65 research outputs found
IS THE FUNCTIONAL APPROACH HELPFUL TO OVERCOME THE TYPOLOGY DILEMMA OF LITHIC ARCHAEOLOGY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA?
chaßne opératoire, lithics, use-wear analysis, Southeast Asia, Philippines, Palaeolithi
Have We Overlooked Something? Hafting Traces and Indications of Modern Traits in the Philippine Palaeolithic
Behavioural modernity has been a widely neglected topic for Southeast Asiaâs Prehistory. Evidence of modern packages or even traits is basically absent in the Palaeolithic assemblages. This absence has considerably influenced the discussion of hominid behaviour and their cultural and cognitive abilities. In a case study on terminal Pleistocene artefacts from Ille Cave on Palawan Island, indications of the presence of several items of the modern trait list, foremost the first evidence of hafted lithic tools and the use of adhesives in the Philippine Palaeolithic, were detected through microwear analysis. The results showed that unretouched and morphologically less characteristic flaked artefacts often considered as mere expedient tools could have served as hafted armatures of multicomponent tools. For the ongoing discussion on the development and expansion of modern behaviour, methods like microwear analysis can enhance the limitations of traditional technological and morphological analysis of lithic assemblages
Behavioural Complexity and Modern Traits in the Philippine Upper Palaeolithic
Behavioral modernity has been a widely neglected topic for Southeast Asiaâs prehistory. Evidence of modern packages or even traits is basically absent in the Palaeolithic assemblages. This absence has considerably influenced the discussion of hominid behavior and their cultural and cognitive abilities. In a case study on terminal Pleistocene artifacts from Ille Cave on Palawan Island, indications of the presence of several items of the modern trait list, foremost the first evidence of hafted lithic tools and the use of adhesives in the Philippine Palaeolithic, were detected through microwear analysis. The results showed that unretouched and morphologically less characteristic flaked artifacts often considered as mere expedient tools could have served as hafted armatures of multicomponent tools. For the ongoing discussion on the development and expansion of modern behavior, methods like microwear analysis can eliminate some limitations of traditional technological and morphological analysis of lithic assemblages
Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherers in the PhilippinesâSubsistence Strategies, Adaptation, and Behaviour in Maritime Environments
Archaeological research in the Philippines has produced a timeline of currently over 700,000 years of human occupation. However; while an initial presence of early hominins has been securely established through several radiometric dates between 700 ka to 1ma from Luzon Island; there is currently little evidence for the presence of hominins after those episodes until c. 67 to 50 ka for Luzon or any of the other Philippine islands. At approximately 40 ka; anatomically modern humans had arrived in the Philippines. Early sites with fossil and/or artifactual evidence are Tabon Cave in Palawan and Bubog 1 in Occidental Mindoro; the latter situated in the Wallacean part of the archipelago. This paper presents an overview of the archaeological research on the prehistory of the Philippines from the Pleistocene until the Late Holocene and the arrival of the first farmers; presumably from Austronesian language groups approximately 4,000 years ago. Research on this topic has significantly intensified over the past 20 years and is providing a variety of evidence for the successful adaptation of those first islanders to maritime environments; the diversity of technological and subsistence strategies; and increasingly complex interrelationships across Island Southeast Asia
The âPalaeolithic Prospection in the Inde Valleyâ Project
Im Rahmen des Projektes âProspektion PalĂ€olithikum im Indetalâ der Stiftung ArchĂ€ologie im Rheinischen Braunkohlenrevier wurden in den Jahren 2005 und 2006 im Tagebau Inden zwischen JĂŒlich-Kirchberg und Lamersdorf die pleistozĂ€nen Deckschichten mittels 20 Baggertiefschnitten sondiert. Ziel war es, fossile LandoberflĂ€chen und mögliche palĂ€olithische SiedlungsplĂ€tze zu finden und freizulegen. Im Dezember 2005 konnte in der Ortslage Inden-Altdorf eine mittelpalĂ€olithische Fundschicht aus dem Eem-Interglazial entdeckt werden, die bis September 2006 auf einer FlĂ€che von 3000 mÂČ archĂ€ologisch untersucht werden konnte. Es fanden sich 700 Steinartefakte und herbeigebrachte Gerölle, aber auch evidente Grubenbefunde und Feuerstellen. Drei BaumwĂŒrfe lagen mitten in der Hauptartefaktkonzentration und waren wohl in das Siedlungsgeschehen eingebunden. Die ArtefaktoberflĂ€chen waren kantenscharf und nicht patiniert, so dass die durchgefĂŒhrten Gebrauchsspurenanalysen auĂergewöhnlich erfolgreich waren. Auf 120 der insgesamt 136 fĂŒr die Gebrauchsspurenanalyse ausgewĂ€hlten Artefakte fanden sich Mikrospuren verschiedenartiger TĂ€tigkeiten sowie Residuen. Diese konnten mittels Rasterelektronenmikroskopie und energiedispersiver Röntgenmikroanalyse als Reste von Birkenrindenpech identifiziert werden. 82 GerĂ€te mit Residuen erwiesen sich entweder als geschĂ€ftete EinsĂ€tze, die mit diesem Pech an den SchĂ€ften befestigt wurden oder als Werkzeuge fĂŒr die Reparatur von gebrauchten und mit Pech verklebten SchĂ€ftungen, und dem Auswechseln verbrauchter FeuersteineinsĂ€tze dienten. Birkenrindenpech kann als Ă€ltester synthetisch hergestellter Werkstoff angesehen werden und wird in der Regel mit dem JungpalĂ€olithikum und modernen Menschen assoziiert. Die auf den Micoquien Artefakten aus Inden vorgefundenen Birkenpechreste zeigen, daĂ sowohl SchĂ€ftungstechnologien, Gebrauch und Herstellung von Klebstoff als auch die Anfertigung von komplexen, aus mehreren Komponenten bestehenden GerĂ€ten im MittelpalĂ€olithikum durchaus ĂŒblich waren. Deren Vorhandensein, noch dazu in einer vergleichsweise hohen Anzahl, kann als deutlicher Hinweis auf moderne menschliche Verhaltensweisen gewertet werden
Pleistocene Modernity: An Exclusively Afro-European Issue? An Introduction to Session A1
None available
Pleistocene Modernity: An Exclusively Afro-European Issue? An Introduction to Session A1
None available
Island Migration, Resource Use, and Lithic Technology by Anatomically Modern Humans in Wallacea
Island migration and adaptation including both marine and terrestrial resource use and technological development by anatomically modern humans (AMH) are among the most significant issues for Pleistocene archaeology in Southeast Asia and Oceania, and directly related to the behavioral and technological advancements by AMH. This paper discusses such cases in the Wallacean islands, located between the past Sundaland and the Sahul continent during the Pleistocene. The Pleistocene open sea gaps between the Wallacean islands and both landmasses are very likely the major factor for the relative scarcity of animal species originating from Asia and Oceania and the high diversity of endemic species in Wallacea. They were also a barrier for hominin migration into the Wallacean islands and Sahul continent. We summarize three recent excavation results on the Talaud Islands, Sulawesi Island and Mindoro Island in Wallacea region and discuss the evidence and timeline for migrations of early modern humans into the Wallacean islands and their adaptation to island environments during the Pleistocene
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