Knowledge Tree
Sahul
Facts (10)
Sources
The role of Plant Foods in the evolution and Dispersal of early Humans kernsverlag.com Jul 30, 2022 10 facts
claimGround-edge axes are multi-purpose tools that require high-level knapping skills and a significant investment of labor to produce and grind, suggesting a specialized division of labor among early human populations in Sahul.
claimEarly human populations likely utilized culturally transmitted knowledge regarding the ecology and processing requirements of tropical plant foods, combined with the cognitive capacity to apply this knowledge to novel species and environments, to migrate across the Wallacean Archipelago and into Sahul.
referenceGround-edge axes in the Pleistocene are limited to the northern region of Sahul, according to Ford and Hiscock (2021).
measurementHominin dispersal into the Wallacean Archipelago and Sahul is evidenced by stone tools found on Flores (1 million years ago), the Philippines (709,000 years ago), and Sulawesi (200,000 years ago).
claimPlant foods and processing technologies, such as cooking, grinding, and leaching, were essential to the dietary flexibility and adaptive capacity of early modern humans and their ancestors in Africa, Eurasia, Wallacea, and Sahul.
claimThe movement of humans across the Wallacean Archipelago and the peopling of Sahul, the Pleistocene continent encompassing Australia, New Guinea, and the Aru Islands, represents a critical threshold in human history where populations crossed biogeographic boundaries that were impassable for other animals, including hominin ancestors such as Homo floresiensis, Homo luzonensis, and possibly Denisovans.
claimEarly modern human populations in the Wallacean Archipelago and mainland Sahul relied on marine resources.
measurementThe earliest archaeobotanical evidence for human populations in Sahul comes from Phase 2 at Madjedbebe, northern Australia, dating from 65-52.7 kya.
claimMost Australian fauna and wild animals globally are low in fat, implying that the animal component of early human diets in Sahul consisted mostly of lean proteins.
claimEarly human populations in Sahul utilized various plant food processing techniques, including cooking, pounding, and grinding.