What is now the shallow waters of the Persian Gulf may once have been a vast green landscape filled with rivers, freshwater springs and fertile land that supported early human communities, according to a study.
The study suggests that during the last Ice Age, when sea levels were much lower, the Gulf basin was exposed as dry land. Instead of being a barren desert, underground aquifers may have fed natural freshwater springs, creating a habitable refuge for humans migrating out of Africa.
