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Hawkins S, Zetika GA, Kinaston R, Firmando YR, Sari DM, Suniarti Y, Lucas M, Roberts P, Reepmeyer C, Maloney T, Kealy S, Stirling C, Reid M, Barr D, Kleffmann T, Kumar A, Yuwono P, Litster M, Husni M, Ririmasse M, Mahirta, Mujabuddawat M, Harriyadi, O'Connor S. Earliest known funerary rites in Wallacea after the last glacial maximum. Sci Rep 2024; 14:282. [PMID: 38168501 PMCID: PMC10762057 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-50294-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
The insular region of Wallacea has become a focal point for studying Pleistocene human ecological and cultural adaptations in island environments, however, little is understood about early burial traditions during the Pleistocene. Here we investigate maritime interactions and burial practices at Ratu Mali 2, an elevated coastal cave site on the small island of Kisar in the Lesser Sunda Islands of eastern Indonesia dated to 15,500-3700 cal. BP. This multidisciplinary study demonstrates extreme marine dietary adaptations, engagement with an extensive exchange network across open seas, and early mortuary practices. A flexed male and a female, interred in a single grave with abundant shellfish and obsidian at Ratu Mali 2 by 14.7 ka are the oldest known human burials in Wallacea with established funerary rites. These findings highlight the impressive flexibility of our species in marginal environments and provide insight into the earliest known ritualised treatment of the dead in Wallacea.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stuart Hawkins
- Archaeology and Natural History, School of Culture, History and Language, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia.
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia.
| | - Gabriella Ayang Zetika
- Departemen Arkeologi Fakultas Ilmu Budaya, Universitas of Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Rebecca Kinaston
- Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, P.O. Box 913, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand
- Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, Australia
- BioArch South, Waitati, 9085, New Zealand
| | - Yulio Ray Firmando
- Departemen Arkeologi Fakultas Ilmu Budaya, Universitas of Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Devi Mustika Sari
- Departemen Arkeologi Fakultas Ilmu Budaya, Universitas of Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Yuni Suniarti
- Departemen Arkeologi Fakultas Ilmu Budaya, Universitas of Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Mary Lucas
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology DE, Jena, Germany
| | - Patrick Roberts
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology DE, Jena, Germany
- isoTROPIC Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
| | - Christian Reepmeyer
- Commission for Archaeology of Non-European Cultures, German Archaeological Institute Division of Germany, Berlin, Germany
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, College of Arts, Society, and Education, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD, 4870, Australia
| | - Tim Maloney
- Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith University, Southport, QLD, 4222, Australia
| | - Shimona Kealy
- Archaeology and Natural History, School of Culture, History and Language, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Claudine Stirling
- Centre for Trace Element Analysis, Department of Geology, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand
| | - Malcolm Reid
- Centre for Trace Element Analysis, Department of Geology, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand
| | - David Barr
- Centre for Trace Element Analysis, Department of Geology, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand
| | - Torsten Kleffmann
- Centre for Protein Research, Department of Biochemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand
| | - Abhishek Kumar
- Centre for Protein Research, Department of Biochemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand
| | - Pratiwi Yuwono
- Archaeology and Natural History, School of Culture, History and Language, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
- Geoarchaeology and Archaeometry Research Group (GARG), Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW, Australia
| | - Mirani Litster
- Archaeology and Natural History, School of Culture, History and Language, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, College of Arts, Society, and Education, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD, 4870, Australia
| | - Muhammad Husni
- Balai Arkeologi Maluku, JI. Namalatu-Latuhalat, Ambon, Indonesia
| | - Marlon Ririmasse
- Balai Arkeologi Maluku, JI. Namalatu-Latuhalat, Ambon, Indonesia
| | - Mahirta
- Departemen Arkeologi Fakultas Ilmu Budaya, Universitas of Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | | | - Harriyadi
- Organisasi Riset Arkeologi Bahasa dan Sastra, Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional, Jakarta, Indonesia
| | - Sue O'Connor
- Archaeology and Natural History, School of Culture, History and Language, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
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Talking Dead. New burials from Tron Bon Lei (Alor Island, Indonesia) inform on the evolution of mortuary practices from the terminal Pleistocene to the Holocene in Southeast Asia. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0267635. [PMID: 36001542 PMCID: PMC9401180 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0267635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Burial elaborations are a human behaviour that, in recent contexts can inform on social diversification, belief systems, and the introduction of new practices resulting from migration or cultural transmission. The study of mortuary practices in Mainland and Island Southeast Asia has revealed complex and diverse treatments of the deceased. This paper contributes to this topic with the description of three new burials excavated in Tron Bon Lei (Alor Island, Indonesia) dated to 7.5, 10, and 12 kya cal BP. In addition to the bioskeletal profiles and palaeohealth observations, we propose the adoption of archaeothanatological methods to characterise burial types in the region. Through the analysis of skeletal element representation, body position, articulation, and grave associations, we provide an example of a holistic approach to mortuary treatments in the Lesser Sunda Islands. Our results provide significant new data for understanding the evolution and diversification of burial practices in Southeast Asia, contributing to a growing body of literature describing prehistoric socio-cultural behaviour in this region.
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Brumm A, Bulbeck D, Hakim B, Burhan B, Oktaviana AA, Sumantri I, Zhao JX, Aubert M, Sardi R, McGahan D, Saiful AM, Adhityatama S, Kaifu Y. Skeletal remains of a Pleistocene modern human (Homo sapiens) from Sulawesi. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0257273. [PMID: 34587195 PMCID: PMC8480874 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2020] [Accepted: 08/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Major gaps remain in our knowledge of the early history of Homo sapiens in Wallacea. By 70-60 thousand years ago (ka), modern humans appear to have entered this distinct biogeographical zone between continental Asia and Australia. Despite this, there are relatively few Late Pleistocene sites attributed to our species in Wallacea. H. sapiens fossil remains are also rare. Previously, only one island in Wallacea (Alor in the southeastern part of the archipelago) had yielded skeletal evidence for pre-Holocene modern humans. Here we report on the first Pleistocene human skeletal remains from the largest Wallacean island, Sulawesi. The recovered elements consist of a nearly complete palate and frontal process of a modern human right maxilla excavated from Leang Bulu Bettue in the southwestern peninsula of the island. Dated by several different methods to between 25 and 16 ka, the maxilla belongs to an elderly individual of unknown age and sex, with small teeth (only M1 to M3 are extant) that exhibit severe occlusal wear and related dental pathologies. The dental wear pattern is unusual. This fragmentary specimen, though largely undiagnostic with regards to morphological affinity, provides the only direct insight we currently have from the fossil record into the identity of the Late Pleistocene people of Sulawesi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Brumm
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
| | - David Bulbeck
- Archaeology and Natural History, School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | | | - Basran Burhan
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Adhi Agus Oktaviana
- Pusat Penelitian Arkeologi Nasional (ARKENAS), Jakarta, Indonesia
- Place, Evolution and Rock Art Heritage Unit, Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia
| | - Iwan Sumantri
- Archaeology Laboratory, Hasanuddin University, Makassar, Indonesia
| | - Jian-xin Zhao
- School of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Maxime Aubert
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
- Place, Evolution and Rock Art Heritage Unit, Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia
| | - Ratno Sardi
- Balai Arkeologi Sulawesi Selatan, Makassar, Indonesia
| | - David McGahan
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
| | | | | | - Yousuke Kaifu
- The University Museum, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan
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Carlhoff S, Duli A, Nägele K, Nur M, Skov L, Sumantri I, Oktaviana AA, Hakim B, Burhan B, Syahdar FA, McGahan DP, Bulbeck D, Perston YL, Newman K, Saiful AM, Ririmasse M, Chia S, Hasanuddin, Pulubuhu DAT, Suryatman, Supriadi, Jeong C, Peter BM, Prüfer K, Powell A, Krause J, Posth C, Brumm A. Genome of a middle Holocene hunter-gatherer from Wallacea. Nature 2021; 596:543-547. [PMID: 34433944 PMCID: PMC8387238 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03823-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2020] [Accepted: 07/13/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Much remains unknown about the population history of early modern humans in southeast Asia, where the archaeological record is sparse and the tropical climate is inimical to the preservation of ancient human DNA1. So far, only two low-coverage pre-Neolithic human genomes have been sequenced from this region. Both are from mainland Hòabìnhian hunter-gatherer sites: Pha Faen in Laos, dated to 7939-7751 calibrated years before present (yr cal BP; present taken as AD 1950), and Gua Cha in Malaysia (4.4-4.2 kyr cal BP)1. Here we report, to our knowledge, the first ancient human genome from Wallacea, the oceanic island zone between the Sunda Shelf (comprising mainland southeast Asia and the continental islands of western Indonesia) and Pleistocene Sahul (Australia-New Guinea). We extracted DNA from the petrous bone of a young female hunter-gatherer buried 7.3-7.2 kyr cal BP at the limestone cave of Leang Panninge2 in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Genetic analyses show that this pre-Neolithic forager, who is associated with the 'Toalean' technocomplex3,4, shares most genetic drift and morphological similarities with present-day Papuan and Indigenous Australian groups, yet represents a previously unknown divergent human lineage that branched off around the time of the split between these populations approximately 37,000 years ago5. We also describe Denisovan and deep Asian-related ancestries in the Leang Panninge genome, and infer their large-scale displacement from the region today.
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Affiliation(s)
- Selina Carlhoff
- grid.469873.70000 0004 4914 1197Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany ,grid.419518.00000 0001 2159 1813Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Akin Duli
- grid.412001.60000 0000 8544 230XDepartemen Arkeologi, Fakultas Ilmu Budaya, Universitas Hasanuddin, Makassar, Indonesia
| | - Kathrin Nägele
- grid.469873.70000 0004 4914 1197Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany ,grid.419518.00000 0001 2159 1813Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Muhammad Nur
- grid.412001.60000 0000 8544 230XDepartemen Arkeologi, Fakultas Ilmu Budaya, Universitas Hasanuddin, Makassar, Indonesia
| | - Laurits Skov
- grid.419518.00000 0001 2159 1813Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Iwan Sumantri
- grid.412001.60000 0000 8544 230XDepartemen Arkeologi, Fakultas Ilmu Budaya, Universitas Hasanuddin, Makassar, Indonesia
| | - Adhi Agus Oktaviana
- grid.512005.30000 0001 2178 7840Pusat Penelitian Arkeologi Nasional (ARKENAS), Jakarta, Indonesia ,grid.1022.10000 0004 0437 5432Place, Evolution and Rock Art Heritage Unit, Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland Australia
| | - Budianto Hakim
- grid.511616.4Balai Arkeologi Sulawesi Selatan, Makassar, Indonesia
| | - Basran Burhan
- grid.1022.10000 0004 0437 5432Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland Australia
| | | | - David P. McGahan
- grid.1022.10000 0004 0437 5432Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland Australia
| | - David Bulbeck
- grid.1001.00000 0001 2180 7477Archaeology and Natural History, School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Australia
| | - Yinika L. Perston
- grid.1022.10000 0004 0437 5432Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland Australia
| | - Kim Newman
- grid.1022.10000 0004 0437 5432Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland Australia
| | | | - Marlon Ririmasse
- grid.512005.30000 0001 2178 7840Pusat Penelitian Arkeologi Nasional (ARKENAS), Jakarta, Indonesia
| | - Stephen Chia
- grid.11875.3a0000 0001 2294 3534Centre for Global Archaeological Research, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia
| | - Hasanuddin
- grid.511616.4Balai Arkeologi Sulawesi Selatan, Makassar, Indonesia
| | - Dwia Aries Tina Pulubuhu
- grid.412001.60000 0000 8544 230XDepartemen Sosiologi, Fakultas Ilmu Sosial, Universitas Hasanuddin, Makassar, Indonesia
| | - Suryatman
- grid.511616.4Balai Arkeologi Sulawesi Selatan, Makassar, Indonesia
| | - Supriadi
- grid.412001.60000 0000 8544 230XDepartemen Arkeologi, Fakultas Ilmu Budaya, Universitas Hasanuddin, Makassar, Indonesia
| | - Choongwon Jeong
- grid.31501.360000 0004 0470 5905School of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Benjamin M. Peter
- grid.419518.00000 0001 2159 1813Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Kay Prüfer
- grid.469873.70000 0004 4914 1197Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany ,grid.419518.00000 0001 2159 1813Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Adam Powell
- grid.419518.00000 0001 2159 1813Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Johannes Krause
- grid.469873.70000 0004 4914 1197Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany ,grid.419518.00000 0001 2159 1813Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Cosimo Posth
- grid.469873.70000 0004 4914 1197Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany ,grid.10392.390000 0001 2190 1447Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Archaeo- and Palaeogenetics, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany ,grid.10392.390000 0001 2190 1447Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Adam Brumm
- grid.1022.10000 0004 0437 5432Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland Australia
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Early ground axe technology in Wallacea: The first excavations on Obi Island. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0236719. [PMID: 32813705 PMCID: PMC7437812 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0236719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2020] [Accepted: 07/11/2020] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The first excavations on Obi Island, north-east Wallacea, reveal three phases of occupation beginning in the terminal Pleistocene. Ground shell artefacts appear at the end of the terminal Pleistocene, the earliest examples in Wallacea. In the subsequent early Holocene occupation phase, ground stone axe flakes appear, which are again the earliest examples in Wallacea. Ground axes were likely instrumental to subsistence in Obi’s dense tropical forest. From ~8000 BP there was a hiatus lasting several millennia, perhaps because increased precipitation and forest density made the sites inhospitable. The site was reoccupied in the Metal Age, with this third phase including quadrangular ground stone artefacts, as well as pottery and pigs; reflecting Austronesian influences. Greater connectivity at this time is also indicated by an Oliva shell bead tradition that occurs in southern Wallacea and an exotic obsidian artefact. The emergence of ground axes on Obi is an independent example of a broader pattern of intensification at the Pleistocene-Holocene transition in Wallacea and New Guinea, evincing human innovation in response to rapid environmental change.
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