First Islanders: Prehistory and Human Migration in Island Southeast Asia

Incorporating research findings over the last twenty years, First Islanders examines the human prehistory of Island Southeast Asia. This fascinating story is explored from a broad swathe of multidisciplinary perspectives and pays close attention to migration in the period dating from 1.5 million years ago to the development of Indic kingdoms late in the first millennium CE. 

Table of Contents:
Contents vii List of Figures and Plates xii Invited Contributors xv Acknowledgments xvi 1 Introducing First Islanders 1 This Book 3 A Note on Dating Terminology 7 A Note on Archaeological Terminology 7 Pronunciation and Place?]names 9 Notes 9 References 10 2 Island Southeast Asia as a Canvas for Human Migration 11 The Shelves and Basins 12 Sundaland 15 Wallacea 15 Sahul 16 The Island Southeast Asian Environment 16 Climate 16 Landforms and Soils 18 The Floras of Island Southeast Asia 20 Faunal and Biogeographical Boundaries 21 The Cyclical Changes of the Pleistocene 22 The Pleistocene Epoch: Definition and Chronology 22 The Cycles of Glacials and Interglacials 23 World Sea Level Changes During the Pleistocene 23 The Consequences of Mid?]latitude Glaciation 27 Notes 30 References 30 3 Homo erectus and Homo floresiensis: Archaic Hominins in Island Southeast Asia 34 Hominin Antecedents in Africa and Asia 35 Homo erectus in Java 38 Java – Pleistocene Mammals and Stratigraphy 39 Sangiran 41 Ngandong 43 When Did Hominins Arrive in Java? 44 The Evolution of Javan Homo erectus 46 An Invited Perspective by Colin Groves 46 The Dating of the Javan Hominins 47 The Homo erectus Cranium 49 The Homo erectus Mandible 50 Homo erectus Teeth 50 Homo erectus Postcranial Material 51 Evolution within Javan Homo erectus 52 The Philippines, Sulawesi, and Nusa Tenggara: Pleistocene Mammals and Stratigraphy 53 The Philippines 54 Sulawesi 54 Flores and Nusa Tenggara 55 Homo floresiensis (and Homo erectus?) in Flores 58 The Enigma of Homo floresiensis 60 An Invited Perspective by Debbie Argue 60 The Homo floresiensis Controversy 62 Was Homo floresiensis a Dwarfed Homo erectus? 64 Was Homo floresiensis Descended from a Separate Early Hominin Lineage? 64 Cultural Evidence Related to Homo erectus and Homo floresiensis 65 Java and the Tools of Homo erectus 67 Flores and the Tools of Homo floresiensis 71 Retrospect 74 Notes 75 References 76 4 The Biological History of Homo sapiens in Island Southeast Asia 86 The First Homo sapiens in Southeast Asia 89 Early to Middle Holocene Skeletal Data from Island Southeast Asia 93 The Biological Arrival of an Asian Neolithic Population in Island Southeast Asia 94 The Significance of Skin Pigmentation in Equatorial Latitudes 97 The Biological History of Southeast Asian Populations from Late Pleistocene and Holocene Cemetery Data 98 An Invited Perspective by Hirofumi Matsumura, Marc Oxenham, Truman Simanjuntak, and Mariko Yamagata 98 Craniometric Analysis 99 Early Indigenous Hunter?]gatherers 99 Neolithic Dispersal in Mainland Southeast Asia 103 Neolithic Dispersal in Island Southeast Asia 104 Conclusions 106 The Genetic History of Human Populations in Island Southeast Asia During the Late Pleistocene and Holocene 107 An Invited Perspective by Murray Cox 107 The Population History of Island Southeast Asia 117 Notes 119 References 120 5 Late Paleolithic Archaeology in Island Southeast Asia 131 Mainland Southeast Asia, Peninsular Malaysia, and Sumatra: The Hoabinhian and Its Successors 134 Hoabinhian into Para?]Neolithic in Mainland Southeast Asia 134 The Hoabinhian of Sumatra 138 Beyond Sumatra – the Late Palaeolithic in the Islands of Southeast Asia 139 The Niah Caves, Sarawak 141 Eastern Sabah 143 Eastern and Central Kalimantan 147 Java 150 The Philippines 151 Sulawesi and the Talaud Islands 153 The Toalian of South Sulawesi – a Localized Revolution in Small Tool Technology 155 The Northern Moluccas 159 Eastern Nusa Tenggara and Timor?]Leste 162 Changing Patterns in Hunting Across Island Southeast Asia Before the Neolithic 165 An Invited Perspective by Philip J. Piper 165 The Late Pleistocene (45–14 kya) 165 Terminal Pleistocene to Mid?]Holocene (14–4.5 kya) 167 Some Final Thoughts on Homo sapiens and the Late Palaeolithic in Island Southeast Asia 170 Notes 171 References 172 6 The Early History of the Austronesian Language Family in Island Southeast Asia 181 What is a Language Family, and Why are Language Families Important? 185 An Introduction to Austronesian Linguistic History 187 The Linguistic History of Austronesian?]speaking Communitiesin Island Southeast Asia 190 An Invited Perspective by Robert Blust 190 Further Questions of Austronesian Linguistic History 197 Before Taiwan: The Antecedents of Proto?]Austronesian 197 How Did the Austronesian Languages Spread Initially throughout Island Southeast Asia? 200 Directionality and Relative Chronology in the Early Austronesian Migration Process 201 The Material Culture and Economy of the Early Austronesians 204 The Austronesian Diaspora: A Perspective from Indonesia 207 An Invited Perspective by Daud Aris Tanudirjo 207 A Brief History of Austronesian Studies in Indonesia 208 Austronesian Languages and National Identity 210 Notes 211 References 212 7 Neolithic Farmers and Sailors in Southern China, Taiwan, and the Philippines 218 The Origins of Rice Production in China 220 The Evolution of Neolithic Societies in China 226 Neolithic Movement into Southern China 228 The Out of Taiwan Hypothesis for Austronesian Dispersal into Island Southeast Asia 231 Neolithic Cultures in Southeast China, Taiwan, and Luzon 232 An Invited Perspective by Hsiao?]chun Hung 232 Taiwan 234 Between Taiwan and Luzon 236 Ludao and Lanyu (Botel Tobago) 237 The Batanes Islands 237 Northern Luzon 239 Coastal Palaeo?]landscapes of the Neolithic 240 An Invited Perspective by Mike T. Carson 240 Further Observations on Neolithic Cultures in Taiwan 244 The Neolithic of the Philippines 248 The Batanes Islands 250 The Cagayan Valley of Luzon 253 The Philippines beyond Cagayan 255 Southern China, Taiwan, and the Philippines – a Neolithic Assessment 256 Notes 257 References 259 8 The Neolithic of East Malaysia and Indonesia 267 The Western Neolithic Stream – Sarawak and Onwards 269 Java and Sumatra 274 The Eastern Neolithic Stream: Eastern Borneo, Sulawesi, and the Moluccas 276 Sabah: Bukit Tengkorak 281 Sulawesi 283 Fleshing Out the Neolithic Prehistory of Island Southeast Asia 287 Neolithic Food Production 288 Potential Phases of Neolithic Crop Production in Island Southeast Asia 289 Rice in Island Southeast Asian Prehistory, and Its Fading from Grace 293 Farmers Who Adopted Rainforest Hunting and Gathering 294 Domesticated Animals in the Island Southeast Asian Neolithic 297 An Invited Perspective by Philip J. Piper 297 Pigs and Dogs 297 Chickens 299 Bovidae 300 Domestic Animals in Cultural Context 300 Neolithic Fishing 301 Neolithic Translocations 301 Summing Up the Island Southeast Asian Neolithic 302 Notes 303 References 304 9 The Early Metal Age and Intercultural Connections in Island Southeast Asia 312 The Arrival of Metallurgy in Island Southeast Asia 314 “Indigenous” Early Metal Age Assemblages and Monuments in Island Southeast Asia 320 Stone Monuments and Carvings: Indonesia 320 Malayic Migration 324 Burial Grounds and Their Significance 326 Chamic Migration 329 Nephrite and Other Early Metal Age Exchange Networks across the South China Sea 333 An Invited Perspective by Hsiao?]chun Hung 333 The Arrival of Indian Influence in Island Southeast Asia 335 After the Early Metal Age 338 Notes 338 References 339 10 Island Southeast Asian Prehistory: A Comparative Perspective 345 References 351 Index 352

About the Author :
Peter Bellwood is an Emeritus Professor at the Australian National University, which he joined in 1973, retiring in 2013. He has undertaken archaeological research in Polynesia and Island Southeast Asia and is currently involved in projects in Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines. His most recent books include The Global Prehistory of Human Migration (edited, Wiley Blackwell, 2015), First Migrants (Wiley Blackwell, 2013), Prehistory of the Indo-Malaysian Archipelago (3rd edition, 2007), First Farmers (Wiley Blackwell, 2005), and Southeast Asia: From Prehistory to History (co-edited, 2005). Peter Bellwood is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities and a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy.

Review :
"This is a must-read book for anyone interested in Island Southeast Asian archaeology and early human history. It truly comes from Bellwood's mastery of a large amount of literature, and his background as a field-grounded scholar." --Victor Paz Archaeological Studies Program, University of the Philippines, Republic of the Philippines, Antiquity, Volume 92, Issue 366, December 2018