In arid environments, both human life and ecosystems face significant challenges, with water availability being a critical factor for survival. Water sources dictate where human populations settle and how they organize their daily lives, which is why forager camps in desert regions are often closely associated with these resources. A common but oversimplified assumption is that an increase in stable water sources in the desert signals a moister period.
Recently, a cluster of prehistoric occurrences (ca. 24 ka BP) was discovered near Idan in the hyperarid northern Arava Valley. This discovery presents a unique opportunity to explore the relationship between early human populations and their environment in a region marked by extreme dryness.
In this lecture, we will first use archaeological and geomorphological evidence from these occurrences to reconstruct the paleo-environment of this area. Our findings reveal that these occurrences were situated in a relatively short-lived wetland area, while the surrounding region remained arid. We will then examine the geohydrological context of the paleo-wetland, challenging the assumption that the spread of foragers into hyperarid regions necessarily indicates a climatic improvement. Through this analysis, we aim to provide a deeper understanding of human adaptation to environmental variability in such extreme conditions.
