2024/08/01 by Dylan Gaffney, Daud Aris Tanudirjo, Erlin Novita Idje Djami +25 · 1 voice · 5 citations
Social Sciences · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies #Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology #Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.15184/aqy.2024.83
The dynamics of our species’ dispersal into the Pacific remains intensely debated. The authors present archaeological investigations in the Raja Ampat Islands, north-west of New Guinea, that provide the earliest known evidence for humans arriving in the Pacific more than 55 000–50 000 years ago. Seafaring simulations demonstrate that a northern equatorial route into New Guinea via the Raja Ampat Islands was a viable dispersal corridor to Sahul at this time. Analysis of faunal remains and a resin artefact further indicates that exploitation of both rainforest and marine resources, rather than a purely maritime specialisation, was important for the adaptive success of Pacific peoples.