Humans colonized diverse environments in Southeast Asia and Oceania during the Pleistocene
1/28/2019 06:00:00 PM
Investigations into what it means to be human have often focused on attempts to uncover the earliest material traces of 'art', 'language', or technological 'complexity'. More recently, however, scholars have begun to argue that more attention should be paid to the ecological uniqueness of our species. A new study, published in Archaeological Research in Asia, reviews the palaeoecological information associated with hominin dispersals into Southeast Asia and Oceania throughout the Pleistocene (1.25 Ma to 12 ka).
Humans colonized diverse environments in Southeast Asia and Oceania during the Pleistocene
Despite previous notions of tropical forests as "green deserts" not suitable for human habitation it is now clear that
human occupation and modification of these habitats occurred as far back as 45,000 years ago. As our species
expanded into these settings beyond Africa, they burnt vegetation to maintain resources patches and practiced
specialized, sustainable hunting of select animals such as primates [Credit: Patrick Roberts]
Our species' ability to specialize in the exploitation of diverse and 'extreme' settings in this part of the world stands in stark contrast to the ecological adaptations of other hominin taxa, and reaffirms the utility of exploring the environmental adaptations of Homo sapiens as an avenue for understanding what it means to be human.
Read more at
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2019/01/humans-colonized-diverse-environments.html#iRjF0VoB6JpmklUq.99
