Following the Fish? Using Ichthyoarchaeology to Study the Tempo and Geography of Human Dispersals through Island Southeast Asia

Clara Boulanger

By 50,000 years ago, the dispersal of Homo sapiens to Australia marked the earliest period of human maritime adaptation. Two models of migration routes through Island Southeast Asia and the Wallacean Archipelago have been proposed – a northern route and a southern route. However, the timing and location of these migrations remain disputed. Recent studies have demonstrated the presence of populations with strong maritime adaptations in southern Wallacea from around 40,000 years ago, while coastal adaptation in the north remains largely unstudied. This paper presents preliminary results from a project investigating human reliance on marine environments along the proposed northern dispersal route. The study utilises faunal assemblages from recently excavated archaeological sites located along this corridor. Focusing on comparative anatomical and morphological analysis of faunal remains, it seeks to identify patterns in marine resource exploitation and to assess the extent of maritime subsistence strategies. These results contribute new evidence for evaluating the role of coastal environments and marine resources in early human dispersal through Wallacea. Ongoing work incorporating biomolecular techniques such as Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) and stable isotope analysis aims to further refine interpretations of subsistence strategies and seafaring technologies, helping to establish a broader framework for understanding early human adaptation and dispersal across challenging island environments.