Changes in Coastal Subsistence Strategies in Lesser Sunda Islands from the Pleistocene to the Holocene

Hendri A.F. Kaharudin1*, Sue O’Connor1, and Marlon N.R. Ririmasse2

The Lesser Sunda Islands form a climatically dynamic and ecologically diverse island chain that offers a focused setting for examining changes in coastal subsistence strategies from the Pleistocene to the Holocene. Archaeological evidence indicates that these islands were occupied by early modern humans by at least the Late Pleistocene, whose lifeways were shaped by fluctuating shorelines, shifting reef systems, and variable terrestrial productivity. Faunal assemblages, shell middens, and fishing technologies demonstrate flexible resource procurement strategies that included shellfish collection, nearshore fishing, and selective exploitation of offshore taxa. These practices developed in response to sea level oscillations, island fragmentation, and changing access to coastal habitats. Technological adjustments and mobility patterns reflect adaptive decision making within constrained insular landscapes, where maritime knowledge and inter island movement were essential for long term persistence. By integrating archaeological datasets with paleoenvironmental reconstructions and ethnographic analogues, this study reconstructs diachronic human environment interactions across the Lesser Sunda chain. The results clarify how coastal populations adjusted subsistence systems to environmental instability and illuminate broader processes of maritime adaptation, regional connectivity, and economic diversification in island Southeast Asia.