Multiple lines of evidence suggest that Southeast Asia was dominated by a mix of savannah, open woodlands, and evergreen forests throughout much of the Pleistocene. These conditions are ideal for early hominin subsistence; however, they would have been rare for much of the rest of Asia during glacial periods. We explore the possibility that Southeast Asia would have served as a refugium for hominins during these periods. In particular, we draw parallels with the population source and sink model proposed for northern Europe (
Plusieurs données suggèrent que l’Asie du Sud-Est a été dominée par un milieu naturel de savanes, de clairières et de forêts de résineux pendant la plupart de la période du Pléistocène. Ces conditions sont idéales pour la subsistance des premiers homininés ; cependant, elles furent rares pour le reste de l’Asie pendant les périodes glaciaires. Nous explorons la possibilité que l’Asie du Sud-Est ait eu une fonction de refuge pour les homininés pendant ces périodes. En particulier, nous établissons des parallèles avec le modèle « sources et puits » des populations, proposé pour l’Europe du Nord (
In a recent detailed review of prehistoric human occupation of Asia,
We begin with an outline of the larger patterning of Early and Middle Pleistocene hominin dispersal and the broader stone toolkit with which they appear to have been equipped in order to establish the likely timespan of concern. We follow this with a review of the Southeast Asian fauna and the palaeoenvironmental evidence for savannah-like conditions in the region, and a consideration of the suitability and attraction of the broader geographical region as a refugium for hominins. Finally, we consider the likely preferred environments in which dispersal is likely to have taken place.
The earliest dispersal of Eurasian hominins is a matter of considerable debate in the literature, not least because relatively few fossil occurrences are available although archaeological sites add to the potential patterning. So far as fossil specimens are concerned, a Later Pliocene/Earliest Pleistocene origin in Africa is perhaps the most widely accepted model for the evolution of
In Southeast Asia, a date of 1.8 Ma was claimed for
Earliest Eurasian archaeological remains, regarded as Oldowan (or Pre-Oldowan), also come from Dmanisi (
Such a technology, although simple, provides a range of sharp flakes and thus gives a significantly increased range of options for obtaining and processing both foods and other, non-lithic items of everyday use, and the vast numbers of such items found on sites testify to the extent of use and amount of time and effort that must have been put into locating suitable stone. However, the stone tools at ‘Ubeidiya are Acheulean, a form that first appears ∼1.7 Ma at Konso Gardula in Ethiopia (
The shallow seas of the Sunda shelf around the Indonesian archipelago are an obvious site for increased landmass during falls in sea level (
Early Pleistocene faunas from Sundaland are known almost exclusively from Java. The earliest recorded fossils from the island may date back to 3 Ma (
As we have pointed out, the earliest evidence of
Middle Pleistocene sites in Sundaland are again almost exclusively restricted to Java. Trinil, deposited during the beginning of the Middle Pleistocene, is perhaps the most well known of these. The fauna from Trinil includes a number of carnivores, bovids, cervids, a proboscidean and primates, and
Other potential Middle Pleistocene palaeontological collections from Sundaland include fauna from a site in the Kinta Valley, on the Malaysian peninsula. The age of this site is unresolved, and it could in fact date from the Late Pleistocene (
The Irrawaddy beds of Myanmar in the Indochinese subregion are most likely to be Early Pleistocene in age. The faunas found in these beds include several species of proboscidean, bovids, including a species of gazelle and antelope, two species of equid and a hippo, and a species of suid and rhinoceros (
Suggesting that Sundaland may have acted as refugium during the LGP, and by implication during previous episodes of lowered sea level, raises the obvious question of a refugium from what? What were the general conditions in Asia during glacial periods?
But what of conditions during the colder periods prior to the MPT in “Savannahstan”?
Against this background can we offer any general inferences – or hazard a guess – about likely habitats preferred by early hominins, something that we could use as a baseline to assess how attractive or otherwise an area may have been?
After 2.5 Ma, it is broadly clear that the development of the global cooling trend that led to the glacial-interglacial cycles produced essentially more arid and seasonal conditions, exemplified in Africa but also seen across continents (
The definition of grassland versus the more restricted term savannah lies at the heart of the argument in the paper by
What we have attempted to show here is the potential of Southeast Asia, and in particular the increased land area represented by Sundaland, to act as a refugium for savannah-adapted species, and particularly hominins, during the periods of lowered sea level and environmental changes that characterised so much of the Pleistocene. As
For hominins occupying such areas, elements of the fauna such as cervids, bovids and probably suids would seem to have offered an attractive range of resources, as discussed in some detail by
Although the current consensus view is that northern China experienced a continuous level of occupation during the Early and Middle Pleistocene (
We thank two anonymous referees for their useful comments, Anne-Marie Bacon for the invitation to contribute to this volume, and Shaena Montanari for assistance with the figures. JL acknowledges the support of the Leverhulme Trust (FC00754C).
Southeast Asia, showing the hypothetical extent of land exposure over Sundaland and Indochina during the Middle Pleistocene (based on reconstructions by
Carte de l’Asie du Sud-Est montrant l’extension du territoire hypothétique sur le Sundaland et la Péninsule d’indochinoise pendant le Pléistocène moyen (à partir des reconstructions de
Global sea level (
Niveau général de la mer (axe