Discovery Points to New Technological Leaders in Seafaring

In the history of studying the proliferation of humanity across the globe, there has long been one question that has stumped researchers: How did the islands of Southeast Asia (ISEA) become so well-inhabited so long ago?

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It probably required technological seafaring advancements beyond what was considered likely during the Paleolithic era. Now, experts may have a surprising new answer thanks to a new study that shows the ancient people of the Philippines and ISEA may have mastered seafaring well before anyone else.

The pivotal archaeological evidence comes in the form of stone tools excavated at sites in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Timor-Leste, showing strong evidence that as far back as 40,000 years ago, there was a technological sophistication from these ancient seafarers that rivals much later civilizations - challenging the accepted belief that Paleolithic technical progress was centered in Africa and Europe.

The study reveals the discovery of traces of plant processing that features the “extraction of fibers necessary for making ropes, nets, and bindings essential for boatbuilding and open-sea fishing.” Add in the discovery of fishing hooks, gorges, net weights, and the remains of deep-ocean fish such as tuna and sharks, and these archeological sites are a rich exploration of what is obviously a robust seafaring culture - and point toward a sophisticated method of deep-ocean fishing.

Their findings reveal that prehistoric islanders in Southeast Asia were not passive drifters on flimsy rafts but skilled boat builders capable of intentional long-distance voyages.

“The presence of such advanced maritime technology in prehistoric ISEA highlights the ingenuity of early Philippine peoples and their neighbors,” the authors said, “whose boat-building knowledge likely made the region a center for technological innovations tens of thousands of years ago and laid the foundations for the maritime traditions that still thrive in the region today.”

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