Southeast Asia was first reached by anatomically modern humans possibly before 70,000 years ago.[1] Anatomically modern humans are suggested to have reached Southeast Asia twice in the course of the Southern Dispersal migrations during and after the formation of a distinct East Asian clade from 70,000 to 50,000 years ago.[2][3]
In Asia, the most recent late archaic human fossils were found in Thailand (125,000 – 100,000 BP), the Philippines (58,000 – 24,000 BP), Malaysia (c. 40,000 BP), and Sri Lanka (c. 36,000 BP).[4] The artifacts from these sites include partial skeleton, crania, deep skull, and other related skeletons indicate that modern human migrated to Asia earlier than the western theory might have discussed.[5]
In 2007, an analysis of cut marks on two bovid bones found in Sangiran, showed them to have been made 1.5 to 1.6 million years ago by clamshell tools. This may be the oldest evidence for the presence of early humans in today Indonesia and are to date the oldest evidence of shell tool use in the world.[6]
In 2009, archaeologists discovered the partial cranium and some teeth of a modern human at Tam Pa Ling in mainland Laos, which shed light on the understanding of anatomically modern human migration and evolution in the region during the Late Pleistocene Period.[5] The site is located in Houaphanh Province, around 170 miles north of Vientiane, the capital city of modern Laos. Within this site, only human remains were found, and there is no evidence of human occupation or other artifacts. The radiocarbon dating of the charcoal and the sediment dating analyses identify the remains to date at least c. 56,500 BP, while the dental artifacts from the remains that analyzed by the isotope-ratio measurement indicate c. 63,600 BP.[5] The analysis of the cranium and dentition of the remains suggest that these are the remains of early modern human populations in Southeast Asia. This date is older than the fossils that were found in Niah cave in Malaysia, which offers another explanation for human evolution in Southeast Asia.
In addition to the discovery in Laos, there are also a number of human remains and related artifacts found across mainland Southeast Asia in which it suggests the new ideas of the regional Late Pleistocene development as well. More teeth and molars that were found in Thailand and Vietnam sites (Tham Wihan Naki, Thailand; Tham Kuyean, Vietnam, etc.) indicate transitions between H. erectus and H. sapiens.[7] In fact, these remains might indicate the possible interbreeding between H. erectus and H. sapiens, such as the tooth at Wihan Nakin at Chaiyaphum province in Thailand.[7]
Migrations
The earliest modern human inhabitants of Southeast Asia were hunter-gatherers that arrived in the area at least c. 40,000 BP.[8] Contemporary remnant groups of these earliest inhabitants (e.g. the Semang of Malaysia or the Aetas of the Philippines) are usually included under the cover term "Negrito".[9] The earliest settlers had sufficient maritime technology to cross the Wallace Line, probably at a similar date to the first settlement of Sahul (c. 45,000 BP/49,000–43,000 BP).[10]:50 During the last glacial maximum, the sea level decreased and promoted human migrations that increased genetic admixture among Southeast Asian populations. There is also evidence that Southeast Asia, which was part of Sundaland at the time, was where Papuans, Negritos and East Asians split, implying a one-wave colonization of Asia by ancestral Asians after they split from Europeans.[11][12] According to a 2024 study, Southeast Asia was the "demographic center of expansion" after some Out of African migrants returned to Africa, evident by the presence of basal Y-chromosome Eurasian lineages (C, D, F, K) in the region.[13]
The proposed route of Austroasiatic and Austronesian migration into Insular Southeast Asia during the Neolithic period. (Simanjuntak, 2017)
These routes also allowed the early arrival to Philippines and have been formally evaluated through extensive genetic analyses. Therefore, during the Neolithic, Austroasiatic peoples populated Indochina via a variety of land routes. The earliest agricultural societies that cultivated millet and wet-rice emerged around 1700 BCE in the lowlands and river floodplains of Indochina.[16] Based on archaeological and genetic evidence, it is assumed that Austroasiatic speakers also expanded into Insular Southeast Asia in the Neolithic, but were later supplanted or assimilated by Austronesian speakers[needs update].[15]
About 4,000 BP, Kra-Dai speakers from coastal southern China, around the Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian provinces, migrated to the Guizhou, Yunnan, Hainan, and Mainland Southeast Asia due to environmental change and demographic changes. As they migrated, they interacted with local settlements built by Austroasiatic, Austronesian, Hmong-Mien and Tibeto-Burman speakers.[24]
Trade
Territorial principalities in both Insular and Mainland Southeast Asia, characterised as Agrarian kingdoms[25] had by around 500 BCE developed an economy based on surplus crop cultivation and moderate coastal trade of domestic natural products. Several states of the Malayan-Indonesian "thalassian" zone[26] shared these characteristics with Indochinese polities like the Pyu city-states in the Irrawaddy river valley, Van Lang in the Red River delta and Funan around the lower Mekong.[27] Văn Lang, founded in the 7th century BCE endured until 258 BCE under the rule of the Hồng Bàng dynasty, as part of the Đông Sơn culture eventually sustained a dense and organised population, that produced an elaborate Bronze Age industry.[28][29]
Intensive wet-rice cultivation in an ideal climate enabled the farming communities to produce a regular crop surplus, that was used by the ruling elite to raise, command and pay work forces for public construction and maintenance projects such as canals and fortifications.[28][26] Though millet and rice cultivation was introduced around 2000 BCE, hunting and gathering remained an important aspect of food provision, in particular in forested and mountainous inland areas.[30]
Estimated ancestry components among selected modern populations per Changmai et al (2022). The yellow component represents East Asian-like ancestry.Principal component analysis (PCA) of ancient and present-day individuals from worldwide populations after the out-of-Africa expansion.
A 2015 study (Chaubey et al. 2015) found evidence for ancient gene flow from East Asian-related groups into the Andamanese people, suggesting that Andamanese (Onge) had about 30% East Asian-related ancestry next to their original Negrito ancestry, though the authors also suggest that this latter finding may in fact reflect the genetic affinity of the Andamanese to Melanesian, Southeast Asian, and Asian Negrito populations rather than true East Asian admixture (stating that "The Han ancestry measured in Andaman Negrito is probably partially capturing both Melanesian and Malaysian Negrito ancestry"),[36] as a previous study by the authors (Chaubey et al. 2013) indicated "a deep shared ancestry" between the Andamanese, Melanesians and Southeast Asian Negrito groups, as well as their affinity to South Asians, Southeast Asians and East Asians.[37]
A 2020 genetic study on Southeast Asian populations focusing on ethnic groups in Vietnam (Liu et al. 2020) found that most sampled groups are closely related to East Asians and carry mostly "East Asian-related" ancestry (modeled as Southern Chinese). Modern Austronesian and Austroasiatic speaking populations in Vietnam and Southern China were found to have mostly East Asian ancestry (89% to 96%, with 94% on average). Taiwanese indigenous peoples had on average 99% East Asian-related ancestry. Kra–Dai-speaking populations had, similar to the Taiwanese indigenous peoples, nearly exclusively East Asian-related ancestry.[38]
A 2021 study about the ancestral composition of modern ethnic groups in the Philippines suggests that distinctive Basal-East Eurasian (Eastern non-African) ancestry originated in Mainland Southeast Asia at ~50,000 BCE, and expanded through multiple migration waves southwards and northwards respectively, giving rise to both Oceanian (Papuan related) and East Asian (Tianyuan and Onge related) lineages.[3]
Another study from 2021 found that an ancient Holocene hunter-gatherer from South Sulawesi had ancestry from both the Oceanian lineage (modeled by Papuans and Aboriginal Australians) and from an East Asian lineage (modeled as Onge or Tianyuan related). The hunter-gatherer individual had approximately ~50% of this "Basal-East Asian" ancestry, and was positioned in between the Andamanese Onge and the Papuans of Oceania. The authors concluded that the presence of this ancestry in a Holocene forager suggests that East Asian-related admixture may have taken place long before the expansion of Austronesian societies into the region.[39]
Genetic analyses state that Southeast Asia faced four prehistoric migratory waves, impacting present demographics. The first wave was initiated by mainland Hòabìnhians, hunter-gatherer populations who share the closest genetic affinities to present-day AndamaneseÖnge and MalaysianJehai. Denisovan ancestry was absent in these populations, although the Mamanwa from the Philippines mixed with Denisovian-shifted Papuans. Other studies also suggest a genetic affinity between the Hòabìnhians and the Ikawazu Jōmon.[40] About 4 kya, Neolithic farmers from East Asia expanded into Southeast Asia and introduced Austroasiatic ancestry, which peaks in the Mlabri and Htin, along with western Indonesians, especially Balinese and Javanese, Temuan and Jehai. By 2 kya, additional East Asian ancestry, related to present Asian groups such as Hmong, Dai, Kinh Vietnamese, Thai etc, was introduced. Austronesian ancestry was also introduced into Indonesia and Philippines by 1.8 and 2.1 kya respectively.[41] Due to later Indian cultural influence in Southeast Asia, populations from Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar and Singapore have South Asian (SAS) ancestry (best examplified by modern South Indian groups such as Irula or Mala) ranging from 2% to 16%. Exceptions were isolated hill tribes and present hunter-gatherer groups in Thailand.[42]
Ancient and modern East Asian populations can be modeled to derive primarily from an Onge-like profile (c. 76–79%) with lower amounts of Tianyuan-like admixture (21–24%). Southeast Asian populations fall along a cline between East Asian populations and additional Onge-like ancestry associated with local Hoabinhians.[40]
↑ Different dates are argued for the introduction of the various pieces of maritime technology by Austronesians. These are based on linguistics and the distribution of types on first European encounter. There is no early archaeological evidence, and little iconographic or written evidence on this until the first encounters with Europeans
↑ Lipson, Mark; Reich, David (2017). "A Working Model of the Deep Relationships of Diverse Modern Human Genetic Lineages Outside of Africa". Molecular Biology and Evolution. 34 (4): 889–902. doi:10.1093/molbev/msw293. PMC5400393. PMID28074030. The former [eastern clade] includes present-day East Asians and had differentiated as early as the ~40 kya Tianyuan individual (Fu et al. 2013), while early members of the latter [western clade] include ancient European hunter-gatherers (Lazaridis et al. 2014; Seguin-Orlando et al. 2014; Fu et al. 2016) and the ancient northern Eurasian Mal'ta 1 (MA1, a ~24 kya Upper Paleolithic individual from south-central Siberia) (Raghavan et al. 2014). More recent (Neolithic and later) western Eurasians, such as Europeans, are mostly descended from the western clade but with an additional component of "Basal Eurasian" ancestry (via the Near East) splitting more deeply than any other known non-African lineage (Lazaridis et al. 2014, 2016). The timing of the eastern/western split is uncertain, but several papers (Gutenkunst et al. 2009; Laval et al. 2010; Gravel et al. 2011) have used present-day European and East Asian populations to infer dates of initial separation of 40–45 kya (adjusted for a mutation rate of 0.5 × 10−9 per year; Scally 2016).
↑ Barker, Graeme; Barton, Huw; Bird, Michael; Daly, Patrick; Datan, Ipoi; Dykes, Alan; Farr, Lucy; Gilbertson, David; Harrisson, Barbara (1 March 2007). "The 'human revolution' in lowland tropical Southeast Asia: the antiquity and behavior of anatomically modern humans at Niah Cave (Sarawak, Borneo)". Journal of Human Evolution. 52 (3): 243–261. Bibcode:2007JHumE..52..243B. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2006.08.011. PMID17161859.
1 2 Marwick, Ben (1 June 2009). "Biogeography of Middle Pleistocene hominins in mainland Southeast Asia: A review of current evidence". Quaternary International. Great Arc of Human DispersalGreat Arc of Human Dispersal. 202 (1–2): 54–55. Bibcode:2009QuInt.202...51M. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2008.01.012.
↑ Mahdi, Waruno (2016). "2. Origins of Southeast Asian Shipping and Maritime Communication Across the Indian Ocean". In Campbell, Gwyn (ed.). Early exchange between Africa and the wider Indian Ocean world. Cham: Springer Nature, Switzerland. ISBN978-3-319-33821-7.
↑ Hall, Kenneth R. A History of Early Southeast Asia: Maritime Trade and Societal Development, 100-1500.
↑ Boivin, Nicole; Crowther, Alison; Helm, Richard; Fuller, Dorian Q. (1 September 2013). "East Africa and Madagascar in the Indian Ocean world". Journal of World Prehistory. 26 (3): 213–281. doi:10.1007/s10963-013-9067-4. S2CID254749340.
↑ Brides of the sea: port cities of Asia from the 16th-20th centuries. Broeze, Frank. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. 1989. ISBN978-0824812669. OCLC19554419.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
↑ Mahdi W (1999). "The Dispersal of Austronesian boat forms in the Indian Ocean". In Blench R, Spriggs M (eds.). Archaeology and Language III: Artefacts languages, and texts. One World Archaeology. Vol.34. Routledge. pp.144–179. ISBN978-0415100540.
↑ Carlhoff, Selina; Duli, Akin; Nägele, Kathrin; Nur, Muhammad; Skov, Laurits; Sumantri, Iwan; Oktaviana, Adhi Agus; Hakim, Budianto; Burhan, Basran; Syahdar, Fardi Ali; McGahan, David P. (August 2021). "Genome of a middle Holocene hunter-gatherer from Wallacea". Nature. 596 (7873): 543–547. Bibcode:2021Natur.596..543C. doi:10.1038/s41586-021-03823-6. hdl:10072/407535. ISSN1476-4687. PMC8387238. PMID34433944. The qpGraph analysis confirmed this branching pattern, with the Leang Panninge individual branching off from the Near Oceanian clade after the Denisovan gene flow, although with the most supported topology indicating around 50% of a basal East Asian component contributing to the Leang Panninge genome (Fig. 3c, Supplementary Figs. 7–11).
1 2 McColl, Hugh; Racimo, Fernando; Vinner, Lasse; Demeter, Fabrice; Gakuhari, Takashi; Moreno-Mayar, J. Víctor; van Driem, George; Gram Wilken, Uffe; Seguin-Orlando, Andaine; de la Fuente Castro, Constanza; Wasef, Sally; Shoocongdej, Rasmi; Souksavatdy, Viengkeo; Sayavongkhamdy, Thongsa; Saidin, Mohd Mokhtar; Allentoft, Morten E.; Sato, Takehiro; Malaspinas, Anna-Sapfo; Aghakhanian, Farhang A.; Korneliussen, Thorfinn; Prohaska, Ana; Margaryan, Ashot; de Barros Damgaard, Peter; Kaewsutthi, Supannee; Lertrit, Patcharee; Nguyen, Thi Mai Huong; Hung, Hsiao-chun; Minh Tran, Thi; Nghia Truong, Huu; Nguyen, Giang Hai; Shahidan, Shaiful; Wiradnyana, Ketut; Matsumae, Hiromi; Shigehara, Nobuo; Yoneda, Minoru; Ishida, Hajime; Masuyama, Tadayuki; Yamada, Yasuhiro; Tajima, Atsushi; Shibata, Hiroki; Toyoda, Atsushi; Hanihara, Tsunehiko; Nakagome, Shigeki; Deviese, Thibaut; Bacon, Anne-Marie; Duringer, Philippe; Ponche, Jean-Luc; Shackelford, Laura; Patole-Edoumba, Elise; Nguyen, Anh Tuan; Bellina-Pryce, Bérénice; Galipaud, Jean-Christophe; Kinaston, Rebecca; Buckley, Hallie; Pottier, Christophe; Rasmussen, Simon; Higham, Tom; Foley, Robert A.; Lahr, Marta Mirazón; Orlando, Ludovic; Sikora, Martin; Phipps, Maude E.; Oota, Hiroki; Higham, Charles; Lambert, David M.; Willerslev, Eske (6 July 2018). "The prehistoric peopling of Southeast Asia"(PDF). Science. 361 (6397): 88–92. Bibcode:2018Sci...361...88M. doi:10.1126/science.aat3628. hdl:10072/383365. PMID29976827. Using qpGraph, we modeled present-day East Asians (represented by Amis) as a mixture of an Önge-like population and a population related to the Tiányuán individual. Fig.3 C & D
Bellwood, Peter (2021). "Homelands and dispersal histories of Mainland Southeast Asian language families: a multidisciplinary perspective". In Paul Sidwell; Mathias Jenny (eds.). The Languages and Linguistics of Mainland Southeast Asia. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp.33–44. doi:10.1515/9783110558142-003. ISBN9783110558142. S2CID238695185.
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