Introduction
The migration of early humans out of Africa is one of the most remarkable milestones in human history. This journey, shaped by climate shifts, survival struggles, and innovation, laid the foundation for modern human populations across the globe. However, beyond mere survival, this period also offers some of the earliest glimpses into human spirituality and symbolic thinking. Furthermore, the crossing of the Red Sea carries echoes of profound religious significance, later embedded in Biblical narratives. Intriguingly, this journey also led early humans into fertile oasis-like regions such as southern Arabia’s “Eden” and the sacred lands of Mount Carmel in Israel, which would later hold spiritual importance in Judaism. The Carmel Caves on Mt. Carmel are one of Dr. Roy Blizzard’s favorite archaeological sites.
The Sahara Barrier and Early Attempts
Around 100,000 years ago, a pioneering group of modern humans ventured beyond Africa into the Middle East. Evidence from the Skhul and Qafzeh Caves, part of the Carmel Caves complex on Mount Carmel in Israel, reveals ten human burials, representing the oldest modern human remains found outside Africa. These Carmel Caves, overlooking the Mediterranean, are among the most significant prehistoric sites in the region.
This discovery is not only significant for dating human migration but also for revealing the first signs of spirituality and symbolic behavior.
These individuals were deliberately buried, a practice that suggests care for the dead and an understanding of mortality. Some graves contained shell beads and jewelry, including a boar’s tooth amulet, indicating ritualistic customs and perhaps the earliest belief in an afterlife. Such symbolic behavior marks a cognitive leap—humans were beginning to attach meaning to death and express their inner spiritual worlds.
The Spiritual Significance of Mount Carmel
Mount Carmel, where these earliest modern human burials were found, holds deep spiritual significance in later religious history. Thousands of years after these ancient pioneers, the Biblical patriarch Abraham was called by God to journey to Canaan—the region that included Mount Carmel—to settle in the land promised to his descendants (Genesis 12:1-7).
Mount Carmel is also prominently featured in later Biblical accounts, such as the Prophet Elijah’s confrontation with the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18). The coincidence of early human spiritual practices and later sacred narratives in this region suggests that certain places became deeply intertwined with the evolving human sense of the divine over millennia.
One could imagine that the early human burials, infused with symbolic objects, might represent the very roots of the spiritual intuition that blossomed into the faith traditions that would later sanctify these lands.
The Red Sea Crossing – Echoes of Faith and Survival
Around 90,000 years ago, as climate shifts caused sea levels to drop, the Bab el Mandeb strait (Gate of Grief) narrowed to just 11 kilometers. This allowed a small group—perhaps only a few hundred individuals—to cross from Africa to Arabia, marking the start of the successful human migration out of Africa.
This crossing holds symbolic resonance with later religious texts, particularly the Biblical story of Moses leading the Israelites across the Red Sea. While the timeframes are vastly different, both events represent journeys of hope, survival, and faith through a perilous water crossing. These parallels suggest that the deep-rooted human narrative of overcoming great barriers to find a better life may have been imprinted in our cultural memory since these ancient journeys.
The Oasis of Eden – A Refuge in Southern Arabia
Once these early humans crossed into Arabia, they faced harsh desert conditions. However, southern Saudi Arabia near Oman is believed to have once held fertile, oasis-like regions, providing vital refuges for early humans. Fascinatingly, one such area is actually called Eden.
This "Eden," near modern-day Dhofar, is thought to have been a green corridor during wetter climatic periods, made possible by monsoon rains creating fertile valleys and freshwater sources. Archaeologists and geologists believe that this oasis may have allowed Stone Age migrants to survive and push further into Asia.
The name Eden resonates profoundly with the Biblical Garden of Eden, described as the birthplace of humanity in Genesis. While the Biblical Eden is often considered allegorical, the existence of an actual oasis called Eden hints at a deeper connection between human survival and the cultural memory of paradise.
These rare green sanctuaries in an otherwise unforgiving desert would have appeared as true havens to migrating families, reinforcing the enduring human association between gardens, fertility, and divine blessing.
Tools and Adaptation in Arabia
Archaeologist Jeff Rose uncovered stone tools in Oman, confirming that early humans adapted to the harsh Arabian environment. These tools, such as Burin chisels, show technological ingenuity, enabling humans to work with hides, bones, and wood for survival.
The discovery of ancient tools scattered across Arabia suggests continuous human activity, likely centered around fertile zones like the Eden region, which acted as crucial stepping stones for further migration.
The Spiritual Evolution of Early Humans
The burial practices in the Carmel Caves and the ritual objects placed with the dead suggest that early humans were not only biological beings but also spiritual ones. These behaviors represent the dawn of religious thought, where humans began grappling with life, death, and the possibility of an afterlife.
The fact that these burials occurred on Mount Carmel, a place that would later become sacred in Judaism, hints at a long, perhaps subconscious connection between certain landscapes and human spirituality.
Later, God’s call to Abraham to settle in this very region can be seen as part of a broader, timeless human story—a story that began with those first pioneers laying their dead to rest with shells and beads, contemplating the mysteries of life and death.
Conclusion
The journey out of Africa was not merely a physical migration—it was also a spiritual and intellectual awakening. Early humans were learning to adapt to harsh climates, create tools, and build cultures, but they were also beginning to reflect on their place in the universe.
The crossing of the Red Sea, later echoed in religious texts, became both a literal and symbolic gateway—ushering humanity into new lands and new ways of thinking about life, death, and the divine.
The Carmel Caves burials in Israel represent the first stirrings of human spirituality, in a region that would later be sanctified in the story of Abraham and the birth of the Abrahamic faiths.
The oasis of Eden in southern Arabia stands as a powerful reminder that human survival has often depended on the existence of rare, fertile havens, which would later shape our deepest cultural visions of paradise and divine favor.
