24 Questions
Where was Homo erectus ('Java Man') found?
Java, Indonesia
Who collected the fossil records of Java Man in the 1890s?
Eugene Dubois
Which tool is associated with Homo erectus in Java?
Hand axes
Who branched from Homo Neanderthals around 400,000 years ago?
Denisovans
What type of stone tools were found associated with Homo floresiensis?
Flakes, points, perforators
From which region were early stone tools found associated with an almost-complete disarticulated skeleton of a rhinoceros?
Northern Philippines
During the Pleistocene, what characterized the Glacial periods in ISEA?
Cool and arid conditions
What event marked the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) approximately 20,000 years ago?
Expansion of icecaps and glaciers
At what point in time did Borneo separate from Peninsular Malaysia?
12,000 years ago
What theory explains the dispersal of 'archaic' humans and anatomically modern humans from Africa to ISEA?
'Out-of-Africa' theory
What led to the inundation of Sundaland around 15,000 years ago?
Rapid rise in global temperature
What separated Java and Sumatra around 10,000 years ago in the Pleistocene?
Tectonic shift
What types of stone tools were mainly found in Cagayan (northern Luzon) dating back 4000-5000 years ago?
Simple flakes for scraping, cutting wood and bone, and working soft plant material
Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a material used for making bone tools?
Wooden sticks
Among the listed animals, which one was NOT a part of the subsistence for early humans in the region?
Dogs
Which of the following sites is associated with an early record of modern humans using stone tools?
Niah Cave, Sarawak
What was the main purpose of bone tools fashioned into points, scraping and piercing tools, and fishing gorge?
Fishing and marine activities
Which type of shell tool was primarily used for sawing, scraping, and chiseling based on the text?
Clam shell tools from Ilin Cave, Mindoro
What type of plants were consumed by Phalanger orientalis?
Rainforest nuts, fruits, and tubers
Which marine species were mentioned as part of the diet of the Papua New Guinea inhabitants?
Turtles, shellfish, crabs
What did the presence of a high proportion of pelagic species indicate according to the text?
Capture was planned rather than fortuitous
What kind of symbolic behavior was depicted in the rock art of Borneo and Sulawesi?
Hand stencils and paintings depicting wild animals
What was the significance of red color in the artifacts discovered in Niah cave?
Human bones with red wash, turtle shell with red pigment, red ocher pieces and ocher-stained stone tools
What type of ornaments were found in the archaeological sites mentioned in the text?
Beads made from animal bones, pendants made from marsupial bones, stone ornaments with incised geometric markings
Study Notes
Climate and Environment
- The Pleistocene era was characterized by oscillating climates, with glacial periods (cool and arid) and interglacial periods (warm and humid) globally.
- Glacial periods in ISEA had an average temperature of 5 to 6 degrees Celsius, marked by a huge expansion in icecaps and glaciers.
- The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) lowered the current sea level to about 130 meters around 20,000 years ago.
Lower Pleistocene (2.5 million-750,000 years ago)
- Hominin Record: Homo erectus ("Java Man") found in the island of Java, Indonesia, dated to 1.8-1.6 million years ago.
- Theories on the classification of Java Man: Derived from African Homo erectus, belongs to an Asian Homo erectus, connected to African Australopithecines, or from a population of African Homo.
- Fossil records of Java Man, collected by Eugene Dubois in the 1890s.
- Technology: Stone tools associated with Homo erectus in Java are mainly simple cores and flakes, with two types: Oldowan and Acheulian.
Middle Pleistocene (750,000-125,000 years ago)
- Hominin Record: Homo erectus (found in Ngandong, Sambungmacan, and Ngawi), Homo floresiensis (100,000 to 50,000 years ago), and Denisovans (branched from Homo Neanderthals around 400,000 years ago).
- Perspectives on Homo floresiensis: A new species, dwarfed Homo erectus, dwarfed Homo sapiens, or species with distant Australopithecine connection.
- Technology: Homo floresiensis stone tools include flakes, points, perforators, blades, and microblades.
- Early stone tools from Kalinga (northern Philippines) date back to 700,000 years ago.
Upper Pleistocene (125,000-11,700 years ago)
- Hominin Record: Homo luzonensis (67,000 years old), Homo sapiens sapiens (100 years ago).
- Sites with early records of modern humans: Niah Cave, Sarawak (42,000-35,000 years ago), Lida Ajer Cave, Sumatra (73,000-63,000 years ago), Tabon Cave, Palawan (47,000-31,000 years ago).
- Technology: Stone tools, mainly simple flakes for scraping, cutting wood and bone, cutting or scraping tree resin, and working soft plant material.
- Bone tools: bone and pig tusk fashioned into points and scraping and piercing tools, bone fishing gorge, and hafted composite bone projectiles.
- Marine shell tools: knapped operculum, clam shell tools used for sawing, scraping, and chiseling, and conus shell fashioned into fishhook.
- Subsistence: Wild animals, including bearded pigs, warty pigs, orangutan, macaques, langurs, sambar deer, pangolin, and rhinoceros.
- Symbolic Behavior: Rock art, human burial, importance of red color, and ornaments made from animal bones and stones.
Philippine Palaeolithic
- Callao Cave, Cagayan: Homo luzonensis.
- Tabon Cave, Palawan: Anatomically modern human.
- Illin Cave, Mindoro: early foraging societies in the Philippines.
Test your knowledge on the prehistory of the Philippines focusing on the Philippine Palaeolithic period, regional context, climate, environment, and cultural chronology. This quiz covers topics such as Lower Pleistocene, Middle Pleistocene, Upper Pleistocene, and environmental changes throughout history.
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