Editing Saudi Arabia (section)

=== Prehistory ===
[[File:Pergamon-Museum - Anthropomorphe Stele 2.jpg|thumb|upright|Anthropomorphic stela (4th millennium BC), sandstone, 57x27 cm, from El-Maakir-Qaryat al-Kaafa ([[National Museum of Saudi Arabia]], [[Riyadh]])]]

There is evidence that human habitation in the [[Arabian Peninsula]] dates back to about {{gaps|125|000}} years ago.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110127/full/news.2011.55.html |title=Early human migration written in stone tools : Nature News |journal=Nature |date=27 January 2011 |doi=10.1038/news.2011.55 |last1=Callaway |first1=Ewen |access-date=25 November 2016 |archive-date=5 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170405065926/http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110127/full/news.2011.55.html |url-status=live | issn = 0028-0836 }}</ref> A 2011 study found that the first modern humans to spread east across Asia left [[Africa]] about {{gaps|75|000}} years ago across the [[Bab-el-Mandeb]] connecting the [[Horn of Africa]] and Arabia.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Hints Of Earlier Human Exit From Africa |journal=Science |volume=331 |issue=6016 |pages=453–456 |doi=10.1126/science.1199113 |pmid=21273486 |publisher=Science News |year=2011 |last1=Armitage |first1=S. J. |last2=Jasim |first2=S. A. |last3=Marks |first3=A. E. |last4=Parker |first4=A. G. |last5=Usik |first5=V. I. |last6=Uerpmann |first6=H.-P. |bibcode=2011Sci...331..453A |s2cid=20296624 }}</ref> The Arabian Peninsula is regarded as central to the understanding of evolution and dispersals of humanity. Arabia underwent an extreme environmental fluctuation in the [[Quaternary]] that led to profound evolutionary and demographic changes. Arabia has a rich [[Lower Paleolithic]] record, and the quantity of [[Oldowan]]-like sites in the region indicate a significant role that Arabia had played in the early hominin colonization of Eurasia.<ref>{{citation|last=Mirazon Lahr, M.|year=2010|title=Out of Africa I: The First Hominim Colonization of Eurasia|editor1=Fleagle, J.G.|display-editors=etal|chapter=Saharan Corridors and their role in the Evolutionary Geography of ‘Out of Africa I’|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CO5zfl460CEC&dq=%22Given+that%C2%A0there+is%C2%A0undisputed+evidence+of+hominins+in+Eurasia%22&pg=PA37|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-90-481-9035-5|pages=27–46|access-date=28 March 2024|archive-date=28 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328143727/https://books.google.com/books?id=CO5zfl460CEC&dq=%22Given+that%C2%A0there+is%C2%A0undisputed+evidence+of+hominins+in+Eurasia%22&pg=PA37#v=onepage&q=%22Given%20that%C2%A0there%20is%C2%A0undisputed%20evidence%20of%20hominins%20in%20Eurasia%22&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the [[Neolithic]] period, prominent cultures such as [[Al-Magar]], whose centre lay in modern-day southwestern Najd, flourished. Al-Magar could be considered a "Neolithic Revolution" in human knowledge and handicraft skills.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://paleolithic-neolithic.com/overview/al-magar//|title=Al Magar – Paleolithic & Neolithic History|website=paleolithic-neolithic.com|access-date=19 November 2018|archive-date=17 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190817112321/http://paleolithic-neolithic.com/overview/al-magar/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The culture is characterized as being one of the world's first to involve the widespread domestication of animals, particularly the horse, during the Neolithic period.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Sylvia|first1=Smith|title=Desert finds challenge horse taming ideas|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-21538969|access-date=13 November 2016|publisher=BCC|date=26 February 2013|archive-date=14 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814053949/https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-21538969|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=John|first1=Henzell|title=Carved in stone: were the Arabs the first to tame the horse?|url=http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/art/carved-in-stone-were-the-arabs-the-first-to-tame-the-horse|access-date=12 November 2016|agency=thenational|publisher=thenational|date=11 March 2013|archive-date=13 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210713185744/https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/art/carved-in-stone-were-the-arabs-the-first-to-tame-the-horse-1.655413/|url-status=live}}</ref> Al-Magar statues were made from local stone, and it seems that the statues were fixed in a central building that might have had a significant role in the social and religious life of the inhabitants.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-08-27 |title=Discovery points to roots of arabian breed – Features |url=https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2011/08/28/discovery-points-to-roots-of-arabian-breed/ |access-date=2022-05-07 |website=Horsetalk.co.nz |language=en-US |archive-date=19 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220519055638/https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2011/08/28/discovery-points-to-roots-of-arabian-breed/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In November 2017, hunting scenes showing images of most likely domesticated dogs (resembling the [[Canaan Dog]]) and wearing leashes were discovered in Shuwaymis, a hilly region of northwestern Saudi Arabia. These rock engravings date back more than {{gaps|8|000}} years, making them the earliest depictions of dogs in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.science.org/content/article/these-may-be-world-s-first-images-dogs-and-they-re-wearing-leashes|title=These may be the world's first images of dogsand they're wearing leashes|magazine=Science Magazine|first=David|last=Grimm|date=16 November 2017|access-date=18 June 2018|archive-date=4 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220104080835/https://www.science.org/content/article/these-may-be-world-s-first-images-dogs-and-they-re-wearing-leashes|url-status=live}}</ref>

At the end of the 4th millennium BC, Arabia entered the [[Bronze Age]]; metals were widely used, and the period was characterized by its 2&nbsp;m high burials which were simultaneously followed by the existence of numerous temples that included many free-standing sculptures originally painted with red colours.<ref>طرق التجارة القديمة، روائع آثار المملكة العربية السعودية pp. 156–157</ref>

In May 2021, archaeologists announced that a {{gaps|350|000}}-year-old [[Acheulean]] site named An Nasim in the [[Ḥaʼil Province|Hail region]] could be the oldest human habitation site in northern Saudi Arabia. 354 artefacts, including hand axes and stone tools, provided information about the tool-making traditions of the earliest living man who inhabited southwest Asia. [[Paleolithic]] artefacts are similar to material remains uncovered at the Acheulean sites in the [[An Nafud|Nefud Desert]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Scerri|first1=Eleanor M. L.|last2=Frouin|first2=Marine|last3=Breeze|first3=Paul S.|last4=Armitage|first4=Simon J.|last5=Candy|first5=Ian|last6=Groucutt|first6=Huw S.|last7=Drake|first7=Nick|last8=Parton|first8=Ash|last9=White|first9=Tom S.|last10=Alsharekh|first10=Abdullah M.|last11=Petraglia|first11=Michael D.|date=2021-05-12|title=The expansion of Acheulean hominins into the Nefud Desert of Arabia|journal=Scientific Reports|language=en|volume=11|issue=1|pages=10111|doi=10.1038/s41598-021-89489-6|pmid=33980918|pmc=8115331|bibcode=2021NatSR..1110111S|issn=2045-2322|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-05-12|title=Saudi Arabia discovers new archaeological site dating back to 350,000 years|url=http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/606576|access-date=2021-05-17|website=Saudigazette|language=English|archive-date=17 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517125158/https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/606576|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-05-13|title=Saudi Arabia discovers a 350,000-year-old archaeological site in Hail|url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/gulf/saudi-arabia/saudi-arabia-discovers-a-350-000-year-old-archaeological-site-in-hail-1.1221864|access-date=2021-05-17|website=The National|language=en|archive-date=17 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517125138/https://www.thenationalnews.com/gulf/saudi-arabia/saudi-arabia-discovers-a-350-000-year-old-archaeological-site-in-hail-1.1221864|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Ancient site in Nefud Desert offers glimpse of early human activity in Saudi Arabia|url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/1858031/amp|access-date=2021-05-17|website=Arab News|language=en|archive-date=13 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513063910/https://www.arabnews.com/node/1858031/amp|url-status=live}}</ref>