SEAArch – The Southeast Asian Archaeology Newsblog

Something I discovered while surfing the resources at my library. Universiti Sains Malaysia keeps an open access repository of research by its staff and students, including those of the archaeology department. A good number of the papers are in Malay, but nothing that a little Google Translate can’t handle.

The news is abuzz today as two papers published in this week’s Nature lend support to the theory that the Hobbit represents a new species. One study of the Hobbit’s foot reveals that while the hobbit was bipedal, it did not walk like humans and probably could not run very well. Another study compared the rate of dwarfism among an extinct species of hippos in Madagascar with those of the mainland, with special attention to brain size and found that it is possible for dwarf populations to evolve smaller brains, which means the same principle could be applied to the homo floresiensis. It should be noted though, the mainstream media’s hyping up the “Hobbit is a new species” tune. I certainly think the consensus is forming that way.

Insular dwarfism in hippos and a model for brain size reduction in Homo floresiensis
Nature, 07 May 2009

The foot of Homo floresiensis
Nature, 07 May 2009

Hobbits ‘are a separate species’
BBC, 06 May 2009

New analysis shows ‘hobbits’ couldn’t hustle
Physorg.com, 06 May 2009

Hobbit foot, hippo skulls deepen ancestral mystery
Science News, 06 May 2009

‘Hobbits’ Couldn’t Hustle: Feet Of Homo Floresiensis Were Primitive But Not Pathological
Science Daily, 06 May 2009

Ancient ‘hobbit’ humans new species after all
AFP, 06 May 2009
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A call for papers related to history, anthropology, heritage studies and other social sciences relating to Malays. This journal published by the Malay Language and Culture department of the National Institute of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University is calling for papers for the second issue to be published at the end of the year. The deadline for submissions is 30 July 2009 and details can be found here.

Jurnal e-Utama
Deadline 30 July 2009

E-Utama is an annual online peer reviewed journal dedicated to the publication of interdisciplinary, theoretical and review articles of high scholastic quality in Malay education, culture, language and literature. The purpose of the journal is to bring together scholars and researchers from all areas of Malay Studies to stimulate the exchange of ideas, opinions and critical inquiry between these groups. The journal is published by the Malay Language and Culture department of the National Institute of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University.

The articles published in this journal seek to showcase innovative scholarship in the area of Malay Studies. E-Utama aims to foster Malay research, but is not exclusively Malay, having an international authorship, readership and a collective of international peer reviewers. The editorial practice is to promote and include multi and interdisciplinary work and the journal accepts papers from a wide range of disciplinary areas in the Humanities, Social Sciences and Educational Pedagogy pertaining to the Malays, including, but not limited to: Philosophy, History, Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology, Feminism, Media and Communication Studies, Cultural Studies, Gender Studies, Policy and Management, Geography, Economics, Political Science, Literary Studies, Legal Studies, Social Theory, Law, Education, Theology, Multicultural Studies, Globalisation, Labour Studies, Postcolonial Studies, Visual and Performing Arts, Archaeology, Heritage Studies, Race Studies, Science and Technology, Development Studies.

The basis for accepting papers for publication is the agreement among three reviewers (via a double-blind review process) that they show relevance, compelling justification for study, subject mastery and originality in any of the major sub-areas of Malay Studies.

Submission details can be found here.

While we’re on the topic of the Austronesian migration, the same issue of Science also carried another article about the tracing of human migration through the pacific. This time, the tracing of human bacteria indicate two splits of pacific populations from Asian ones, the first occurring around 30,000 years ago, while the second through one of the Austronesian subgroups 5,000 years ago.

photo credit: INeedCoffee

The Peopling of the Pacific from a Bacterial Perspective
Science, 23 January 2009
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21 September 2007 (Science Magazine) – And finally, the abstract of the homo floresiensis wrist study from Science Magazine. Subscription required for full access.

The Primitive Wrist of Homo floresiensis and Its Implications for Hominin Evolution
Matthew W. Tocheri, Caley M. Orr, Susan G. Larson, Thomas Sutikna, Jatmiko, E. Wahyu Saptomo, Rokus Awe Due, Tony Djubiantono, Michael J. Morwood, William L. Jungers

Whether the Late Pleistocene hominin fossils from Flores, Indonesia, represent a new species, Homo floresiensis, or pathological modern humans has been debated. Analysis of three wrist bones from the holotype specimen (LB1) shows that it retains wrist morphology that is primitive for the African ape-human clade. In contrast, Neandertals and modern humans share derived wrist morphology that forms during embryogenesis, which diminishes the probability that pathology could result in the normal primitive state. This evidence indicates that LB1 is not a modern human with an undiagnosed pathology or growth defect; rather, it represents a species descended from a hominin ancestor that branched off before the origin of the clade that includes modern humans, Neandertals, and their last common ancestor.

26 March 2007 (The Nation) – A mention about an archaeology paper to be presented at a three-day anthropological seminar in Thailand and the state from 28 to 30 March.

Three-day seminar examines state of the nation

With the Thai state facing various problems such as border lands, stateless people and conflict in the predominantly Muslim deep South, about 300 scholars will share their views on the situation at a three-day anthropological seminar titled “State: From daily life’s point of view” this week.

A discourse on the construction of national history will also be among the topics of discussion at the seminar, to be held from Wednesday to Friday at the Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre.

…

Pipad, who has been studying the history and archaeology of Mae Hong Son, found that in the process of constructing a national history, Thailand adopts some non-Thai ethnic groups as part of the nation while neglecting others whose histories do not fit in with the national history.

“As a result, these latter groups are finally constructed as the stateless people,” he wrote.

Related Books:
- Caves of Northern Thailand by P. Sidisunthorn

March 2007 (International Journal of Nautical Archaeology) – Marine Archaeologist Michael Flecker’s paper attempting to come to a typography-of-sorts of the Southeast Asian marine vessel by examining ship characteristics from 16 shipwrecks in this region. Full article is available from the link.

The South-China-Sea Tradition: the Hybrid Hulls of South-East Asia
Michael Flecker

Abstract:
The South-China-Sea Tradition is a hybrid vessel-type combining structural features of Chinese and South-East Asian origin. It only occurs from the late-14th to the late-16th centuries and mirrors the production period of Thai export ceramics. This article examines 16 South-China-Sea-Tradition wrecks with a view to determining a well-defined list of characteristics, the origin of those characteristics, and the most likely builders.