via The Conversation, 24 April 2024: The island of Alor in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, has revealed fascinating insights into early human adaptation through the archaeological site of Makpan Cave, dated back to 43,000 years ago. This site has shown how the first settlers rapidly adjusted to their new island environment, utilizing marine and later terrestrial resources as climate conditions shifted. Radiocarbon dating of materials from the cave confirms long-term human occupation, marked by significant adaptations to major sea level changes throughout the Pleistocene to Holocene periods. The findings illustrate the resilience and ingenuity of early humans in facing environmental challenges, highlighted by their evolving fishing technologies and dietary shifts in response to changing sea levels.
We used radiocarbon dating of preserved charcoal and marine shell to determine the period of human occupation at Makpan. The presence of both these materials in the cave is a direct result of human activity, so their dates can be directly connected to when people were living at Makpan.
The Makpan dates push back the record for human occupation on Alor island, doubling the initial occupation date of 21,000 years previously recovered from Tron Bon Lei, excavated in 2014.
This new find shows that Alor was occupied at the same time as Flores to the west, and Timor to the east – confirming Alor’s position as a ‘stepping-stone’ between these two larger islands.
The deepest levels of the Makpan deposit recovered evidence for human occupation (such as stone tools and food waste) but in very low numbers. This suggests that when people first arrived at Makpan, they did so in low numbers.
During the 43,000 years of human occupation, Makpan witnessed a series of significant rises and falls in sea levels. This was caused by extreme climate changes during the last ice age. These environmental changes led the inhabitants of Makpan cave to undergo several phases of adaptation to environmental changes.
Source: The story of the first Alor people adapting to climate change 43,000 years ago
