Early Modern Humans in Southeast Asia : Excavations at Niah Cave

January 13, 2012 by HeritageDaily in Events No Comments

Niah Caves : Image Source : Wiki Commons

Birkbeck’s senior archaeology lecturer Dr Tim Reynolds, presents ‘Early Modern Humans in Southeast Asia: Excavations at Niah Cave, Sarawak, Borneo’ to students and members of the Birkbeck Archaeology Society

On the 28^th of October 2011, Birkbeck’s senior archaeology lecturer Dr Tim Reynolds, gave a lively talk on ‘Early Modern Humans in Southeast Asia: Excavations at Niah Cave, Sarawak, Borneo’ to students and members of the Birkbeck Archaeology Society. Tim explained how far archaeological debate has reached in determining which hominid species made the earliest arrival into Southeast Asia out of Africa.

Many new discoveries have been added to the genus Homo, such as Homo floresiensis, discovered on the island of Flores in Indonesia and Denisovans discovered through DNA analysis, but as yet very sparse remains have been recovered of this species. Much of the evidence is still hotly debated and poses some interesting times ahead for future investigations. Other types of evidence for early modern human activity were discussed, including early tool adaptation and tool typologies, which is as hotly disputed as the fossil record.

Niah Cave, is a famous national park in Northern Sarawak, Borneo. In the 1950s, excavations conducted by Tom Harrisson led to the discovery of a Homo sapiens skull. It is possibly the earliest inhabitant of Niah Cave, dated to 40, 000 years ago. However, Harrisson’s work was inconclusive with many gaps and inconsistencies. The recent excavations at Niah Cave aimed to resolve the location and date of Harrisson’s skull and expand upon research in the area, to confirm the broad presence of early modern humans, and to find evidence of how they existed and adapted to climatic changes.

As long as there have been human settlers in the cave, there have also been other inhabitants, namely bats, birds and insects. Guano (bat or bird poo) is seen by some as a precious commodity in the fertilizer trade. Not so for the excavation team, who had to shift thousands of tons during their investigations in highly humid conditions. One trench is even named the Hell trench!

The excavation is part of an international study called the Niah Cave Project led by Professor Graeme Barker. A forthcoming publication of which Dr Tim Reynolds is joint editor with G. Barker and D. Gilbertson, is in the pipeline. It will be titled ‘The Archaeology of the Niah Caves, Sarawak: Rainforest Foraging and Farming in Island Southeast Asia.’ McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge.

Submitted by : Burcu Urundul

BA Archaeology student, Birkbeck College, London. Visit the Birkbeck Archaeological Society : Click Here

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