Humans, Cultura and Environment During Pleistocene Times in Island of Southeast Asia

Sofwan Noerwidi, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, France and Balai Arkeologi Yogyakarta, D.I. Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Anton Ferdianto, Balai Arkeologi Bandung, West Java, Indonesia
Vida Pervaya Rusiyanti Kusmartono, ANU, Canberra, Australia and Balai Arkeologi Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, Indonesia

Island of Southeast Asia lies on two shallow continental shelf named Sunda Land and Sahul Land, and restricted by a deep sea situation called Wallace zone. The Sunda land, started to rise roughly during the Late Pliocene and the Early Pleistocene. The dynamics of the land was effected by the decline of sea level in several glacial periods during the Pleistocene times, but Wallace zone was never connected Sunda Land and Sahul Land even in the maximum glacial period. In the early Pleistocene, Homo erectus started to reach Java which part of Sunda Land from the Asian continent, and this event has became as one of the oldest human occupation outside Africa.
Homo erectus was take a long span chronological occupation in this region, beginning from the ‘archaic’ Homo erectus after 1.8 Ma which brought Oldowan and Acheulean technology from Africa, to the extinct of progressive Homo erectus around 70-40 Ka. And after follow by the anatomical modern human which started to colonize this island presumed to be as early 125 Ka following a new faunal group from Asian Mainland in the early Late Pleistocene at maximum interglacial period, and through to Sahul Land around 60 Ka. Early anatomical modern human occupation in Island of Southeast Asia were reflected by Niah (45 Ka), Tabon (40 Ka) and Wajak (35 Ka) fossils. Another important late Pleistocene human fossil was discovered in 2003 in Liang Bua, Flores, located in Wallace zone which date back to 70 Ka and identified as a new human species caused by a complexity of endemism and isolation.

Along Pleistocene times, biogeography of this region was impacted by climatic and sea-level changes. Dispersals and endemism process was affected the faunal succession and human with their culture as adaptation reflex. This session invite papers to discussing human with their capability to adapt, also tools innovation which suite with environmental condition, and paleoenvironment context during the Pleistocene times in Island of Southeast Asia. Furthermore, also prospect of new sites discoveries and future research on Pleistocene Prehistory in Island of Southeast Asia.