Staff Profiles

Gareth’s research is interdisciplinary, broadly falling between the areas of Quaternary science and geo-archaeology, and has the primary aim of reconstructing landscape evolution throughout south-east Arabia and thereby identifying periods of climatic variation which may have influenced the behaviour of early human populations in the region. The complex relationship between early human societies and their natural surroundings remains a controversial subject and has been the focus of considerable debate amongst social scientists, archaeologists and paleoclimatologists over the past twenty years.

For his doctoral research Gareth analysed relict lake deposits in south-east Arabia to develop a record of climatic and environmental variation during the early to mid-Holocene period (11,500 – 3000 cal. yr BP). By placing the region’s archaeological evidence into this detailed framework of landscape evolution, Gareth's work demonstrated that early human societies adapted to the variable climatic regime by altering their subsistence strategies and settlement patterns, as well as by utilising new technologies. Ultimately, Gareth’s research highlighted why natural environment should always be considered as a potential driver of human actions particularly in marginal (arid) environmental settings.

In addition to his work in south-east Arabia, Gareth has conducted field research in a variety of locations throughout the United Kingdom, including the in Brecon Beacons, Snowdonia, the Loch Lomond area, and at Wittenham Clumps in Oxfordshire.

Research Interests:

• Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction
• Environmental determinism
• Late Quaternary climate change in Arabia
• Arabian Gulf archaeology
• Palaeolimnology
• Geoarchaeology
• The Late Glacial period in the UK

Journal articles

• Bretzke K, Preusser F, Jasim S, Miller C, Preston G, Raith K, Underdown SJ, Parton A, Parker AG, 'Multiple phases of human occupation in Southeast Arabia between 210,000 and 120,000 years ago'
  Scientific Reports x (2022)
  ISSN: 2045-2322 eISSN: 2045-2322
  Abstract

  Changing climatic conditions are thought to be a major control of human presence in Arabia during the Paleolithic. Whilst the Pleistocene archaeological record shows that periods of increased monsoon rainfall attracted human occupation and led to increased population densities, the impact of arid conditions on human populations in Arabia remains largely speculative. Here, we present data from Jebel Faya in Southeast (SE) Arabia, which document four periods of human occupation between c. 210,000 and 120,000 years ago. The Jebel Faya record indicates that human occupation of SE Arabia was more regular and not exclusively linked to major humid periods. Our data show that brief phases of increased rainfall additionally enabled human settlement in the Faya region. These results imply that the mosaic environments in SE Arabia have likely formed a population refugia at the end of the Middle and the beginning of the Late Pleistocene. 

• Parker AG, Morley MW, Armitage SJ, Engel M, Parton A, Preston GW, Russ H, Drechsler P, 'Palaeoenvironmental and sea level changes during the Holocene in Eastern Saudi Arabia and their implications for Neolithic populations'
  Quaternary Science Reviews 249 (2020)
  ISSN: 0277-3791 eISSN: 1873-457X
  Abstract

  This paper presents the key findings of a multidisciplinary study investigating the nature and timing of coastal landscape evolution in eastern Saudi Arabia during the Holocene. To date, most sea level reconstructions for the Arabo-Persian Gulf are based on uncalibrated 14C ages without correction for marine reservoir effects, or lack precision with regard to the effects of neotectonic changes, indicators of sea level used, errors in elevation of sedimentary units used, and the relationship with actual tides. As a consequence, the nature and timing of relative sea level (RSL) changes during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene remain poorly understood. To help address this, we use sea level index points (SLIPs) based on calibrated 14C ages to present a RSL curve for the central-southern Gulf of Saudi Arabia from coastal sabkha deposits near the archaeological site of Dosariyah. The sediments record rapid transgression during the early Holocene with a midHolocene high-stand immediately prior to 6880–6560 cal. BP when the upper limit for the palaeo Mean Highest High tide water (MHHW) was 2.8–3.10 m above present day mean sea level. Transgression continued until shortly after 5575–5310 cal. BP with an upper limit to the palaeo-MHHW of 3.75 m above present sea levels. Thereafter a fall in RSL was recorded, with the regression leading to the progradation of the coastal system and the development of coastal sabkhas. Nonetheless later transgressions are recorded in the region between 4848–4536 and 4335–3949 cal BP. Radiometric dating results from archaeological excavations at Dosariyah, one of the most important Neolithic coastal sites in the Gulf, suggest that occupation of the site during the Neolithic coincides with the mid-Holocene marine transgression (ca. 7200 – 6500 cal. BP). Whilst the close proximity of the site to the sea may have facilitated maritime exchange activities, occupation of the site was short-lived and the phase of abandonment occurred during a period of rapid RSL rise, which would have transformed the area around Dosariyah into an island or certainly cut it off tidally from the mainland.
  

  Website 
• Parton A, Clark-Balzen L, Parker A, Preston G, Sung WW, Breeze PS, Leng M, Groucutt H, White T, Alsharekh A, Petraglia M, 'Middle-Late Quaternary Palaeoclimate Variability from Lake and Wetland Deposits in the Nefud Desert, Northern Arabia'
  Quaternary Science Reviews 202 (2018) pp.78-97
  ISSN: 0277-3791 eISSN: 1873-457X
  Abstract

  Records of former lake and wetland development in present day arid/hyper-arid environments provide an important source of information for palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental studies. In Arabia, such records are typically confined to eccentricity-modulated insolation maxima, and are often spatially and temporally discontinuous. Here we present records from a single locality in Northern Arabia of wetter interludes during both global interglacial and glacial conditions, providing a unique opportunity to examine the nature of these events in a common setting. At Jubbah, in the southern Nefud Desert, lake and wetland deposits reveal the repeated formation of a water body within a large endorheic basin over the past ca. 360 kyr. Lake/wetland formation occurred during MIS 11/9, 7, 5, 3 and the early Holocene, assisted by local topographic controls, and spring recharge. Palaeoenvironmental and palaeoecological data reveal the existence of a large still water body formed during either MIS 11 or 9 (ca. 363 ka), and basin wide alluviation followed by lake formation during MIS 7 (ca. 212 ka). During MIS 5e (ca. 130 ka) a large freshwater lake occupied the basin, while during MIS 5a (ca. 80 ka) the basin contained a shallow wetland and freshwater lake complex. Lake/wetland formation also occurred during early MIS 3 (ca. 60 ka), at the Terminal Pleistocene-Holocene transition (ca. 12.5 ka), and the early-middle Holocene (ca. 9-6.5 ka). Phases of lake and wetland development coincided with human occupation of the basin during the Middle Palaeolithic, Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic periods, highlighting the significance of the region for early demographic change.

  Website 
• Engel M, Matter A, Parker AG, Parton A, Petraglia MD, Preston GW, Preusser F, 'Lakes or wetlands? A comment on ‘The middle Holocene climatic records from Arabia: Reassessing lacustrine environments, shift of ITCZ in Arabian Sea, and impacts of the southwest Indian and African monsoons’ by Enzel et al.'
  Global and Planetary Change 148 (2016) pp.258-267
  ISSN: 0921-8181
  Abstract Enzel et al. (2015) reassess sedimentary records of Early to Mid-Holocene lake sites in Arabia based on a reinterpretation of published multiproxy data and a qualitative analysis of satellite imagery. The authors conclude that these sites represent palaeo-wetland environments rather than palaeolakes and that the majority of the Arabian Peninsula experienced no or, if at all, only a very minor increase of rainfall at that time mainly due to eastward expansion of the East African Summer Monsoon. We disagree with their reassessment and identify several cases where unequivocal evidence for early Late Pleistocene and Early to Mid-Holocene perennial lake environments in Arabia, lasting for centuries to millennia, was neglected by Enzel et al. (2015). Here we summarize findings which indicate the presence of lakes from the sites of Jubbah, Tayma, Mundafan (all Saudi Arabia), Wahalah, Awafi (both UAE), and the Wahiba Sands (Oman), supported by evidence including occurrence of barnacle colonies in living position, remnant bioclastic shoreline deposits, undisturbed varve formation, shallowing-up lacustrine sequences, various aquatic freshwater, brackish and saline micro- and macrofossils, such as ichnofaunal remains, which are the result of prolonged field-based research. While the precise depth, hydrology and ecology of these water bodies is still not entirely resolved, their perennial nature is indicative of a markedly increased precipitation regime, which, in
  combination with more abundant groundwater and increased spring outflow in terminal basins fed by charged aquifers, was sufficient to overcome evaporative losses. The palaeolakes’ influence on sustaining prehistoric populations is corroborated by the presence of rich archaeological evidence.Website 
• Parker A, Preston G, Parton A, Walkington H, Jardine P, Leng M, Hodson M, 'Low-latitude Holocene hydroclimate derived from lake sediment flux and geochemistry'
  Journal of Quaternary Science 31 (4) (2016) pp.286-299
  ISSN: 0267-8179
  Abstract This study investigates hydrological responses to climatic shifts using sediment flux data derived from two dated palaeolake records in southeast (SE) Arabia. Flux values are generally low during the early Holocene humid period (EHHP) (~9.0 to 6.4 k cal a BP) although several short-lived pulses of increased detrital input are recorded, the most prominent of which is dated between ~8.3 and 7.9 k cal a BP. The EHHP is separated from the mid-Holocene humid period (MHHP) (~5.0 to 4.3 k cal a BP) by a phase of increased sediment flux and aridity, which began between ~6.4 and 5.9 k cal a BP and peaked between ~5.2 and 5.0 k cal a BP. The termination of the MHHP is marked by a phase of high detrital sediment flux between ~4.3 and 3.9 k cal a BP. Whilst long-term shifts in climate are most likely linked to changes in the summer position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and associated Indian and African monsoon systems, it is noted that the abrupt, short-term phases of aridity observed in both records are coeval with intervals of rapid climate change globally, which triggered non-linear, widespread landscape reconfigurations throughout SE Arabia. 
  Website 
• Preston GW, Thomas DSG, Goudie AS, Atkinson OAC, Leng MJ, Hodson MJ, Walkington H, Charpentier V, Mery S, Borgi F, Parker AG, 'A multi-proxy analysis of the Holocene humid phase from the United Arab Emirates and its implications for southeast Arabia's Neolithic populations'
  Quaternary International 382 (2015) pp.277-292
  ISSN: 1040-6182
  Abstract
  An early- to mid-Holocene humid phase has been identified in various Arabian geo-archives,
  although significant regional heterogeneity has been reported in the onset, duration and stability of this period. A multi-proxy lake and dune record from Wahalah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) documents significant variations in hydrology, biological productivity and landscape stability during the first half of the Holocene. These data reveal that post-Last Glacial Maximum dune emplacement continued into the earliest part of the Holocene, with the onset of permanent lacustrine sedimentation at the site commencing ~8.5 ka cal. BP. A long-term shift towards more arid conditions is inferred between ~7.8 - 5.9 ka cal. BP, with intermittent flooding of the basin and distinct phases of instability throughout the catchment area. This transition is linked to the southwards migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and associated weakening of monsoon rains. A peak in landscape instability is recorded between ~5.9 - 5.3 ka cal. BP and is marked by a pronounced increase in regional dune emplacement. These variations are considered alongside the record of human settlement raising important questions about the interactions between population demographics, climate and environment in southeast Arabia during the Neolithic.
  Website 
• , 'Understanding the evolution of the Holocene Pluvial Phase and its impact on Neolithic populations in south-east Arabia'
  Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 24 (2013) pp.87-94
  ISSN: 0905-7196 eISSN: 1600-0471
  
• Preston GW, Parker AG, Walkington H, Leng MJ, Hodson MJ, 'From nomadic herder-hunters to sedentary farmers: the relationship between climate change and ancient subsistence strategies in south-eastern Arabia'
  Journal of Arid Environments 86 (November) (2012) pp.122-130
  ISSN: 0140-1963
  Abstract

  Despite the present hyper-aridity, archaeological investigations in South-east Arabia have demonstrated that the region supported extensive human communities throughout the Neolithic and Bronze Age. These early populations utilised the region’s natural environment in a variety of ways, ranging from the exploitation of coastal resources to practicing pastoral and agrarian lifestyles in the interior. Palaeoclimate data suggests the corresponding period was characterised by considerable climatic variability yet, to date, few studies have attempted to investigate the relationship between climate, the environment and early human populations in the region. This paper combines new high-resolution palaeoclimate data from Awafi palaeolake, United Arab Emirates (UAE), with the region’s archaeological record from the Neolithic through to the onset of the Bronze Age. The evidence presented in this paper suggests that the environment of South-east Arabia offered different constraints and opportunities for early human occupation and subsistence. In particular, abrupt phases of aridity are demonstrated to have had a profound impact. Most notable is the change which occurred following the onset of climatic aridity at 5900calyr BP, when the region’s semi-nomadic, herder-gatherer populations abandoned much of the landscape and concentrated in selected environmental refugia, such as along the northern Omani coast. Human repopulation during the Bronze Age coincided with a return to more pluvial conditions under which a network of oasis agricultural settlements appeared along the piedmont zone of the northern Hajar Mountains.

  Website 
• Parker AG, Preston G, Walkington H, Hodson MJ, 'Developing a Framework of Holocene Climatic Change and Landscape Archaeology for the Lower Gulf Region, Southeastern Arabia'
  Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 17 (2007) pp.125-130
  ISSN: 0905-7196 eISSN: 1600-0471
  

Book chapters

• Parker AG, Armitage SJ, Engel M, Morley MW, Parton A, Preston GW, Russ H, 'Geomorphology, Geoarcheology and Paleoenvironments' in Philipp Drechsler (ed.), Dosariyah Reinvestigating a Neolithic coastal community in eastern Arabia, Archaeopress Publishing Ltd (2018)
  ISBN: 9781784919627 eISBN: 9781784919634 (e-Pdf)
  Website 
• Méry S, Gasparini D, Basset G, Berger J-F, Berthelot A, Borgi F, Parker A, Preston G, McSweeney K, 'Mort violente en Arabie: La sépulture multiple d’Umm al-Quwain UAQ2 (Émirats arabes unis), VIe millénaire BC' in Catherine Dupont, Gregor Marchand (ed.), Archaeology of maritime hunter-gatherers. From settlement function to the organization of the coastal zone, Société préhistorique française (2016)
  ISBN: 2-913745-65-2 eISBN: 2263-3847
  Website 
• , 'Early to Middle Holocene Climate Change and Vegetation Dynamics in the Northern Oman Peninsula: An Ecogeographical Synthesis of the Jebel al-Buhais Environment' in The Archaeology of Jebel al-Buhais: Volume 2: The Natural Environment of Jebel al-Buhais: Past and Present, Kerns Verlag (2008)
  
• , 'Younger Dryas Glaciation of the Brecon Beacons: Cwm Pwlffa' in The Quaternary of the Brecon Beacons, Quaternary Research Association (2006)
  

Conference papers

• Méry S, Degli Esposti M, Aoustin D, Borgi F, Gallou C, Leroyer C, Lidour K, Lindauer S, Preston GW, Parker AG, 'Neolithic settlement pattern and environment evolution along the coast of the northern UAE: the case of Umm al-Quwain UAQ36 vs. UAQ2 and Akab shell-middens'
  49 (2019) pp.223-240
  ISSN: 0308-8421 ISBN: 978-1-78969-230-3
  Abstract

  New data on the Neolithic occupation of the northern UAE coast were collected during the 2017–2018 excavations at the shellmidden site of UAQ36. Although so far limited to a fifth-millennium occupation, this data can be contextualized within the broader research programme of the French Archaeological Mission in the Emirate of Umm al-Quwain. 

  When compared to the previously excavated Neolithic sites of UAQ2 (last third of the sixth–beginning of the fourth millennium) and Akab (second third of the fifth–beginning of the fourth millennium), this new data can be used to discuss the nature of the Neolithic occupation along the UAE Gulf coast, which overall attests a good and recurring adaptation of the human communities to the changing surrounding environment.

Other publications

• , 'From nomadic herder-hunters to sedentary farmers: the relationship between climate, environment and human societies in the United Arab Emirates from the Neolithic to the Iron Age'
  (2011)

Education:

• 2005 - 2011: Ph.D. in Geography, Oxford Brookes University. Thesis title: From Nomadic herder-hunters to sedentary farmers: the relationship between climate, environment and early human societies in the United Arab Emirates from the Neolithic to the Iron Age.
• 2001 - 2004: BSc in Geography and Physical Geography (First Class Honours), Oxford Brookes University