Editing Mecca (section)

=== Prehistory ===
In 2010, Mecca and the surrounding area became an important site for [[paleontology]] with respect to [[primate]] evolution, with the discovery of a ''[[Saadanius]]'' fossil. ''Saadanius'' is considered to be a primate closely related to the common ancestor of the [[Old World monkey]]s and [[apes]]. The fossil habitat, near what is now the Red Sea in western Saudi Arabia, was a damp forest area between 28&nbsp;million and 29&nbsp;million years ago.<ref>{{cite news|last=Sample|first=Ian|date=14 July 2010|title=Ape ancestors brought to life by fossil skull of 'Saadanius' primate|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|location=London|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2010/jul/14/ape-ancestors-fossil-skull-saadanius|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160927160050/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2010/jul/14/ape-ancestors-fossil-skull-saadanius|archive-date=27 September 2016}}</ref> Paleontologists involved in the research hope to find further fossils in the area.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Laursen|first=Lucas|year=2010|title=Fossil skull fingered as ape–monkey ancestor|journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]|doi=10.1038/news.2010.354|issn = 0028-0836 }}</ref>