Introduction to geology, palaeoenvironment and archaeology of the red sea

The present volume follows on from an earlier work edited by Rasul and Stewart (2015), in which an extensive introduction (Rasul et al. 2015) outlined the main features of the Red Sea, including an overview of the regional tectonics, geology and geophysics, oceanography and biology. Only one chapter in that volume referred to archaeology, and summarized knowledge then existing about the general Stone Age record with particular emphasis on the role of the Red Sea as a corridor for the earliest expansion of human populations out of Africa during the Pleistocene and the impact of Pleistocene sea-level and climate change on patterns of occupation in the Arabian Peninsula (Bailey 2015). Since that chapter was written, there has been a considerable expansion of archaeological research in Saudi Arabia involving joint Saudi-international teams under the sponsorship of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage, along with ongoing geological investigations under the aegis of the Saudi Geological Survey...