Isotopic evidence for initial coastal colonization and subsequent diversification in the human occupation of Wallacea

Mahirta, Mahirta (2020) Isotopic evidence for initial coastal colonization and subsequent diversification in the human occupation of Wallacea. Nature Communications, 11 (1). pp. 1-11. ISSN 20411723

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Abstract

The resource-poor, isolated islands of Wallacea have been considered a major adaptive obstacle for hominins expanding into Australasia. Archaeological evidence has hinted that coastal adaptations in Homo sapiens enabled rapid island dispersal and settlement; however, there has been no means to directly test this proposition. Here, we apply stable carbon and oxygen isotope analysis to human and faunal tooth enamel from six Late Pleistocene to Holocene archaeological sites across Wallacea. The results demonstrate that the earliest human forager found in the region c. 42,000 years ago made significant use of coastal resources prior to subsequent niche diversification shown for later individuals. We argue that our data provides clear insights into the huge adaptive flexibility of our species, including its ability to specialize in the use of varied environments, particularly in comparison to other hominin species known from Island Southeast Asia.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Animals; Asia; Australia; Biodiversity; Carbon Isotopes; Dental Enamel; Geography; Humans; Oxygen Isotopes; Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; Tooth
Subjects: C Auxiliary Sciences of History > CC Archaeology
Divisions: Faculty of Cultural Sciences > Graduate Program in Archaelogy
Depositing User: OKTAVIANA DWI P
Date Deposited: 17 Sep 2024 04:03
Last Modified: 17 Sep 2024 04:03
URI: https://ir.lib.ugm.ac.id/id/eprint/7079

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