Over the past decade, a growing interest has developed on the archaeology, palaeontology, and palaeoenvironments of the Arabian Peninsula. It is now clear that hominins repeatedly dispersed into Arabia, notably during pluvial interglacial periods when much of the peninsula was characterised by a semiarid grassland environment. During the intervening glacial phases, however, grasslands were replaced with arid and hyperarid deserts. These millennial-scale climatic fluctuations have subjected bones and fossils to a dramatic suite of environmental conditions, affecting their fossilisation and preservation. Yet, as relatively few palaeontological assemblages have been reported from the Pleistocene of Arabia, our understanding of the preservational pathways that skeletal elements can take in these types of environments is lacking. Here, we report the first widespread taxonomic and taphonomic assessment of Arabian fossil deposits. Novel fossil fauna are described and overall the fauna are consistent with a well-watered semiarid grassland environment. Likewise, the taphonomic results suggest that bones were deposited under more humid conditions than present in the region today. However, fossils often exhibit significant attrition, obscuring and fragmenting most finds. These are likely tied to wind abrasion, insolation, and salt weathering following fossilisation and exhumation, processes particularly prevalent in desert environments.

中文翻译：

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沙特阿拉伯西部内夫德沙漠更新世化石沉积物的分类学和埋藏学研究

在过去的十年中，人们对阿拉伯半岛的考古学、古生物学和古环境的兴趣日益浓厚。现在很清楚，人类反复分散到阿拉伯，特别是在间冰期雨季期间，半岛大部分地区以半干旱草原环境为特征。然而，在中间的冰川阶段，草原被干旱和超干旱沙漠所取代。这些千年规模的气候波动使骨骼和化石受到一系列环境条件的影响，影响了它们的化石化和保存。然而，由于阿拉伯更新世报道的古生物组合相对较少，我们对骨骼元素在这些类型的环境中可以采取的保存途径的理解是缺乏的。这里，我们报告了对阿拉伯化石矿床的第一次广泛的分类学和埋葬学评估。描述了新的化石动物群，总体而言，动物群与水分充足的半干旱草原环境一致。同样，埋藏结果表明，骨头是在比今天该地区更潮湿的条件下沉积的。然而，化石经常表现出显着的磨损，使大多数发现变得模糊和碎片化。这些可能与石化和挖掘后的风磨损、日晒和盐风化有关，这些过程在沙漠环境中尤其普遍。埋葬结果表明，骨头是在比今天该地区更潮湿的条件下沉积的。然而，化石经常表现出显着的磨损，使大多数发现变得模糊和碎片化。这些可能与石化和挖掘后的风磨损、日晒和盐风化有关，这些过程在沙漠环境中尤其普遍。埋葬结果表明，骨头是在比今天该地区更潮湿的条件下沉积的。然而，化石经常表现出显着的磨损，使大多数发现变得模糊和碎片化。这些可能与石化和挖掘后的风磨损、日晒和盐风化有关，这些过程在沙漠环境中尤其普遍。