Homo sapiens evolved in Africa between 300,000 and 200,000 years ago and dispersed out of the continent during multiple episodes, including the last interglacial period (Marine Isotope Stage or MIS 5, between 129,000 and 71,000 years ago).
The geographical routes of dispersal into Eurasia have been long debated, e.g., the northern route from the Sinai Peninsula to the southern Levant then to Arabia, and the southern route via the Bab El Mandeb strait into the margins of southern Arabia.
The southern route, i.e., the Red Sea crossing, is regarded as possible in glacial periods with low sea level.
On the other hand, the dispersal via the northern corridor during 130,000 to 90,000 years ago has been considered the most viable route in MIS 5, given a growing number of archaeological and paleontological discoveries.
These discoveries include hominin fossils and artifacts from the well-known caves of the Mediterranean Levant and the fossil finds, human footprints, and Middle Paleolithic artifacts from the Nefud Desert.
“Our research in the Jordan Rift Valley and Plateau zone clearly shows a humid corridor existed, supporting research in Arabia and the Levant that terrestrial routes were favored by hunter-gatherers wandering across terrestrial ecosystems outside Africa,” said Professor Michael Petraglia, a researcher at Griffith University.
“The presently harsh environment of the Levant and Arabia are the key regions through which members of the genus Homo, including our species Homo sapiens, had to pass through when leaving Africa and moving into Eurasia.”
“The research sheds light on the region around the Jordan Rift Valley as potentially a key successful dispersal route for modern humans during the last interglacial period (MIS 5).”
“The northern corridor crossing the Nile River, into Sinai Peninsula to the Levant region in Arabia and beyond is the only terrestrial route out of Africa.”
An international team of scientists has found early human migrants left Africa for Eurasia, across the Sinai peninsula and on through Jordan, over 80,000 years ago.
Researchers from the University of Southampton (UK) and Shantou University (China), together with colleagues in Jordan, Australia and the Czech Republic, have proved there was a "well-watered corridor" which funneled hunter-gatherers through The Levant towards western Asia and northern Arabia via Jordan.
Their findings support previous research conducted in Arabia suggesting this green, overland route, which is now desert, was favored by traveling Homo sapiens heading north. The paper, "Human dispersals out of Africa via the Levant," has been published in the journal Science Advances.
"Modern' humans evolved in Africa between 300,000 and 200,000 years ago and dispersed out of the continent in several stages. It's thought that over tens of thousands of years they went on to populate Asia and then Europe.
Our species, Homo sapiens, migrated out of Africa multiple times – reaching the Levant and Arabia between 130,000 and 70,000 years ago, as exemplified by human fossils and archaeological sites found at various locations.
Little is known, however, about the pathways of these migrations. In a study published today in Science Advances, we find the now inhospitable and hyper-arid zone of the southern Jordan Rift Valley was frequently lush and well-watered in the past.
Our evidence suggests this valley had a riverine and wetland zone that would have provided ideal passage for hunter-gatherers as they moved out of Africa and deep into the Levant and Arabia.
Researchers hypothesise humans migrating out of Africa would have used platforms in the eastern Sahara, the Nile River Valley, or the margins of the western Red Sea.
From there, these small bands of hunter-gatherers would have passed into the Sinai – a land bridge connecting Africa with the rest of Asia – following migrating animals and hunting a variety of them for sustenance.
For many of these hunter-gatherers, the next stop on the journey would have been the southern portion of the Jordan Rift Valley. This valley is situated in a strategic zone, with the Dead Sea to the north and the Gulf of Aqaba in the south.