Pleistocene Colonization At Sahul Flashcards

1
Q

Pleistocene Colonization of Sahul

A
  1. Hominin Ancestry in Sunda and Wallacea (Homo luzonensis (Flores)) (Homo floresiensis) (Homo sapiens, Neanderthals, Denisovons (Luzon))
  2. Map of Sites: Hominin colonization of Sunda, Wallacea, and Beyond (Tools found there and don’t know how they got there)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Timing

A
  1. ~800,000 years ago in Sunda (Homo erectus descendants (Homo floresiensis; Homo luzonensis)) (Denisovons)
  2. ~100,000 years ago (Wallacea, Philippines)
  3. ~70-50,000 years ago (Homo sapiens cross to Sahul)
  4. Stone tools of Telepu, Sulawesi (Who made them? Don’t know)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Out of Africa Hypothesis

A
  1. ~75,000 years ago
  2. H. Sapiens dispersed from Africa and replaced all other species of Homo
  3. Limited interbreeding between H. Sapiens, Neanderthals, and Denisovons
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Y-chromosome Haplotypes (Men Only)

A

Know how these groups moved

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

MtDNA Haplotypes (Men and Women, Inherited from Mother)

A

Similar pattern to Y-chromosome

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Genetic Distances: Australians and Papua New Guineans (1999 study)

A
  1. Separate genetically mainly from all other groups
  2. PNG coalescent time ~80-122 KYA (suggests ancient isolation) (Australian sequences closer to South Asian populations)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Maritime People: Islanders of the Indo-Pacific

A
  1. Not in charts because not really sampled (Could give very big information about voyaging)
  2. Onge, Aeta, Semang, Mani, Andamanese
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Pleistocene Colonization of Sahul (Pt 2)

A
  1. Don’t know much because not many studied
  2. Do know about P. New Guinea
  3. Sunda, Sahul (Australia and PNG area), Wallacea (Between two others with lots of islands in between)
  4. Always separate even in Pleistocene
  5. Sea levels ~80-130 m lower during Pleistocene
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Map of Sites: Hominin Colonization of Sunda, Wallacea, and Beyond (Pt 2)

A

Different possible routes based on tools and things found

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

The Pleistocene Environment

A
  1. Modern Australia lots of desert
  2. Pleistocene cooler and dryer with mainly grasslands
    2.1 Large Pleistocene megafauna (Marsupials more than mammals (Marsupial rhino (Wambat); Giant wallaby (Large Fossil record for them)) (Question what was the longevity of this fauna
  3. Limited Archaeological record of people entering Sahul
    3.1 Homo sapiens (In Australia) 50-60 KYA
    3.2 Homo floresiensis 95-17 KYA
    3.3 Bismarck’s Homo sapiens 35 KYA
    3.4 Homo erectus (Indonesia to Australia) 1 MYA (Question why didn’t just go to Bismark’s which were closer? (They went to Australia))
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Intentional Voyaging

A
  1. Boat technology (Paddle platform or raft not outrigger canoe) (Rafts? Canoes? Outriggers? We don’t know…)
  2. Repeated crossings of 10-100 km (So had to have boat stable and technologically advanced enough to cross this repeatedly)
  3. Buka and Manus not visible until you fail (fall?) over the horizon
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Australia: Madjedbebe Rockshelter

A
  1. 65,000 years ago (Agreed by researchers that good representation of place people lived and what they used in Pleistocene times)
  2. Flakes, points, grinding stones (Simple, chopper tools, wear on edges, also nut crackers)
  3. Ocher
    3.1 Red ocher (Could be cave paintings; Dye things; Body paint (Mix with fat))
  4. Residues (Seeds of Pandanus sp.) (Tubers and nuts)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

West Papua: Raja Ampat Island

A
  1. Tree resin was manufactured by cutting bark (~50,000 years old)
  2. Resin was snapped into shapes (cubes)
  3. Fire starting or sealant
  4. Red ocher handprint on wall found near this area recently along with tree resin
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

New Guinea Highlands: Huon Peninsula (Video)

A
  1. Rocky slope that falls right into ocean
  2. Birds of Paradise (39 species)
  3. Impenetrable forest and mountains
  4. No road access
  5. Wall of steep slope
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

New Guinea Highlands: Huon Peninsula (Video): Why Only Happen There?

A
  1. Isolated so only go on pathway there
  2. Landscape very dense with brush and vegetation and very hilly (Have plumage so other birds can see them) (Hills provide barrier to other animals)
  3. Person there would have to withstand hiking, rain, trees (Hard to live there and be hunter/gatherer)
  4. Why people in PNG so isolated from each other because landscape so isolated
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

People in Papua New Guinea

A
  1. Isolated from everyone else because of terrains
  2. Languages diverse throughout PNG (Down to only 100 person group speak it)
  3. Glaciers on top of mountains (Will be gone in next decade)
  4. Forest and mountains
  5. River valleys (Where most people live) (Farming now happens there)
17
Q

Evidence for Subsistence in New Guinea Highlands, 44-49 KYA (2010 data)

A
  1. 2000 m elevation
  2. Waisted axes (Stone tool with waist (narrower center)) (Attached to wooden handles to clear vegetation and chop down trees)
  3. Starch grains from yam (Yams from lower elevations) (Found in sediments)
  4. Charred Pandanus nutshells (Pop off fruit around core or seed)
  5. High altitude foraging (Suggest foraging and clearing area to grow yams and Pandanus)
  6. Marsupials, Bats (Found bones from these) (No mammals because everything descended from marsupials)
  7. Small populations restricted to areas and cleared for more open space
18
Q

Horticulture and Landscape Change in the New Guinea Highlands, 20 KYA

A
  1. Evidence for mass burning ca. 21 KYA (Evidence of charcoal only) (Long time since clearing of land)
  2. Making suitable habitat (Yams; Pandanus; Birds; Bats; Rodents (Created niches for these animals to live in))
  3. (20 KYA also people in N/S America; Neanderthals extinct; Anatomically Behavioral Humans) (They were probably Homo sapiens there)
19
Q

Horticulture to Agriculture: The Wahgi Valley, 9-5 KYA (aka Kuk Swamp)

A
  1. Trenches, hollow, pits buried in valley floor (Earth moving)
  2. Draining of swamp (Leaves organic soil for cultivation)
  3. Raised beds (Bananas (Seeds tiny specks now in bananas but used to be larger and more noticeable cut lengthwise) (Taro (From microfossils))
  4. Argued earliest agriculture in the world
20
Q

The Importance of New Guinea (Agriculturally)

A
  1. They created it and Pacific Islanders took it to islands
  2. Root crop agriculture established (Taro; Yams)
  3. Tree crop horticulture established 5-7 KYA (Bananas; Pandanus; Canarium)
  4. All critical crops and techniques for survival on Pacific Islands
  5. Plants transported
21
Q

New Oceania in the Pleistocene: The Bismarck Group

A

Where start of how people move and go to islands is looked at

22
Q

Voyaging to the Bismarcks, 35 KYA

A
  1. (Before bananas and taro)
  2. Voyaging by 35 KYA
  3. Manus not visible
  4. Coastal occupation? (Coastlines now underwater)
  5. Archaeological sites (All caves) (Buang Merabak; Mantenkupkum; Matenbak; Buka; Yombon)
23
Q

The Harsh Reality of Island Life

A
  1. No megafauna
  2. Limited number of marsupial species
  3. Fewer plants (Required wider foraging (Scrap living of what there)) (Perhaps more marine focus) (Pandanus and possibly yam)
24
Q

Buang Merabak, 35 KYA

A
  1. Cave deposit
  2. Chert flakes (Lizards; Snakes; Rats; Bats (flying fox (Knock out of trees)); Shellfish; Fish (Chopped up parts of all of these for protein))
25
Q

Changes in the Bismarcks, ca 20 KYA

A
  1. Phalanger orientalis (Gray Cuscus) bones appear in cultural deposits (Not native to Bismarcks but probably appeared there because people brought them over and let them go possibly several times)
  2. Obsidian transported from New Britain (Talasea Quarry)
  3. People are voyaging to and from (Need boats to move through corridor) (Beginning of network of moving materials through network)
26
Q

Holocene Innovations ca 10 KYA: Aboriculture

A
  1. Canarium (Like an almond) (More prolific in archaeological sites)
  2. Coconut (Shell remains)
  3. Pandanus
27
Q

Holocene Innovations Ca 10 KYA: Shell and Bone Tools

A
  1. Nutcracking stones (Designated spot with lots of shells around it) (If burned leave charred portion behind)
  2. Shell axe (Suggest live on coastlines)
  3. Fishhooks (Also suggest coastline or go out to fish)
  4. Arm bands
28
Q

Papua New Guinea and New Oceania at 10 KYA

A
  1. Voyaging
  2. Sedentary and mobile
  3. Foraging and horticulture/aboriculture
  4. Coast and inland
  5. Stone, bone, shell tools
  6. The roots of Oceania are established…