Pleistocene Colonization At Sahul Flashcards
Pleistocene Colonization of Sahul
- Hominin Ancestry in Sunda and Wallacea (Homo luzonensis (Flores)) (Homo floresiensis) (Homo sapiens, Neanderthals, Denisovons (Luzon))
- Map of Sites: Hominin colonization of Sunda, Wallacea, and Beyond (Tools found there and don’t know how they got there)
Timing
- ~800,000 years ago in Sunda (Homo erectus descendants (Homo floresiensis; Homo luzonensis)) (Denisovons)
- ~100,000 years ago (Wallacea, Philippines)
- ~70-50,000 years ago (Homo sapiens cross to Sahul)
- Stone tools of Telepu, Sulawesi (Who made them? Don’t know)
Out of Africa Hypothesis
- ~75,000 years ago
- H. Sapiens dispersed from Africa and replaced all other species of Homo
- Limited interbreeding between H. Sapiens, Neanderthals, and Denisovons
Y-chromosome Haplotypes (Men Only)
Know how these groups moved
MtDNA Haplotypes (Men and Women, Inherited from Mother)
Similar pattern to Y-chromosome
Genetic Distances: Australians and Papua New Guineans (1999 study)
- Separate genetically mainly from all other groups
- PNG coalescent time ~80-122 KYA (suggests ancient isolation) (Australian sequences closer to South Asian populations)
Maritime People: Islanders of the Indo-Pacific
- Not in charts because not really sampled (Could give very big information about voyaging)
- Onge, Aeta, Semang, Mani, Andamanese
Pleistocene Colonization of Sahul (Pt 2)
- Don’t know much because not many studied
- Do know about P. New Guinea
- Sunda, Sahul (Australia and PNG area), Wallacea (Between two others with lots of islands in between)
- Always separate even in Pleistocene
- Sea levels ~80-130 m lower during Pleistocene
Map of Sites: Hominin Colonization of Sunda, Wallacea, and Beyond (Pt 2)
Different possible routes based on tools and things found
The Pleistocene Environment
- Modern Australia lots of desert
- 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 - 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))
Intentional Voyaging
- Boat technology (Paddle platform or raft not outrigger canoe) (Rafts? Canoes? Outriggers? We don’t know…)
- Repeated crossings of 10-100 km (So had to have boat stable and technologically advanced enough to cross this repeatedly)
- Buka and Manus not visible until you fail (fall?) over the horizon
Australia: Madjedbebe Rockshelter
- 65,000 years ago (Agreed by researchers that good representation of place people lived and what they used in Pleistocene times)
- Flakes, points, grinding stones (Simple, chopper tools, wear on edges, also nut crackers)
- Ocher
3.1 Red ocher (Could be cave paintings; Dye things; Body paint (Mix with fat)) - Residues (Seeds of Pandanus sp.) (Tubers and nuts)
West Papua: Raja Ampat Island
- Tree resin was manufactured by cutting bark (~50,000 years old)
- Resin was snapped into shapes (cubes)
- Fire starting or sealant
- Red ocher handprint on wall found near this area recently along with tree resin
New Guinea Highlands: Huon Peninsula (Video)
- Rocky slope that falls right into ocean
- Birds of Paradise (39 species)
- Impenetrable forest and mountains
- No road access
- Wall of steep slope
New Guinea Highlands: Huon Peninsula (Video): Why Only Happen There?
- Isolated so only go on pathway there
- Landscape very dense with brush and vegetation and very hilly (Have plumage so other birds can see them) (Hills provide barrier to other animals)
- Person there would have to withstand hiking, rain, trees (Hard to live there and be hunter/gatherer)
- Why people in PNG so isolated from each other because landscape so isolated