Why did ancient humans avoid this lush paradise?

A new expedition into an enormous Arabian desert discovered something that turns archeologists’ understanding of this region on its head. The Rub’ al Khali is the world’s largest sand sea, covering almost a third of the Arabian peninsula. The desert, whose name translates to The Empty Quarter, was once part of the lush savannah known as ‘Green Arabia’ – the periodic blooming of the region as ice age climatic shifts brought more rainfall. Evidence of ancient humans abounds in the regions around the desert, but an expedition into the interior has returned empty handed. The surprising absence of stone tools and other signs of human occupation has led archaeologists to a new theory of the factors governing human migration, that ancient peoples needed not just water to settle, but stone as well. Read the paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s4158... 00:00 - The largest sand sea in the world 01:12 - Legends and folklore 01:50 - The Rub’ al Khali 02:48 - Green Arabia 03:22 - An ancient land grab 03:48 - The challenge of the interior 04:12 - An expedition across 'The Empty Quarter' 05:05 - A surprising failure? 05:43 - How to make a stone tool 06:06 - No stone in the desert 07:37 - How do you prove a negative finding? 08:58 - But there were people where water and stone were found together 09:25 - Early humans didn't want to live there 10:13 - What next? Subscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday: https://www.nature.com/briefing Thumbnail image from NASA Worldview