ABSTRACT

Human adaptations to marine resources were critical in the successful colonization of Island Southeast Asia (ISEA) and the Pacific since the Late Pleistocene. Fishing the dense biomass of ichthyofauna present in this maritime region required the cognitive capability to conceptualize fish ecology and develop methods and technologies to exploit these challenging underwater environments. This likely gave our species an edge over other hominin species in depauperate island landscapes. This paper reviews the limited number of archaeological sites in ISEA where fish bone assemblages and fishing gears have been recovered, incorporating new archaeological data from the site of Asitau Kuru (Jerimalai), Timor-Leste. Our findings indicate continuity in fishing behavior over several millennia with a near-shore exploitation of local marine habitats including trolling, line fishing and spearing. These data indicate the ecological plasticity of our species and the enduring fishing traditions passed on to generations through learned behavior.

摘要

自晚更新世以来，人类对海洋资源的适应对于东南亚岛屿 (ISEA) 和太平洋的成功殖民至关重要。捕捞该海域密集的鱼群生物量需要认知能力来概念化鱼类生态学，并开发方法和技术来利用这些具有挑战性的水下环境。这可能使我们的物种在贫瘠的岛屿景观中比其他人类物种更具优势。本文回顾了 ISEA 中数量有限的考古遗址，其中发现了鱼骨组合和渔具，并结合了来自东帝汶 Asitau Kuru（Jerimalai）遗址的新考古数据。我们的研究结果表明，随着对当地海洋栖息地的近岸开发，包括拖钓、线钓和长矛捕鱼，捕鱼行为在几千年的时间里是连续的。这些数据表明我们物种的生态可塑性和持久的捕鱼传统通过习得的行为代代相传。