Human occupation on Rote and Sawu Islands, Nusa Tenggara Timur

Abstract

Between the Sunda and Sahul shelves lie the Wallacean islands, never attached to larger land masses during Pleistocene times. This is the most geologically complex and active region within Indonesia (Bemmelen 1949; Audley-Charles 1981 ), due to its position at the meeting point of four geological plates: the Indo-Australian Plate, the Pacific Plate, the Eurasian Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate.The Wallacean islands belong to two main groups - the northern consisting of Sulawesi and Maluku, and the southern consisting of the Nusa Tenggara chain (Figure1.1).These chains of islands must have been used as bridges by early human populations crossing from Sunda to Sahul, and vice versa, during the time-span of human occupation of the region. The capacity of humans to cross water gaps in Wallacea during the Pleistocene is an attractive topic for archaeologists since it implies a presence of sea craft and allied technology.