EARLY MODERN HUMANS IN ISLAND SOUTHEAST ASIA

In Island Southeast Asia remains of early modern humans (Homo sapiens) were scarce until recently, and their presence in the region has primarily been inferred from the initial human colonization of Australia between 50 and 60 kya. Now, more coherent evidence of early modern humans in this region has been revealed by more thorough archaeological explorations. This chapter provides an overview of the current available data to briefly portray the life and culture of early modern humans in this region, especially before the Last Glacial Maximum. Early modern humans seem to have arrived in Island Southeast Asia by 70 kya or earlier. Even at the earliest stage they managed to adapt to tropical rainforest environments and persisted in the region during the catastrophic Toba super-eruption. While they had only simple stone technology, they could subsist by practicing broad-spectrum hunting and foraging in different habitats, including catching pelagic fish. They made cave paintings and ornamental artefacts for aesthetic expression, religious activities, personal-social identity, or a combination of these functions. These people might have also taken alternative migration routes into Wallacea and Sahulland than those suggested previously. © 2025 selection and editorial matter, Takeshi Ueki, Glenn R. Summerhayes, and Peter Hiscock; individual chapters, the contributors. All rights reserved.