-610; Brazil; Red Sea Research Center; King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST); Thuwal; Saudi Arabia.
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Hammarén R, Goldstein ST, Schlebusch CM. Eurasian back-migration into Northeast Africa was a complex and multifaceted process. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0290423. [PMID: 37939042 PMCID: PMC10631636 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0290423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2022] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 11/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent studies have identified Northeast Africa as an important area for human movements during the Holocene. Eurasian populations have moved back into Northeastern Africa and contributed to the genetic composition of its people. By gathering the largest reference dataset to date of Northeast, North, and East African as well as Middle Eastern populations, we give new depth to our knowledge of Northeast African demographic history. By employing local ancestry methods, we isolated the Non-African parts of modern-day Northeast African genomes and identified the best putative source populations. Egyptians and Sudanese Copts bore most similarities to Levantine populations whilst other populations in the region generally had predominantly genetic contributions from the Arabian peninsula rather than Levantine populations for their Non-African genetic component. We also date admixture events and investigated which factors influenced the date of admixture and find that major linguistic families were associated with the date of Eurasian admixture. Taken as a whole we detect complex patterns of admixture and diverse origins of Eurasian admixture in Northeast African populations of today.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rickard Hammarén
- Human Evolution, Department of Organismal Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Steven T. Goldstein
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Carina M. Schlebusch
- Human Evolution, Department of Organismal Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
- SciLifeLab, Uppsala, Sweden
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7
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Eldaabossi S, Al-Ghoneimy Y, Antar A, Lotfy E, Aljawad H, Abish YG, Helyl M, Oraby H, Soliman H, Abdullatif B, Nour SO, Lotfi A. Partial sternectomy with reconstruction of a giant cell tumor of the sternum, a case report, Saudi, Arabia. J Cardiothorac Surg 2023; 18:296. [PMID: 37848912 PMCID: PMC10580503 DOI: 10.1186/s13019-023-02404-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 09/30/2023] [Indexed: 10/19/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Giant cell tumor (GCT) is a relatively common and locally aggressive benign bone tumor that rarely affects the sternum. CASE PRESENTATION We report a case of giant cell tumor of the sternum in a 28-year-old Saudi with painful swelling at the lower part of the sternum. Subtotal sternectomy and reconstruction with a neosternum using two layers of proline mesh, a methyl methacrylate prosthesis, and bilateral pectoralis muscle advancement flaps were performed. CONCLUSIONS Giant cell tumor of the sternum is a rare diagnosis. Surgical resection with negative margins is the ideal management. To avoid defects or instability of the chest wall, reconstruction of the chest wall with neosternum should be considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Safwat Eldaabossi
- Almoosa Specialist Hospital, Al Ahsa, Saudi Arabia.
- Department of Chest Diseases, Al-Azhar Faculty of Medicine, Cairo, Egypt.
| | | | - Ahmad Antar
- Almoosa Specialist Hospital, Al Ahsa, Saudi Arabia
| | - Elsaid Lotfy
- Radiology Department, Almoosa Specialist Hospital, Al Ahsa, Saudi Arabia
| | - Hameed Aljawad
- Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Almoosa Specialist Hospital, Al Ahsa, Saudi Arabia
| | - Yasser G Abish
- Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Almoosa Specialist Hospital, Al Ahsa, Saudi Arabia
- Al-Azhar Faculty of Medicine, Cairo, Egypt
| | | | | | - Hesham Soliman
- Anesthesia Department, Almoosa Specialist Hospital, Al Ahsa, Saudi Arabia
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8
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Lucarini G, Guagnin M, Shipton C, Radini A, Alsharekh AM, Petraglia M. Plant, pigment, and bone processing in the Neolithic of northern Arabia-New evidence from Use-wear analysis of grinding tools at Jebel Oraf. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0291085. [PMID: 37792728 PMCID: PMC10550130 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0291085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Archaeological sites with surface hearths are a ubiquitous feature across the arid zones of the Arabian interior. At Jebel Oraf, in the Jubbah basin of the Nefud Desert of northern Arabia, numerous grinding stone fragments were found in association with hearths, though the original purpose of these stones was unclear owing to the poor preservation of faunal and botanic remains. Here we describe results from use-wear analysis on five grinding tools at Jebel Oraf, demonstrating that such artefacts were used during the Neolithic for plant processing, bone processing, and pigment production. Grinding stones were often broken up after initial use and fragments were subsequently re-used for alternative purposes, before finally being placed on hearths or discarded. More specifically, plants were ground or prepared and possibly cooked in the hearths, and bones were processed as well. The analyses also highlight the importance of pigment processing at Neolithic sites and provide a link to painted rock art. The frequent use of pigment in the archaeological record suggests that pigment was widely used, and that Neolithic painted art may have been more common than the surviving images suggest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulio Lucarini
- Institute of Heritage Science, National Research Council of Italy, Rome, Italy
- Department of Asian, African, and Mediterranean Studies, University of Naples L’Orientale, Naples, Italy
| | - Maria Guagnin
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
| | - Ceri Shipton
- Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Anita Radini
- School of Archaeology, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Abdullah M. Alsharekh
- Department of Archaeology, College of Tourism and Archaeology, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Michael Petraglia
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Nathan, Australia
- School of Social Science, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia
- Human Origins Program, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., United States of America
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Almohammed EK, Hadi A, Al-Asmakh M, Lazim H. The Qatari population's genetic structure and gene flow as revealed by the Y chromosome. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0290844. [PMID: 37656680 PMCID: PMC10473524 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0290844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2023] [Accepted: 08/16/2023] [Indexed: 09/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The Y-chromosome has been widely used in forensic genetic applications and human population genetic studies due to its uniparental origins. A large database on the Qatari population was created for comparison with other databases from the Arabian Peninsula, the Middle East, and Africa. We provide a study of 23 Y-STR loci included in PowerPlex Y23 (Promega, USA) that were genotyped to produce haplotypes in 379 unrelated males from Qatar, a country at the crossroads of migration patterns. Overall, the most polymorphic locus provided by the Promega kit was DYS458, with a genetic diversity value of 0.85 and a haplotype diversity of 0.998924. Athey's Haplogroup Predictor tool was used to predict haplogroups from Y-STR haplotypes in the Qatari population. In a median-joining network, the haplogroup J1 predominance (49%) in Qatar generated a star-like expansion cluster. The graph of population Q-matrix was developed using Y-STR data from 38 Middle Eastern and 97 African populations (11,305 individuals), and it demonstrated a stronger sub-grouping of countries within each ethnic group and showed the effect of Arabs on the indigenous Berbers of North Africa. The estimated migration rate between the Qatari and other Arabian populations was inferred using Bayesian coalescence theory in the Migrate-n program. According to the Gene Flow study, the main migration route was from Yemen to Kuwait through Qatar. Our research, using the PowerPlex Y23 database, shows the importance of gene diversity, as well as regional and social structuring, in determining the utility of demographic and forensic databases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eida Khalaf Almohammed
- Ministry of Interior of Qatar, Doha, Qatar
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Abdullah Hadi
- University of Central Lancashire Medical School, Preston, United Kingdom
| | - Maha Al-Asmakh
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Hayder Lazim
- School of Medicine, Faculty of Health, Social Care and Medicine (FHSCM), Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, United Kingdom
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10
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Bashkuev VY. [The nontrivial approach or how physicians-bolsheviks treated kings. The Soviet medicine in the Arabian peninsula in 1920-1930s]. Probl Sotsialnoi Gig Zdravookhranenniiai Istor Med 2023; 31:1059-1066. [PMID: 37898900 DOI: 10.32687/0869-866x-2023-31-5-1059-1066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/30/2023] [Indexed: 10/31/2023]
Abstract
In the late 1920s, the USSR intensified its international activities in the Arabian Peninsula. The rapprochement with Arab monarchies provided opportunity to study political, economic and ethno-cultural characteristics of region by organizing transit of pilgrims to Mecca through the Soviet territory and providing medical care in first-aid posts at diplomatic missions. The Soviet physicians, in atypical situation of Arab monarchies, played important role as intermediaries between royal courts and the Soviet government, serving as agents of "soft power". The article considers causes of Moscow geopolitical interest to this region in 1920s-1930s. The distinctions of interaction between Soviet physicians and ruling circles of Hijaz and Yemen were explored. The humanitarian, cultural and geopolitical significance of these activities were examined. The article considers and explains, through optics of geopolitical approach, situational rationality that was applied by medical men when approaching treatment of royal personages despite ideological mismatch of this work with Bolshevism dogmas. The article consistently demonstrates, noting non-triviality of both locus itself and approaches to organization of medical care, how professionalism of Soviet physicians gained confidence of monarchs of Hijaz and Yemen in complicated conditions of competition with highly qualified physicians from Western Europe. It is emphasized that in conditions of Arabia, ideological attitudes had secondary importance, while such qualities as personal charisma and medical professionalism, which created solid reputation foundation for Soviet physicians, came to foreground.
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Affiliation(s)
- V Yu Bashkuev
- The Federal State Budget Institution "The Institute of Mongol, Buddhist and Tibetian Studies of the Siberian Branch of The Russian Academy of Sciences", 670047, Ulan-Ude, Russia,
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11
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Esmaeili HR, Hamidan N. Inland fishes of the Arabian Peninsula: Review and a revised checklist. Zootaxa 2023; 5330:201-226. [PMID: 38221140 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5330.2.2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 01/16/2024]
Abstract
The Arabian Peninsula comprises the seven countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen (including the Socotra archipelago), covering an area of more than 3 million km). Although arid habitats cover most parts of the Arabian Peninsula, the region has several freshwater systems and comprises all or parts of four freshwater ecoregions basins that support a variety of inland aquatics including fishes. The current checklist provides all fish species in inland waters of the Arabian Peninsula including all recognized and named taxa, documenting recent changes and controversies in nomenclature, records, taxonomic status, occurrence, synonyms, common English name, range distribution, and conservation status based on several field surveys throughout the area and available articles. The confirmed inland ichthyodiversity of the Arabian Peninsula comprise 48 species belonging to 25 genera, 14 families, nine orders, and a class. Among these, 10 species (20.8%) are alien, and 21 species (52.3%) are considered endemic to the Arabian Peninsula. Favonigobius reichei is a new record for inland waters of the Arabian Peninsula. The most diverse order is Cypriniformes (19 species, 39.6%), followed by Cyprinodontiformes and Gobiiformes (eight species, 16.7% in each), Cichliformes (four species, 8.33%), Mugiliformes (three species, 6.25%), Anguilliformes and Siluriformes (two species, 4.17% in each), and Centrarchiformes and Gonorynchiformes (one species, 4.2% each). Saudi Arabia and Oman with 23 species (47.9% each) rank first in fish diversity (both native and exotic), followed by Yemen (15 species, 31.25%), UAE (seven species, 14.58%), Bahrain (two species, 4.17%), and Qatar and Kuwait (one species, 2.1% each). Of 21 endemic species of the Arabian Peninsula, six, six, and four species are restricted to the territories of Oman, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, respectively. No endemic fish have been reported from Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. The list also includes two subterranean species belonging to the genus Garra. The provided data will be necessary to take action for effective conservation management strategies and policies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hamid Reza Esmaeili
- Ichthyology and Molecular Systematics Research Laboratory; Zoology Section; Department of Biology; School of Science; Shiraz University; Shiraz; Iran..
| | - Neshat Hamidan
- Conservation Monitoring Centre; The Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature; Amman; Jordan.
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12
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Tobler R, Souilmi Y, Huber CD, Bean N, Turney CSM, Grey ST, Cooper A. The role of genetic selection and climatic factors in the dispersal of anatomically modern humans out of Africa. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2213061120. [PMID: 37220274 PMCID: PMC10235988 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2213061120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 05/25/2023] Open
Abstract
The evolutionarily recent dispersal of anatomically modern humans (AMH) out of Africa (OoA) and across Eurasia provides a unique opportunity to examine the impacts of genetic selection as humans adapted to multiple new environments. Analysis of ancient Eurasian genomic datasets (~1,000 to 45,000 y old) reveals signatures of strong selection, including at least 57 hard sweeps after the initial AMH movement OoA, which have been obscured in modern populations by extensive admixture during the Holocene. The spatiotemporal patterns of these hard sweeps provide a means to reconstruct early AMH population dispersals OoA. We identify a previously unsuspected extended period of genetic adaptation lasting ~30,000 y, potentially in the Arabian Peninsula area, prior to a major Neandertal genetic introgression and subsequent rapid dispersal across Eurasia as far as Australia. Consistent functional targets of selection initiated during this period, which we term the Arabian Standstill, include loci involved in the regulation of fat storage, neural development, skin physiology, and cilia function. Similar adaptive signatures are also evident in introgressed archaic hominin loci and modern Arctic human groups, and we suggest that this signal represents selection for cold adaptation. Surprisingly, many of the candidate selected loci across these groups appear to directly interact and coordinately regulate biological processes, with a number associated with major modern diseases including the ciliopathies, metabolic syndrome, and neurodegenerative disorders. This expands the potential for ancestral human adaptation to directly impact modern diseases, providing a platform for evolutionary medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raymond Tobler
- Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA5005, Australia
| | - Yassine Souilmi
- Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA5005, Australia
- Environment Institute, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA5005, Australia
| | - Christian D. Huber
- Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA5005, Australia
| | - Nigel Bean
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA5005, Australia
- School of Mathematical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA5005, Australia
| | - Chris S. M. Turney
- Division of Research, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW2007, Australia
| | - Shane T. Grey
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW2052, Australia
- Transplantation Immunology Group, Translation Science Pillar, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Darlinghurst, NSW2010, Australia
| | - Alan Cooper
- Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA5005, Australia
- Blue Sky Genetics, Ashton, SA5137, Australia
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13
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Moore MW, Weeks L, Cable C, Al-Ali Y, Boraik M, Zein H. Bronze age stone flaking at Saruq al-Hadid, Dubai, southeastern Arabia. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0270513. [PMID: 35830391 PMCID: PMC9278746 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0270513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2021] [Accepted: 06/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Excavations at Saruq al-Hadid, Dubai, UAE, discovered a stone tool technology with backed microliths dating to the Wadi Suq period and Late Bronze Age (ca. 1750–1300 BCE). The stone technology is a contemporary with metal production in the region, and the assemblage was recovered from a thick bone midden deposit at this multi-period site on the edge of the Rub’ al-Khali Desert. Small cobbles of chert were imported to the site and were reduced into flakes by hard-hammer percussion. Cores were frequently rotated during knapping and the reduction strategy was ad hoc, lacking hierarchical reduction stages. Flake tools were used as-is or modified by retouching. Some flakes were selected for backing into geometric microliths, and backing techniques often reflected high levels of stoneworking skill to produce stylised scalene shapes. A review of contemporary archaeological evidence, and the context of the Saruq al-Hadid assemblage, suggest that microliths may have been made as stone armatures for arrows despite the contemporary use of copper-based arrowheads.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark W. Moore
- Archaeology and Palaeoanthropology, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia
- Stone Tools and Cognition Research Hub, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia
- * E-mail:
| | - Lloyd Weeks
- Archaeology and Palaeoanthropology, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Charlotte Cable
- Archaeology and Palaeoanthropology, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Yaaqoub Al-Ali
- Architectural Heritage and Antiquities Department, Dubai Municipality, United Arab Emirates
| | - Mansour Boraik
- Architectural Heritage and Antiquities Department, Dubai Municipality, United Arab Emirates
| | - Hassan Zein
- Architectural Heritage and Antiquities Department, Dubai Municipality, United Arab Emirates
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14
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Splieth CH, Abudrya MH, Anandakrishna L, Cheng L, Al-Khalifa KS, Kim BI, Kuzmina I, Tarabaih A, Salami A, Elhamouly Y, Schmoeckel J. Teaching Cariology in Asia and Arabia. Caries Res 2022; 56:109-115. [PMID: 35313313 PMCID: PMC9254296 DOI: 10.1159/000524168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2022] [Accepted: 03/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The European Organisation for Caries Research education platform 2020 had the aim to assess the undergraduate curriculum in cariology in Asian and Arabian countries in order to support structured teaching of cariology in these countries with about almost half of the global population. Representatives of 4 Asian and 4 Arabian countries completed a comprehensive questionnaire on structure of dental education in their country in general and the extent, the content, the responsibilities, structure and standardization regarding cariology in particular. In spite of a wide range from very few universities (Lebanon 3) to larger numbers of dental schools (India 313, China 121, Russia 52) there were similar statements on the list of content for cariology teaching. Often the catalogue was close to the Undergraduate Core Curriculum in Cariology (UCCC) covering most of the 5 domains from basic science to dental public health, but a national curriculum for cariology or dentistry was mostly missing. With various departments being involved, a need of coordination is obvious. Most representatives thought it possible and feasible to teach a standardized curriculum in cariology on the basis of the UCCC. In conclusion, many Arabian and Asian countries have implemented modern, evidence-based curricula in their universities, but an obligatory national curriculum in cariology would be advisable to standardize the quality in teaching.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian H. Splieth
- Department of Preventive and Pediatric Dentistry, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
- *Christian H. Splieth,
| | - Mohamed Hassan Abudrya
- Department of Preventive and Pediatric Dentistry, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Latha Anandakrishna
- Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, Faculty of Dental Sciences, M S Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bengaluru, India
| | - Lei Cheng
- Department of Operative Dentistry and Endodontics, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Chengdu, China
| | - Khalifa S. Al-Khalifa
- Department of Preventive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia
| | - Baek-Il Kim
- Department of Preventive Dentistry & Public Oral Health, Brain Korea 21 FOUR Project, Yonsei University College of Dentistry, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Irina Kuzmina
- Department of Preventive Dentistry, Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Ahmad Tarabaih
- Division of Pediatric Dentistry, Department of Developmental Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, Beirut Arab University, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Anas Salami
- Pediatric Dentistry Department, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU), Dubai, United Arab Emirates
| | - Yasmine Elhamouly
- Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Community, Faculty of Dentistry, Pharos University in Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt
| | - Julian Schmoeckel
- Department of Preventive and Pediatric Dentistry, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
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15
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Alghamdi AS. Recent Climatology (1991-2020) and Trends in Local Warm and Cold Season Extreme Temperature Days and Nights in Arabia. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022; 19:ijerph19052506. [PMID: 35270199 PMCID: PMC8909031 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19052506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2022] [Revised: 02/14/2022] [Accepted: 02/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
The Arabian Peninsula (Arabia) is among the places to have experienced the greatest amount of warming during recent decades, and this trend is projected to continue. Specifics related to the characteristics (frequency, duration, and intensity) of extreme temperature events (ETEs) over Arabia as a whole are either largely outdated or limited only to specific areas. The seasonal ETE definitions commonly used in local studies are neither climatological- nor phenomenon-based. Using a novel and straightforward framework, the seasons of four extreme temperature types (extreme warm days/nights (EWDs/EWNs) and extreme cold days/nights (ECDs/ECNs)) were identified on the simultaneous basis of event occurrence and impact times. Assessments of ETE frequency, duration, and intensity and their recent changes were then provided based on the most recent climate data (1991–2020). Results showed that the use of traditional seasonal definitions (e.g., meteorological seasons) tends to assume a spatiotemporal homogeneity in the seasonality of ETEs and their potential risk levels throughout the year. The developed framework distinguished months with events that have larger potential impacts together with their local seasons. ETE seasons were found to vary at the regional and local scales and are better defined at both the local and phenomenon levels. Early extreme warm events were hotter, and those at locations with longer local warm seasons demonstrated higher intensities. ECDs tended to be more frequent at coastal locations, whereas ECNs were more frequent over southwestern Arabia. Early and late extreme cold events were much colder than those occurring mid-season. Trend analyses revealed generally increasing regional trends in the frequency of extreme warm events, whereas extreme cold events have declined. The duration (i.e., consecutive occurrences) and intensity of EWNs have been increasing at more locations, suggesting that urgent attention is needed within such an arid and hot climate type in which nighttime stress relief is already very limited.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali S Alghamdi
- Department of Geography, King Saud University, Riyadh 4545, Saudi Arabia
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16
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de Vries D, Heritage S, Borths MR, Sallam HM, Seiffert ER. Widespread loss of mammalian lineage and dietary diversity in the early Oligocene of Afro- Arabia. Commun Biol 2021; 4:1172. [PMID: 34621013 PMCID: PMC8497553 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-02707-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2021] [Accepted: 09/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Diverse lines of geological and geochemical evidence indicate that the Eocene-Oligocene transition (EOT) marked the onset of a global cooling phase, rapid growth of the Antarctic ice sheet, and a worldwide drop in sea level. Paleontologists have established that shifts in mammalian community structure in Europe and Asia were broadly coincident with these events, but the potential impact of early Oligocene climate change on the mammalian communities of Afro-Arabia has long been unclear. Here we employ dated phylogenies of multiple endemic Afro-Arabian mammal clades (anomaluroid and hystricognath rodents, anthropoid and strepsirrhine primates, and carnivorous hyaenodonts) to investigate lineage diversification and loss since the early Eocene. These analyses provide evidence for widespread mammalian extinction in the early Oligocene of Afro-Arabia, with almost two-thirds of peak late Eocene diversity lost in these clades by ~30 Ma. Using homology-free dental topographic metrics, we further demonstrate that the loss of Afro-Arabian rodent and primate lineages was associated with a major reduction in molar occlusal topographic disparity, suggesting a correlated loss of dietary diversity. These results raise new questions about the relative importance of global versus local influences in shaping the evolutionary trajectories of Afro-Arabia's endemic mammals during the Oligocene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dorien de Vries
- Ecosystems and Environment Research Centre, School of Science, Engineering and Environment, University of Salford, Manchester, UK
- Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, 11794, USA
| | - Steven Heritage
- Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, 11794, USA
- Duke Lemur Center Museum of Natural History, Durham, NC, 27705, USA
| | - Matthew R Borths
- Duke Lemur Center Museum of Natural History, Durham, NC, 27705, USA
| | - Hesham M Sallam
- Duke Lemur Center Museum of Natural History, Durham, NC, 27705, USA
- Mansoura University Vertebrate Paleontology, Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, Mansoura, Egypt
- Institute of Global Health and Human Ecology (I-GHHE), School of Sciences and Engineering, American University in Cairo, New Cairo, Egypt
| | - Erik R Seiffert
- Duke Lemur Center Museum of Natural History, Durham, NC, 27705, USA.
- Department of Integrative Anatomical Sciences, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Department of Mammalogy, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, 90007, USA.
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17
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Morrison KD, Hammer E, Boles O, Madella M, Whitehouse N, Gaillard MJ, Bates J, Vander Linden M, Merlo S, Yao A, Popova L, Hill AC, Antolin F, Bauer A, Biagetti S, Bishop RR, Buckland P, Cruz P, Dreslerová D, Dusseldorp G, Ellis E, Filipovic D, Foster T, Hannaford MJ, Harrison SP, Hazarika M, Herold H, Hilpert J, Kaplan JO, Kay A, Klein Goldewijk K, Kolář J, Kyazike E, Laabs J, Lancelotti C, Lane P, Lawrence D, Lewis K, Lombardo U, Lucarini G, Arroyo-Kalin M, Marchant R, Mayle F, McClatchie M, McLeester M, Mooney S, Moskal-del Hoyo M, Navarrete V, Ndiema E, Góes Neves E, Nowak M, Out WA, Petrie C, Phelps LN, Pinke Z, Rostain S, Russell T, Sluyter A, Styring AK, Tamanaha E, Thomas E, Veerasamy S, Welton L, Zanon M. Mapping past human land use using archaeological data: A new classification for global land use synthesis and data harmonization. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0246662. [PMID: 33852578 PMCID: PMC8046197 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0246662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2020] [Accepted: 01/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
In the 12,000 years preceding the Industrial Revolution, human activities led to significant changes in land cover, plant and animal distributions, surface hydrology, and biochemical cycles. Earth system models suggest that this anthropogenic land cover change influenced regional and global climate. However, the representation of past land use in earth system models is currently oversimplified. As a result, there are large uncertainties in the current understanding of the past and current state of the earth system. In order to improve representation of the variety and scale of impacts that past land use had on the earth system, a global effort is underway to aggregate and synthesize archaeological and historical evidence of land use systems. Here we present a simple, hierarchical classification of land use systems designed to be used with archaeological and historical data at a global scale and a schema of codes that identify land use practices common to a range of systems, both implemented in a geospatial database. The classification scheme and database resulted from an extensive process of consultation with researchers worldwide. Our scheme is designed to deliver consistent, empirically robust data for the improvement of land use models, while simultaneously allowing for a comparative, detailed mapping of land use relevant to the needs of historical scholars. To illustrate the benefits of the classification scheme and methods for mapping historical land use, we apply it to Mesopotamia and Arabia at 6 kya (c. 4000 BCE). The scheme will be used to describe land use by the Past Global Changes (PAGES) LandCover6k working group, an international project comprised of archaeologists, historians, geographers, paleoecologists, and modelers. Beyond this, the scheme has a wide utility for creating a common language between research and policy communities, linking archaeologists with climate modelers, biodiversity conservation workers and initiatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathleen D. Morrison
- Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Emily Hammer
- Department of Near East Languages and Civilizations and the Price Lab for the Digital Humanities, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Oliver Boles
- Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Marco Madella
- ICREA–CaSEs–Department of Humanities, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Nicola Whitehouse
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Plymouth University, Plymouth, United Kingdom
- Department of Archaeology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Marie-Jose Gaillard
- Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Linnaeus University, Växjö, Sweden
| | - Jennifer Bates
- Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Marc Vander Linden
- Institute for the Modelling of Socio-Environmental Transitions, Bournemouth University, Bournemouth, United Kingdom
| | - Stefania Merlo
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Alice Yao
- Department of Anthropology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Laura Popova
- Barrett Honors College, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Austin Chad Hill
- Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Ferran Antolin
- Integrative Prehistory and Archaeological Science (IPNA/IPAS), University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Andrew Bauer
- Department of Anthropology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Stefano Biagetti
- Department d’Humanitats, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
| | - Rosie R. Bishop
- Museum of Archaeology, University of Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway
| | - Phillip Buckland
- Department of Historical, Philosophical and religious Studies, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Pablo Cruz
- UE CISOR CONICET UNJu, Argentine National Science Council (CONICET), Argentina
| | - Dagmar Dreslerová
- Institute of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Academy of Sciences Prague, Czech Republic
| | | | - Erle Ellis
- Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Department of Geography and Environmental Systems, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Maryland, United States of America
| | | | - Thomas Foster
- College of Arts & Sciences, Anthropology, University of Tulsa, Tusla, Oklahoma, United States of America
| | | | - Sandy P. Harrison
- School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom
| | - Manjil Hazarika
- Department of Archaeology, Cotton University, Guwahati, India
| | - Hajnalka Herold
- Department of Archaeology, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
| | - Johanna Hilpert
- Institute for Prehistoric Archaeology, Universitat zu Koln, Cologne, Germany
| | - Jed O. Kaplan
- Department of Earth Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Andrea Kay
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Kees Klein Goldewijk
- Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Jan Kolář
- Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
- Institute of Archaeology and Museology, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Elizabeth Kyazike
- Department of History and Political Science, Kyambogo University, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Julian Laabs
- Institute for Archaeolgical Scienes, Bern University, Bern, Switzerland
- Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, Bern University, Bern, Switzerland
- Institute of Pre- and Protohistoric Archaeology, Kiel University, Keil, Germany
| | - Carla Lancelotti
- ICREA–Department of Humanities, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Paul Lane
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Witwatersrand, South Africa
| | - Dan Lawrence
- Department of Archaeology, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
| | - Krista Lewis
- Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Little Rock, Arkansas, United States of America
| | | | - Giulio Lucarini
- Institute of Heritage Science, National Research Council of Italy, Montelibretti, Rome, Italy
- Department of Asian, African and Mediterranean Studies, University of Naples L’Orientale, Naples, Italy
| | | | - Rob Marchant
- York Institute for Tropical Ecosystems, Department of Environment and Geography, University of York, York, United Kingdom
| | - Francis Mayle
- Department of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom
| | | | - Madeleine McLeester
- Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States of America
| | - Scott Mooney
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | | | - Vanessa Navarrete
- Department of Prehistory, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Emmanuel Ndiema
- Department of Earth Sciences, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Eduardo Góes Neves
- Laboratório de Arqueologia dos Trópicos, Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Marek Nowak
- Institute of Archaeology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland
| | - Welmoed A. Out
- Department of Archaeological Science and Conservation, Moesgaard Museum, Højbjerg, Denmark
| | - Cameron Petrie
- ICREA–Department of Humanities, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
- McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Leanne N. Phelps
- Tropical diversity, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Zsolt Pinke
- Department of Physical Geography, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Stéphen Rostain
- Centre national de la recherche scientifique, Nanterre, France
| | - Thembi Russell
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Andrew Sluyter
- Department of Geography and Anthropology, Louisana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States of America
| | - Amy K. Styring
- School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Eduardo Tamanaha
- Instituto de Desenvolvimento Sustentável Mamirauá, Amazonas, Brazil
| | - Evert Thomas
- The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, Lima, Peru
| | - Selvakumar Veerasamy
- Department of Maritime History and Marine Archaeology, Tamil University, Tanjore, India
| | - Lynn Welton
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Witwatersrand, South Africa
| | - Marco Zanon
- Institute of Pre- and Protohistoric Archaeology, Kiel, Germany
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Tamar K, Els J, Kornilios P, Soorae P, Tarroso P, Thanou E, Pereira J, Shah JN, Elhassan EEM, Aguhob JC, Badaam SF, Eltayeb MM, Pusey R, Papenfuss TJ, Macey JR, Carranza S. The demise of a wonder: Evolutionary history and conservation assessments of the Wonder Gecko Teratoscincus keyserlingii (Gekkota, Sphaerodactylidae) in Arabia. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0244150. [PMID: 33411750 PMCID: PMC7790289 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0244150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2020] [Accepted: 12/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Effective biodiversity conservation planning starts with genetic characterization within and among focal populations, in order to understand the likely impact of threats for ensuring the long-term viability of a species. The Wonder Gecko, Teratoscincus keyserlingii, is one of nine members of the genus. This species is distributed in Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, with a small isolated population in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where it is classified nationally as Critically Endangered. Within its Arabian range, anthropogenic activity is directly linked to the species’ decline, with highly localised and severely fragmented populations. Here we describe the evolutionary history of Teratoscincus, by reconstructing its phylogenetic relationships and estimating its divergence times and ancestral biogeography. For conservation implications of T. keyserlingii we evaluate the genetic structure of the Arabian population using genomic data. This study supports the monophyly of most species and reveals considerable intraspecific variability in T. microlepis and T. keyserlingii, which necessitate broad systematic revisions. The UAE population of T. keyserlingii likely arrived from southern Iran during the Pleistocene and no internal structure was recovered within, implying a single population status. Regional conservation of T. keyserlingii requires improved land management and natural habitat restoration in the species’ present distribution, and expansion of current protected areas, or establishment of new areas with suitable habitat for the species, mostly in northern Abu Dhabi Emirate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karin Tamar
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta, Barcelona, Spain
- * E-mail: (KT); (SC)
| | - Johannes Els
- Environment and Protected Areas Authority, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
| | - Panagiotis Kornilios
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta, Barcelona, Spain
- The Molecular Ecology Backshop, G. Lekka, Loutraki, Greece
| | | | - Pedro Tarroso
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta, Barcelona, Spain
- CIBIO/InBIO, Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, Rua Padre Armando Quintas, Vairão, Vila do Conde, Portugal
| | - Evanthia Thanou
- The Molecular Ecology Backshop, G. Lekka, Loutraki, Greece
- Section of Animal Biology, Department of Biology, School of Natural Sciences, University of Patras, Patras, Greece
| | - John Pereira
- Environment and Protected Areas Authority, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
| | - Junid Nazeer Shah
- Natural Resource Conservation Section, Environment Department, Dubai Municipality, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
| | | | - Jeruel Cabadonga Aguhob
- Natural Resource Conservation Section, Environment Department, Dubai Municipality, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
| | - Saoud Faisal Badaam
- Natural Resource Conservation Section, Environment Department, Dubai Municipality, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
| | - Mohamed Mustafa Eltayeb
- Natural Resource Conservation Section, Environment Department, Dubai Municipality, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
| | | | - Theodore J. Papenfuss
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, Valley Life Sciences Building, University of California, Berkeley, CA, United States of America
| | - J. Robert Macey
- Peralta Genomics Institute, Chancellor’s Office, Peralta Community College District, Oakland, CA, United States of America
| | - Salvador Carranza
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta, Barcelona, Spain
- * E-mail: (KT); (SC)
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Crassard R, Charpentier V, McCorriston J, Vosges J, Bouzid S, Petraglia MD. Fluted-point technology in Neolithic Arabia: An independent invention far from the Americas. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0236314. [PMID: 32756558 PMCID: PMC7406013 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0236314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2020] [Accepted: 07/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
New World archaeologists have amply demonstrated that fluted point technology is specific to Terminal Pleistocene American cultures. Base-fluted, and rarer tip-fluted, projectile points from the Americas have been well-documented by archaeologists for nearly a century. Fluting is an iconic stone tool manufacturing method and a specific action that involves the extraction of a channel flake along the longitudinal axis of a bifacial piece. Here we report and synthesize information from Neolithic sites in southern Arabia, demonstrating the presence of fluting on a variety of stone tool types including projectile points. Fluted projectile points are known from both surface sites and stratified contexts in southern Arabia. Fluting technology has been clearly identified at the Manayzah site (Yemen) dating to 8000-7700 cal. BP. Examination of fluted points and channel flakes from southern Arabia enable a reconstruction of stone tool manufacturing techniques and reduction sequences (chaines opératoires). To illustrate the technological similarities and contrasts of fluting methods in Arabia and the Americas, comparative studies and experiments were conducted. Similarities in manufacturing approaches were observed on the fluting scars of bifacial pieces, whereas technological differences are apparent in the nature and localization of the flute and, most probably, the functional objective of fluting in economic, social and cultural contexts. Arabian and American fluted point technologies provide an excellent example of convergence of highly specialized stone tool production methods. Our description of Arabian and American fluting technology demonstrates that similar innovations and inventions were developed under different circumstances, and that highly-skilled and convergent production methods can have different anthropological implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rémy Crassard
- CNRS, USR 3141 CEFAS, Centre Français d’Archéologie et de Sciences Sociales, Kuwait City, Kuwait
- CNRS, UMR 5133 Archéorient, Maison de l’Orient et de la Méditerranée, Lyon, France
- * E-mail:
| | - Vincent Charpentier
- Inrap & CNRS, UMR 7041 ArScAn Archéologie et Sciences de l’Antiquité, MSH Mondes, Nanterre, France
| | - Joy McCorriston
- Department of Anthropology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States of America
| | - Jérémie Vosges
- CNRS, UMR 5133 Archéorient, Maison de l’Orient et de la Méditerranée, Lyon, France
| | - Sofiane Bouzid
- CNRS, UMR 5133 Archéorient, Maison de l’Orient et de la Méditerranée, Lyon, France
| | - Michael D. Petraglia
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- Human Origins Program, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, United States of America
- School of Social Science, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
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Borrell JS, Al Issaey G, Lupton DA, Starnes T, Al Hinai A, Al Hatmi S, Senior RA, Wilkinson T, Milborrow JLH, Stokes-Rees A, Patzelt A. Islands in the desert: environmental distribution modelling of endemic flora reveals the extent of Pleistocene tropical relict vegetation in southern Arabia. Ann Bot 2019; 124:411-422. [PMID: 31418009 PMCID: PMC6798844 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcz085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2019] [Accepted: 05/13/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Southern Arabia is a global biodiversity hotspot with a high proportion of endemic desert-adapted plants. Here we examine evidence for a Pleistocene climate refugium in the southern Central Desert of Oman, and its role in driving biogeographical patterns of endemism. METHODS Distribution data for seven narrow-range endemic plants were collected systematically across 195 quadrats, together with incidental and historic records. Important environmental variables relevant to arid coastal areas, including night-time fog and cloud cover, were developed for the study area. Environmental niche models using presence/absence data were built and tuned for each species, and spatial overlap was examined. KEY RESULTS A region of the Jiddat Al Arkad reported independent high model suitability for all species. Examination of environmental data across southern Oman indicates that the Jiddat Al Arkad displays a regionally unique climate with higher intra-annual stability, due in part to the influence of the southern monsoon. Despite this, the relative importance of environmental variables was highly differentiated among species, suggesting that characteristic variables such as coastal fog are not major cross-species predictors at this scale. CONCLUSIONS The co-occurrence of a high number of endemic study species within a narrow monsoon-influenced region is indicative of a refugium with low climate change velocity. Combined with climate analysis, our findings provide strong evidence for a southern Arabian Pleistocene refugium in Oman's Central Desert. We suggest that this refugium has acted as an isolated temperate and mesic island in the desert, resulting in the evolution of these narrow-range endemic flora. Based on the composition of species, this system may represent the northernmost remnant of a continuous belt of mesic vegetation formerly ranging from Africa to Asia, with close links to the flora of East Africa. This has significant implications for future conservation of endemic plants in an arid biodiversity hotspot.
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Affiliation(s)
- James S Borrell
- Jodrell Laboratory, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, UK
| | | | | | - Thomas Starnes
- RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire, UK
| | | | | | - Rebecca A Senior
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, Alfred Denny Building, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, UK
| | - Tim Wilkinson
- Jodrell Laboratory, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, UK
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Shipton C, Blinkhorn J, Breeze PS, Cuthbertson P, Drake N, Groucutt HS, Jennings RP, Parton A, Scerri EML, Alsharekh A, Petraglia MD. Acheulean technology and landscape use at Dawadmi, central Arabia. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0200497. [PMID: 30052630 PMCID: PMC6063418 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0200497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2017] [Accepted: 06/27/2018] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite occupying a central geographic position, investigations of hominin populations in the Arabian Peninsula during the Lower Palaeolithic period are rare. The colonization of Eurasia below 55 degrees latitude indicates the success of the genus Homo in the Early and Middle Pleistocene, but the extent to which these hominins were capable of innovative and novel behavioural adaptations to engage with mid-latitude environments is unclear. Here we describe new field investigations at the Saffaqah locality (206–76) near Dawadmi, in central Arabia that aim to establish how hominins adapted to this region. The site is located in the interior of Arabia over 500 km from both the Red Sea and the Gulf, and at the headwaters of two major extinct river systems that were likely used by Acheulean hominins to cross the Peninsula. Saffaqah is one of the largest Acheulean sites in Arabia with nearly a million artefacts estimated to occur on the surface, and it is also the first to yield stratified deposits containing abundant artefacts. It is situated in the unusual setting of a dense and well-preserved landscape of Acheulean localities, with sites and isolated artefacts occurring regularly for tens of kilometres in every direction. We describe both previous and recent excavations at Saffaqah and its large lithic assemblage. We analyse thousands of artefacts from excavated and surface contexts, including giant andesite cores and flakes, smaller cores and retouched artefacts, as well as handaxes and cleavers. Technological assessment of stratified lithics and those from systematic survey, enable the reconstruction of stone tool life histories. The Acheulean hominins at Dawadmi were strong and skilful, with their adaptation evidently successful for some time. However, these biface-makers were also technologically conservative, and used least-effort strategies of resource procurement and tool transport. Ultimately, central Arabia was depopulated, likely in the face of environmental deterioration in the form of increasing aridity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ceri Shipton
- Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
- McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - James Blinkhorn
- Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Paul S. Breeze
- Department of Geography, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | | | - Nick Drake
- Department of Geography, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Huw S. Groucutt
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Richard P. Jennings
- School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Ash Parton
- Department of Social Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Mansfield College, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Eleanor M. L. Scerri
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | | | - Michael D. Petraglia
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
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22
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Spitsyn VM, Kondakov AV, Bolotov NI, Thi Pham N, Gofarov MY, Bolotov IN. DNA barcoding unravels contrasting evolutionary history of two widespread Asian tiger moth species during the Late Pleistocene. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0194200. [PMID: 29617397 PMCID: PMC5884489 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0194200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2017] [Accepted: 02/27/2018] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Populations of widespread pest insects in tropical areas are characterized by a complex evolutionary history, with overlapping natural and human-mediated dispersal events, sudden expansions, and bottlenecks. Here, we provide biogeographic reconstructions for two widespread pest species in the tiger moth genus Creatonotos (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae) based on the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene. The Asian Creatonotos transiens reveals shallow genetic divergence between distant populations that does not support its current intraspecific systematics with several local subspecies. In contrast, the more widespread Creatonotos gangis comprises at least three divergent subclades corresponding to certain geographic areas, i.e. Australia, Arabia + South Asia and Southeast Asia. With respect to our approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) model, the expansion of Creatonotos gangis into Australia is placed in the Late Pleistocene (~65–63 ka). This dating coincide with an approximate time of the earliest human migration into the continent (~65–54 ka) and the period of intervisibility between Timor and Australia (~65–62 ka). Our findings highlight that the drying Sunda and Sahul shelf areas likely support successful migrations of Asian taxa into Australia during the Pleistocene. The phylogeographic patterns discovered in this study can be used to improve the effectiveness of integrated pest control programs that is a task of substantial practical importance to a broad range of agricultural stakeholders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vitaly M. Spitsyn
- Lab for Molecular Ecology and Phylogenetics, Northern Arctic Federal University, Arkhangelsk, Russian Federation
- Institute of Biogeography and Genetic Resources, Federal Center for Integrated Arctic Research, Russian Academy of Sciences, Arkhangelsk, Russian Federation
- * E-mail:
| | - Alexander V. Kondakov
- Lab for Molecular Ecology and Phylogenetics, Northern Arctic Federal University, Arkhangelsk, Russian Federation
- Institute of Biogeography and Genetic Resources, Federal Center for Integrated Arctic Research, Russian Academy of Sciences, Arkhangelsk, Russian Federation
| | - Nikita I. Bolotov
- Institute of Biogeography and Genetic Resources, Federal Center for Integrated Arctic Research, Russian Academy of Sciences, Arkhangelsk, Russian Federation
| | - Nhi Thi Pham
- Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam
- Graduate University of Science and Technology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam
| | - Mikhail Y. Gofarov
- Lab for Molecular Ecology and Phylogenetics, Northern Arctic Federal University, Arkhangelsk, Russian Federation
- Institute of Biogeography and Genetic Resources, Federal Center for Integrated Arctic Research, Russian Academy of Sciences, Arkhangelsk, Russian Federation
| | - Ivan N. Bolotov
- Lab for Molecular Ecology and Phylogenetics, Northern Arctic Federal University, Arkhangelsk, Russian Federation
- Institute of Biogeography and Genetic Resources, Federal Center for Integrated Arctic Research, Russian Academy of Sciences, Arkhangelsk, Russian Federation
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Huijer HAS, Fares S, French DJ. The Development and Psychometric Validation of an Arabic-Language Version of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale. Pain Res Manag 2017; 2017:1472792. [PMID: 28190958 PMCID: PMC5278223 DOI: 10.1155/2017/1472792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2016] [Accepted: 12/15/2016] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Context. The Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) is the most widely used measure of pain-specific catastrophizing. Objectives. The purpose of the present study was to develop and psychometrically evaluate an Arabic-language version of the PCS. Methods. In Study 1, 150 adult chronic nonmalignant pain patients seeking treatment at a hospital setting completed the PCS-A and a number of self-report measures assessing clinical parameters of pain, symptoms of depression, and quality of life. Study 2 employed a cold pressor pain task to examine the PCS-A in a sample of 44 healthy university students. Results. Exploratory factor analyses suggested a two-factor structure. Confirmatory factor analysis comparing the 2-factor model, Sullivan's original 3-factor model, and a 1-factor model based on the total score all provided adequate fit to the data. Cronbach's alpha coefficients across all models met or exceeded accepted standards of reliability. Catastrophizing was associated with higher levels of depression and increased pain intensity and interference. Catastrophizing predicted decreased quality of life, even after controlling for the contribution of gender, employment, depression, and pain interference. PCS-A scores were positively correlated with heightened experimental pain severity and decreased pain tolerance. Conclusion. The present results provide strong support for the psychometric properties of the PCS-A.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Souha Fares
- Hariri School of Nursing, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
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Tofield A. The European Society of Cardiology global scientific activities in Arabia 2015. Eur Heart J 2015; 36:1352. [PMID: 26251856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023] Open
Abstract
European Society of Cardiology representatives, including past and present ESC presidents, discussed the latest cardiology developments at the 26th Saudi Heart Association (SHA) Congress.
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25
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Miller L. The social psychiatry and epidemiology of mental ill health in Israel. Bibl Psychiatr Neurol 2015; 133:96-137. [PMID: 5614603 DOI: 10.1159/000385631] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
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Fernandes V, Triska P, Pereira JB, Alshamali F, Rito T, Machado A, Fajkošová Z, Cavadas B, Černý V, Soares P, Richards MB, Pereira L. Genetic stratigraphy of key demographic events in Arabia. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0118625. [PMID: 25738654 PMCID: PMC4349752 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0118625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2014] [Accepted: 01/21/2015] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
At the crossroads between Africa and Eurasia, Arabia is necessarily a melting pot, its peoples enriched by successive gene flow over the generations. Estimating the timing and impact of these multiple migrations are important steps in reconstructing the key demographic events in the human history. However, current methods based on genome-wide information identify admixture events inefficiently, tending to estimate only the more recent ages, as here in the case of admixture events across the Red Sea (∼8–37 generations for African input into Arabia, and 30–90 generations for “back-to-Africa” migrations). An mtDNA-based founder analysis, corroborated by detailed analysis of the whole-mtDNA genome, affords an alternative means by which to identify, date and quantify multiple migration events at greater time depths, across the full range of modern human history, albeit for the maternal line of descent only. In Arabia, this approach enables us to infer several major pulses of dispersal between the Near East and Arabia, most likely via the Gulf corridor. Although some relict lineages survive in Arabia from the time of the out-of-Africa dispersal, 60 ka, the major episodes in the peopling of the Peninsula took place from north to south in the Late Glacial and, to a lesser extent, the immediate post-glacial/Neolithic. Exchanges across the Red Sea were mainly due to the Arab slave trade and maritime dominance (from ∼2.5 ka to very recent times), but had already begun by the early Holocene, fuelled by the establishment of maritime networks since ∼8 ka. The main “back-to-Africa” migrations, again undetected by genome-wide dating analyses, occurred in the Late Glacial period for introductions into eastern Africa, whilst the Neolithic was more significant for migrations towards North Africa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verónica Fernandes
- Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
- Instituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular da Universidade do Porto (IPATIMUP), Porto, Portugal
- School of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
| | - Petr Triska
- Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
- Instituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular da Universidade do Porto (IPATIMUP), Porto, Portugal
- Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas da Universidade do Porto (ICBAS), Porto, Portugal
| | - Joana B. Pereira
- Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
- Instituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular da Universidade do Porto (IPATIMUP), Porto, Portugal
- School of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
| | - Farida Alshamali
- General Department of Forensic Sciences and Criminology, Dubai Police General Headquarters, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
| | - Teresa Rito
- Instituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular da Universidade do Porto (IPATIMUP), Porto, Portugal
| | - Alison Machado
- Instituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular da Universidade do Porto (IPATIMUP), Porto, Portugal
| | - Zuzana Fajkošová
- Instituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular da Universidade do Porto (IPATIMUP), Porto, Portugal
- Archaeogenetics Laboratory, Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Bruno Cavadas
- Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
- Instituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular da Universidade do Porto (IPATIMUP), Porto, Portugal
| | - Viktor Černý
- Archaeogenetics Laboratory, Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Pedro Soares
- Instituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular da Universidade do Porto (IPATIMUP), Porto, Portugal
| | - Martin B. Richards
- School of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
- Department of Biological Sciences, School of Applied Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, United Kingdom
| | - Luísa Pereira
- Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
- Instituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular da Universidade do Porto (IPATIMUP), Porto, Portugal
- Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
- * E-mail:
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Wageih MA, Marcano-Cedeño A, Gómez EJ, Mantas J. Toward More Successful Biomedical Informatics Education Programs and Ecosystems in the Arab World. Stud Health Technol Inform 2015; 213:111-114. [PMID: 26152967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Biomedical & Health Informatics (BMHI) is relatively new in Arab States. However, several programs/ tracks are running, with high promises of expansion. Programs are evaluated by national authorities, not by a specialized body/association. This does not always mean that the program is of an international standard. One of the possible ways of ensuring the quality of these programs is to be evaluated by international agencies. The International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) has the expertise in the evaluation BMHI education programs. Accredited programs staffs will have the opportunities for Internationalization and to be engaged with other top-notch organizations, which will have great impacts on the overall implementations of the BMHI in the Arab World. The goal of this document is to show to Arab Universities (pilot: Egypt) how to apply for IMIA Accreditation for their programs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed A Wageih
- Heliopolis University for Sustainable Development, 3 Cairo-Belbeis Road, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Alexis Marcano-Cedeño
- Biomedical Engineering and Telemedicine Centre, ETSI Telecomunicación, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Enrique J Gómez
- Biomedical Engineering and Telemedicine Centre, ETSI Telecomunicación, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - John Mantas
- National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527. Athens, Greece
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Albou P. [Presence of terms for birds, aquatic animals and insects in medical language]. Hist Sci Med 2014; 48:225-236. [PMID: 25230529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
After a first lecture, in April 2013, about the presence of mammals in medical language, the author gives another part of his panorama of animal metaphors used in medicine, focusing this time on the birds, aquatic animals and insects. The second part of this study confirms that animals, or at least the image of them in the past, were regularly present in medical nosology.
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Abstract
The quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) has become a key molecular enabling technology with an immense range of research, clinical, forensic as well as diagnostic applications. Its relatively moderate instrumentation and reagent requirements have led to its adoption by numerous laboratories, including those located in the Arabian world, where qPCR, which targets DNA, and reverse transcription qPCR (RT-qPCR), which targets RNA, are widely used for region-specific biotechnology, agricultural and human genetic studies. However, it has become increasingly apparent that there are significant problems with both the quality of qPCR-based data as well as the transparency of reporting. This realisation led to the publication of the Minimum Information for Publication of Quantitative Real-Time PCR Experiments (MIQE) guidelines in 2009 and their more widespread adoption in the last couple of years. An analysis of the performance of biomedical research in the Arabian world between 2001–2005 suggests that the Arabian world is producing fewer biomedical publications of lower quality than other Middle Eastern countries. Hence we have analysed specifically the quality of RT-qPCR-based peer-reviewed papers published since 2009 from Arabian researchers using a bespoke iOS/Android app developed by one of the authors. Our results show that compliance with 15 essential MIQE criteria was low (median of 40%, range 0–93%) and few details on RNA quality controls (22% compliance), assays design (12%), RT strategies (32%), amplification efficiencies (30%) and the normalisation process (3%). These data indicate that one of the reasons for the poor performance of Arabian world biomedical research may be the low standard of any supporting qPCR experiments and identify which aspects of qPCR experiments require significant improvements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Afif M. Abdel Nour
- Special Infectious Agents Unit-Biosafety Level 3, King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- * E-mail:
| | - Esam Azhar
- Special Infectious Agents Unit-Biosafety Level 3, King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- Medical Laboratory Technology Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Ghazi Damanhouri
- King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Stephen A. Bustin
- Postgraduate Medical Institute, Faculty of Health, Social Care & Education, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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Kuzhan A, Adli M, Eryigit Alkis H, Caglayan D. Hormone receptor and HER2 status in patients with breast cancer by races in southeastern Turkey. J BUON 2013; 18:619-622. [PMID: 24065473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Hormone receptor (HR) status is a prognostic factor in women with breast cancer and differs among different ethnic groups. HR status among Turkish, Kurdish and Arabic women with breast cancer living in Turkey is unknown and in this study we investigated the relationship between HR and HER2 status and race. METHODS FA total of 648 women with breast cancer (Turkish 438, Kurdish 174, Arabic 35 and Armenian 1) living in southeastern Turkey and referred to the Department of Radiation Oncology between July 2006-July 2012 were included in the study. Patients were categorized into 4 groups according to their HR status. Estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) positive (ER+/PR+), ER positive and PR negative (ER+/PR-), ER negative and PR positive (ER-/PR+) and ER and PR negative (ER-/PR-). Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status was recorded immunohistochemically (IHC) as negative (0 and 1+), and positive (3+). Statistical analysis included ER, PR, HER2, triple subtypes (combination of ER, PR and HER2), and race. RESULTS The median age at diagnosis was 48 years (range 20-83). ER+, PR+ and HER2+ patients were 453 (70%), 470 (72.6%) and 206 (32.1%), respectively. ER+/PR+ rates among Turkish and Arabic patients were similar, but were higher than Kurdish patients (p<0.002). Triple-negative (ER-/PR-/HER2-) rates among Kurdish and Arabic patients were similar, but were higher than Turkish patients (p=0.04). CONCLUSION Turkish, Kurdish and Arabic women with breast cancer in southeastern Turkey differed by HR status. Compared to Turkish and Arabic patients, Kurdish patients had more unfavorable prognostic factors.
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MESH Headings
- Adult
- Aged
- Aged, 80 and over
- Arabia
- Armenia
- Biomarkers, Tumor/metabolism
- Breast Neoplasms/ethnology
- Breast Neoplasms/metabolism
- Breast Neoplasms/pathology
- Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast/ethnology
- Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast/metabolism
- Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast/pathology
- Carcinoma, Lobular/ethnology
- Carcinoma, Lobular/metabolism
- Carcinoma, Lobular/pathology
- Female
- Follow-Up Studies
- Humans
- Immunoenzyme Techniques
- Middle Aged
- Neoplasm Grading
- Neoplasm Staging
- Prognosis
- Racial Groups/statistics & numerical data
- Receptor, ErbB-2/metabolism
- Receptors, Estrogen/metabolism
- Receptors, Progesterone/metabolism
- Survival Rate
- Turkey
- Young Adult
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Affiliation(s)
- A Kuzhan
- Gaziantep University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Radiation Oncology, Gaziantep, Turkey
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Petraglia MD, Alsharekh A, Breeze P, Clarkson C, Crassard R, Drake NA, Groucutt HS, Jennings R, Parker AG, Parton A, Roberts RG, Shipton C, Matheson C, Al-Omari A, Veall MA. Hominin dispersal into the Nefud Desert and Middle palaeolithic settlement along the Jubbah Palaeolake, Northern Arabia. PLoS One 2012. [PMID: 23185454 PMCID: PMC3501467 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0049840] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The Arabian Peninsula is a key region for understanding hominin dispersals and the effect of climate change on prehistoric demography, although little information on these topics is presently available owing to the poor preservation of archaeological sites in this desert environment. Here, we describe the discovery of three stratified and buried archaeological sites in the Nefud Desert, which includes the oldest dated occupation for the region. The stone tool assemblages are identified as a Middle Palaeolithic industry that includes Levallois manufacturing methods and the production of tools on flakes. Hominin occupations correspond with humid periods, particularly Marine Isotope Stages 7 and 5 of the Late Pleistocene. The Middle Palaeolithic occupations were situated along the Jubbah palaeolake-shores, in a grassland setting with some trees. Populations procured different raw materials across the lake region to manufacture stone tools, using the implements to process plants and animals. To reach the Jubbah palaeolake, Middle Palaeolithic populations travelled into the ameliorated Nefud Desert interior, possibly gaining access from multiple directions, either using routes from the north and west (the Levant and the Sinai), the north (the Mesopotamian plains and the Euphrates basin), or the east (the Persian Gulf). The Jubbah stone tool assemblages have their own suite of technological characters, but have types reminiscent of both African Middle Stone Age and Levantine Middle Palaeolithic industries. Comparative inter-regional analysis of core technology indicates morphological similarities with the Levantine Tabun C assemblage, associated with human fossils controversially identified as either Neanderthals or Homo sapiens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael D Petraglia
- School of Archaeology, Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
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Idris AM, Abdullah NM, Brown JK. Leaf curl diseases of two solanaceous species in Southwest Arabia are caused by a monopartite begomovirus evolutionarily most closely related to a species from the Nile Basin and unique suite of betasatellites. Virus Res 2012; 169:296-300. [PMID: 22841489 DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2012.07.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2012] [Revised: 07/13/2012] [Accepted: 07/14/2012] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
The complete genome of 2780 bases was amplified using rolling circle amplification, and cloned, and sequenced for two distinct strains of the monopartite begomovirus Tomato leaf curl Sudan virus (ToLCSDV). The two strains shared 86-91% identity with the previously described ToLCSDV from the Nile Basin, and 90-91% identity with one another. One strain was cloned from symptomatic tomato plants from Tihamah (ToLCSDV-YE[YE:Tih:05]) while the other was cloned from symptomatic tobacco plants collected from Wadi Hadramaut (ToLCSDV-YE[YE:Had:89]). A distinct full-length betasatellite molecule (1352 bases) was cloned from the respective field-infected tomato and tobacco plants. Agro-inoculation of tomato and Nicotiana benthamiana plants with cloned partial tandem repeats of ToLCSDV-YE[YE:Tih11:05]) and the associated betasatellite, Tomato leaf curl Yemen betasatellite (ToLCYEB-[Tih:tom:137:05]), resulted in the reproduction of leaf curl disease symptoms in test plants like those observed in the field-infected plants. The betasatellite contributed to symptom severity in N. benthamiana test plants when it was co-inoculated with ToLCSDV-YE, compared to the milder symptoms that were observed in tobacco plants infected with the helper virus alone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali M Idris
- Plant Stress Genomics Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
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Fernandes V, Alshamali F, Alves M, Costa MD, Pereira JB, Silva NM, Cherni L, Harich N, Cerny V, Soares P, Richards MB, Pereira L. The Arabian cradle: mitochondrial relicts of the first steps along the southern route out of Africa. Am J Hum Genet 2012; 90:347-55. [PMID: 22284828 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2011.12.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 107] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2011] [Revised: 12/11/2011] [Accepted: 12/14/2011] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
A major unanswered question regarding the dispersal of modern humans around the world concerns the geographical site of the first human steps outside of Africa. The "southern coastal route" model predicts that the early stages of the dispersal took place when people crossed the Red Sea to southern Arabia, but genetic evidence has hitherto been tenuous. We have addressed this question by analyzing the three minor west-Eurasian haplogroups, N1, N2, and X. These lineages branch directly from the first non-African founder node, the root of haplogroup N, and coalesce to the time of the first successful movement of modern humans out of Africa, ∼60 thousand years (ka) ago. We sequenced complete mtDNA genomes from 85 Southwest Asian samples carrying these haplogroups and compared them with a database of 300 European examples. The results show that these minor haplogroups have a relict distribution that suggests an ancient ancestry within the Arabian Peninsula, and they most likely spread from the Gulf Oasis region toward the Near East and Europe during the pluvial period 55-24 ka ago. This pattern suggests that Arabia was indeed the first staging post in the spread of modern humans around the world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verónica Fernandes
- Instituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular da Universidade do Porto, Portugal
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Rose JI, Usik VI, Marks AE, Hilbert YH, Galletti CS, Parton A, Geiling JM, Cerný V, Morley MW, Roberts RG. The Nubian Complex of Dhofar, Oman: an African middle stone age industry in Southern Arabia. PLoS One 2011; 6:e28239. [PMID: 22140561 PMCID: PMC3227647 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0028239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 154] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2011] [Accepted: 11/04/2011] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite the numerous studies proposing early human population expansions from Africa into Arabia during the Late Pleistocene, no archaeological sites have yet been discovered in Arabia that resemble a specific African industry, which would indicate demographic exchange across the Red Sea. Here we report the discovery of a buried site and more than 100 new surface scatters in the Dhofar region of Oman belonging to a regionally-specific African lithic industry--the late Nubian Complex--known previously only from the northeast and Horn of Africa during Marine Isotope Stage 5, ∼128,000 to 74,000 years ago. Two optically stimulated luminescence age estimates from the open-air site of Aybut Al Auwal in Oman place the Arabian Nubian Complex at ∼106,000 years ago, providing archaeological evidence for the presence of a distinct northeast African Middle Stone Age technocomplex in southern Arabia sometime in the first half of Marine Isotope Stage 5.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey I Rose
- Institute of Archaeology and Antiquity, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom.
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Abstract
The pharmacological tradition in the medieval Islamic world developed on the basis of the Greek tradition, with the works of Dioscorides and Galen being particularly popular. The terminology was influenced not only by Greek, but also Middle Persian, Syriac, and indigenous Arabic words. Through recent research into Graeco-Arabic translations, it has become possible to discern the evolution of pharmacological writing in Arabic: in the late eighth century, the technical terms were being developed, with transliterations being used; by the mid-ninth century, many standard Arabic translations for Greek words have been established. Various authors, however, expanded the pharmacology inherited from the Greeks. Galen had established a system of degrees of primary faculties (dry or moist, and warm or cold) that various physicians in the Islamic world modified. Al-Kindī, for instance, invented a theory of how to calculate these degrees in compound drugs, whereas ar-Rāzī criticised the epistemology that underlies Galen's theories. Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna) complemented the various degrees in his description of simple drugs. Furthermore, both Ibn Sarābiyun and al-Kaskarī integrated new drugs from the Islamic heartland, and the Far East into the Greek system. In these ways, the Arabic pharmacology developed in a creative tension of tradition and innovation.
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Al-Yahya'ei MN, Oehl F, Vallino M, Lumini E, Redecker D, Wiemken A, Bonfante P. Unique arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities uncovered in date palm plantations and surrounding desert habitats of Southern Arabia. Mycorrhiza 2011; 21:195-209. [PMID: 20571833 PMCID: PMC3058386 DOI: 10.1007/s00572-010-0323-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2009] [Accepted: 05/23/2010] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
The main objective of this study was to shed light on the previously unknown arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) communities in Southern Arabia. We explored AMF communities in two date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) plantations and the natural vegetation of their surrounding arid habitats. The plantations were managed traditionally in an oasis and according to conventional guidelines at an experimental station. Based on spore morphotyping, the AMF communities under the date palms appeared to be quite diverse at both plantations and more similar to each other than to the communities under the ruderal plant, Polygala erioptera, growing at the experimental station on the dry strip between the palm trees, and to the communities uncovered under the native vegetation (Zygophyllum hamiense, Salvadora persica, Prosopis cineraria, inter-plant area) of adjacent undisturbed arid habitat. AMF spore abundance and species richness were higher under date palms than under the ruderal and native plants. Sampling in a remote sand dune area under Heliotropium kotschyi yielded only two AMF morphospecies and only after trap culturing. Overall, 25 AMF morphospecies were detected encompassing all study habitats. Eighteen belonged to the genus Glomus including four undescribed species. Glomus sinuosum, a species typically found in undisturbed habitats, was the most frequently occurring morphospecies under the date palms. Using molecular tools, it was also found as a phylogenetic taxon associated with date palm roots. These roots were associated with nine phylogenetic taxa, among them eight from Glomus group A, but the majority could not be assigned to known morphospecies or to environmental sequences in public databases. Some phylogenetic taxa seemed to be site specific. Despite the use of group-specific primers and efficient trapping systems with a bait plant consortium, surprisingly, two of the globally most frequently found species, Glomus intraradices and Glomus mosseae, were not detected neither as phylogenetic taxa in the date palm roots nor as spores under the date palms, the intermediate ruderal plant, or the surrounding natural vegetation. The results highlight the uniqueness of AMF communities inhabiting these diverse habitats exposed to the harsh climatic conditions of Southern Arabia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed N Al-Yahya'ei
- Zurich Basel Plant Science Center, Institute of Botany, University of Basel, Hebelstrasse 1, 4056 Basel, Switzerland.
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Al-Mailem DM, Sorkhoh NA, Marafie M, Al-Awadhi H, Eliyas M, Radwan SS. Oil phytoremediation potential of hypersaline coasts of the Arabian Gulf using rhizosphere technology. Bioresour Technol 2010; 101:5786-92. [PMID: 20303746 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2010.02.082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2009] [Revised: 02/15/2010] [Accepted: 02/19/2010] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
The rhizosphere and phyllosphere of the halophyte Halonemum strobilaceum naturally inhabiting hypersaline coastal areas of the Arabian Gulf harbor up to 8.1 x 10(4)g(-1) and 3 x 10(2)g(-1), respectively, of extremely halophilic oil-utilizing microorganisms. Such organisms were 14- to 38-fold more frequent in the rhizosphere than in the plant-free soil. Frequent genera in the rhizosphere were affiliated to the archaea Halobacterium sp. and Halococcus sp., the firmicute Brevibacillus borstenlensis, and the proteobacteria Pseudoalteromonas ruthenica and Halomonas sinaensis. The phyllospheric microflora consisted of the dimorphic yeast Candida utilis and the two proteobacteria Ochrobactrum sp. and Desulfovibrio sp. Individual strains grew on a range of pure aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, as sole sources of carbon and energy. All the strains, except C. utilis which could not tolerate salinities >2M NaCl, grew also in media with salinities ranging between 1 and 4M NaCl, with optimum growth between 1 and 2M NaCl. With the exception of the two archaeal genera, all isolates could grow in a nitrogen-free medium. The total rhizospheric and phyllospheric microbial consortia could attenuate crude oil in complete (nitrogen-containing) medium, but also equally well in a nitrogen-free medium. It was concluded that H. strobilaceum could be a valuable halophyte for phytoremediation of oil-polluted hypersaline environments via rhizosphere technology.
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Affiliation(s)
- D M Al-Mailem
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Kuwait University, Kuwait
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Moureau S. Some considerations concerning the alchemy of the De anima in arte alchemiae of pseudo-Avicenna. Ambix 2009; 56:49-56. [PMID: 19831259 DOI: 10.1179/174582309x405228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
This article explains some essential features of the alchemical doctrine of the De anima in arte alchemiae, a treatise written in Spain during the twelfth century (in Arabic, but only the Latin translation remains), and wrongly attributed to Avicenna. It shows that pseudo-Avicenna uses alchemical principles and elixir theory directly inspired by Jabirian texts, and classification of materials influenced by al-Razi. The alchemy of pseudo-Avicenna is entirely based on operations on the four elements: the alchemist has to reduce hair, blood or eggs to their elements, and isolate one of their essential properties (warmth, coldness, moisture and dryness), so that he can change the proportion of essential properties of the body he wants to transmute into gold or silver. The preparation made from hair, blood or eggs (the isolated property) is what he calls the elixir.
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Vinciguerra A. The Ars alchemie: the first Latin text on practical alchemy. Ambix 2009; 56:57-67. [PMID: 19831260 DOI: 10.1179/174582309x405237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
The Ars alchemie is a collection of alchemical recipes associated with the names of the Arabic-Latin translator Michael Scot and the major general of the Friars Minor, Elias Cortona, of the first half of the thirteenth century. This articles investigates the various forms in which this text appears in the four manuscripts that contain it. It shows the dependence of one of its prologues on the work of an earlier translator, Hugo of Santalla, and the overlap of its contents with other alchemical treatises: Liber luminis luminum, Liber Dedali, Liber de aluminibus et salibus and Liber Hermetis de blchkmkb. Its mention of the alum of Aleppo corresponds with references to trade in this material in the thirteenth century. Its main characteristics are its compilatory nature and its emphasis on practical applications.
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Ferrario G. An Arabic dictionary of technical alchemical terms: MS Sprenger 1908 of the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin (fols. 3r-6r). Ambix 2009; 56:36-48. [PMID: 19831258 DOI: 10.1179/174582309x405219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
The Arabic MS Sprenger 1908 (Staatsbibliothek, Berlin) is a handbook of medieval alchemy. Among the works it preserves, we can find the only extant witness to the Arabic original of the well-known Liber de aluminibus et salibus. In this paper, I focus on a detailed alchemical dictionary preserved in this manuscript (fols. 3r-6r) whose explicit aim is to clarify the meaning of the secret language used by the alchemists to conceal the names of substances and operations. Other versions of the same alchemical lexicon are found in Syriac and karsuni in MSS Oriental 1593 and Egerton 709, both preserved in the British Library. After describing these manuscripts, I analyse the contents of this dictionary, its structure, its different versions, and the features of the alchemical language that it attests to, providing some examples to show how this kind of dictionary is still a useful tool for the contemporary researcher.
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Kurzmann P. [Some glass instruments of Arabic alchemy]. Sudhoffs Arch 2009; 93:184-200. [PMID: 20336929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
From an as yet unpublished collection, kept in the Linden Museum, Stuttgart, of some 20 Islamic glass items, 12 objects with an alchemical background have been selected and studied in detail. The most important items are two alchemical still heads which, according to an alchemical manuscript of al-Kindī, a significant 9th century Arabian philosopher, natural scientist, mathematician, physician and musician, are identified as still heads for the watersteam distillation of camphor in particular. Additionally the publication presented here features a medical utensil (probably recent), a measuring jug, a funnel, a mortar, a pestle, a test tube most probably 19th century and four small bottles--probably for perfume. Most of the objects originate in Iran, but some are from Egypt, Afghanistan and Palestine and date mainly from the 9th to the 13th century AD. Some misinterpretations and ambiguities to be found in the literature have been corrected and eliminated.
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Abstract
This study traces the early developments of the concept of experiment with a view of extending the subject in both content and approach. It extends the content of the subject slightly backward, prior to the methodological breakthroughs of the Optics of Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen or Alhacen, d. ca. 1040), which are credited as a "significant landmark in the history of experimental science." And it extends the approach to the subject slightly forward, from the premise that early science was "largely carried out in books," to a close examination of the books through which the footprints of'experiment' may be traced. The point of departure is the Optics of Ahmad ibn 'Isă, a revealing text for the early developments of concepts such as 'demonstration' and 'experiment', and one through which some modern discussions are examined and extended with reference to this and other historical sources.
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Al-Homrany MA, Khan MY, Al-Khaldi YM, Al-Gelban KS, Al-Amri HS. Hypertension care at primary health care centers: a report from Abha, Saudi Arabia. Saudi J Kidney Dis Transpl 2008; 19:990-996. [PMID: 18974594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023] Open
Abstract
It is well known that effective management of hypertension reduces the incidence of myo-cardial infarction, stroke and vascular complications. The Ministry of Health, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, introduced the Quality Assurance Guidelines with the hope to improve the management of hypertension in its centers. We conducted an audit of two Primary Health Care Centers namely, Al-Manhal (MPHCC) and Al-Numais (NPHCC), to evaluate how well hypertension was managened at these centers. A check list was derived from the Quality Assurance Manual to audit the process and to assess the health outcome. A retrospective study on a chosen sample of 120 files of hypertensive patients, out of 256 from both the Primary Health Care Centers was performed, during the last three months of the year 2000. Results showed that 61% of the patients were between 45-64 years of age, 56% were females, 85% were married, 54% were illiterate and 7.5% were smokers. A total of 92% of the patients had primary hypertension and 25% had a positive family history of hypertension. Beta-blockers were the most commonly used drugs in both the centers. Although the recording of the information was not perfect, there was no statistical difference in the socio-demongraphic data and also the means of the total score in both the centres. On the other hand, carrying out the important procedures for hypertensive patients was found to be better at MPHCC in comparison to NPHCC (p < 0.05). The commonly missed procedures were chest x-rays, electrolytes and ECG. Hypertension was well controlled in 63% of the patients, 58% were found to have obesity, 9% suffered from hypertension-related complications while almost 50% had good compliance to appointment in both the centers. Our study reveals that the process of hypertension care at the two Primary Health Care Centres in Aseer region was not in accordance with the recommended national standards. The reasons include lack of updating systems, recall system and provision of laboratory services and all these factors need to be addressed to improve care.
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Verma P, Wate SR, Devotta S. Simulation of impact of oil spill in the ocean--a case study of Arabian Gulf. Environ Monit Assess 2008; 146:191-201. [PMID: 18095178 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-007-0071-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2007] [Accepted: 11/06/2007] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
To meet the growing energy demand worldwide, oil and gas exploration and production activities have increased rapidly both in onshore and offshore areas. The produced oil from the ocean bed is transported onshore either by ship or pipeline. This has increased the risk of oil spill in the coastal area. In order to prepare an emergency preparedness plan and to assess the magnitude of risk involved in transporting and offloading oil, oil spill simulation studies play an important role. This paper describes a simulation of oil spill in coastal bay of Arabian Gulf where new developments are taking place using MIKE 21 model. The developments include a diesel based thermal power plant near Sir Baniyas Island, which is an ecological fragile area. Based on the project activity, two probable scenarios, one for diesel leak (250 m3/h) for 1 h and the other for instantaneous spill (500 m3) are considered. The MIKE 21 model was calibrated for hydrodynamics using measured field data followed by diesel-spill simulation to track its movement in the Arabian Gulf. The results for both leak and instantaneous spill indicate that spilled diesel will not move towards the Sir Banyas Island and more than 45% of the diesel will be evaporated within 48 h of oil spill. Based on the results, a clean up and contingency plan is proposed to mitigate the adverse impacts arising due to diesel spill in the study area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Parikshit Verma
- National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur, 440020, India.
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Offer ZY, Zangvil A, Klepach D. Temporal variations of airborne particle concentration in an arid region. Environ Monit Assess 2008; 146:285-293. [PMID: 18193485 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-007-0080-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2007] [Accepted: 11/06/2007] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Airborne particle concentration (APC) measurements were carried out at the Sede Boker experimental station located in the northern Negev Desert, about 50 km south of Beer Sheva, during the years 1987--1997. The basic sampling period used in 1987--1993 was 12 h (day and night) and in 1994--1997 the sampling period was 24 h. For the entire study period, the average airborne particle concentration (APC) was 123.8 microg/m3, the highest value was 4204.2 microg/m3; and the lowest, near 5 microg/m3. For the 24 h average, about 90% of the cases were defined as normal situations (APC between 0-200 microg/m3) about, 8.5%, hazy periods (APC between 200-500 microg/m3), 1.4% dusty periods (APC between 500-1000 microg/m3) and about 0.7% were intense dusty periods (APC above 1000 microg/m3). Statistical analysis of the data showed significant seasonal and monthly fluctuations. The seasonal variation of the APC was further examined using different definitions of the seasons (astronomical, meteorological, and synoptic).
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Affiliation(s)
- Z Y Offer
- Department of Environmental Physics, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben Gurion University, Beersheba, Israel.
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Loukas M, Lam R, Tubbs RS, Shoja MM, Apaydin N. Ibn al-Nafis (1210-1288): the first description of the pulmonary circulation. Am Surg 2008; 74:440-442. [PMID: 18481505] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Ibn al-Nafis (1210-1288) was an Arab physician who contributed much to the advancement of medical knowledge and science in the 13th century. He was involved in jurisprudence, politics, and anatomical studies as well. Although a prominent ophthalmologist by training, today he is most recognized for his discovery of the lesser or pulmonary circulation. His was the first work to contradict the accepted teachings of Galen, which had existed since the 2nd century AD. His description included the observation that the wall of the septum is not porous either grossly or macroscopically as was believed by earlier scholars. Therefore, blood from the venous circulation had to be directed through the pulmonary artery ("venous artery") through the lungs to be "mixed with air" and drained back to the left side of the heart through the pulmonary vein ("arterial vein"). This discovery would lead to a change in the historical observations that the pulmonary circulation was discovered by European scientists in the 16th century and lead many to wonder if these scientists had access to Ibn al-Nafis' translated works. Ibn al-Nafis was devout to his work and to his religion, contributing much to the body of knowledge in anatomy and medicine as well as being a prominent and exceptional physician.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marios Loukas
- Department of Anatomical Sciences, St. George's University, School of Medicine, Grenada, West Indies.
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Lagerkvist B. [Peter Forsskal--Linne's pupil and humanistic natural scientist]. Lakartidningen 2007; 104:2903-2906. [PMID: 17966811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
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