Rintaro Ono

By Rintaro Ono

This chapter introduce the archaeological new findings and current outcomes for the past human marine exploitation and maritime or coastal adaptation particularly in the Wallacea region where I have studied for long time. One of the oldest and important data I discuss here is from Jerimalai Cave site from East Timor and Leang Sarru site from Talaud Islands. The finds from East Timor demonstrate the high level of maritime skills and technology possessed by the modern humans who colonized Wallacea. These skills would have made possible the occupation of the faunally depauperate islands of Wallacea and facilitated the early maritime colonization of Australia and Near Oceania. On the other hand, Leang Sarru site dated back to 35,000 years ago on Talaud Islands where located over 100 km away from neighbour islands. The site also produced large number of marine shells from the late Pleistocene via Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to the early Holocene, then we can also discuss the past maritime exploitation and adaptation from the late Pleistocene to the early Holocene in the Talaud Islands, where located in Northern part of Wallacea. During the Holocene after 12,000 years ago, various capture technology invented, and great variety of fish and shellfish species had been exploited by modern human. Especially the fishing technology and Ocean navigation technology were developed after the Neolithic times in Wallacea to the Pacific. Most famous archaeological records related them are the Lapita migration and colonization to many islands in Melanesia to Western Polynesia where were mostly uninhabited islands before them. After the Lapita colonization, the Polynesians who are the descendant of Lapita people succeeded to colonize Hawaii, Easter Island, and New Zealand by the 12th to 13th centuries. The distance to these islands from their neighbour islands or continent is over 4000 km, hence the success of migration by the Polynesian clearly indicate their maritime adaption and navigation technology were highly developed. In fact, it is a dramatic event that modern human succeeded to migrate to all over the world except North and South Pole when the colonization to New Zealand was done by the Polynesians. It also shows that marine environment were our last target for migration and colonization in this world after the human birthed in and around inner forest environment over 600 million years ago. This chapter also discuss such developments of marine exploitation and maritime adaptation after the Holocene or Neolithic to modern times, then reviewing the human adaptation history to coastal and marine environments.

Part of the book: Applied Studies of Coastal and Marine Environments