Investigating the palaeoenvironmental context of Late Pleistocene human dispersals into Southeast Asia: a review of stable isotope applications

Abstract

We review palaeoenvironmental applications of stable isotope analysis to Late Pleistocene archaeological sites across Southeast Asia (SEA), a region critical to understanding the evolution of Homo sapiens and other co-existing Late Pleistocene (124–11.7 ka) hominins. Stable isotope techniques applied to archaeological deposits offer the potential to develop robust palaeoenvironmental reconstructions, to contextualise the occupational and non-occupational history of a site. By evaluating the published research in this field, we show that sediments, guano, tooth enamel, speleothem and biomolecular material such as leaf waxes have great potential to provide site-specific palaeoenvironmental records and local and catchment-scale landscape context to hominin dispersal in the region. However, stable isotope techniques used in these contexts are in their infancy in SEA, and the diagenetic controls associated with hot and humid environments that typify the region are not yet fully understood. Additionally, availability of sources of stable isotopes varies between sites. Nonetheless, even the limited research currently available shows that stable isotope analyses can aid in developing a better understanding of the role of the environment on the nature and timing of dispersals of our species eastwards into SEA and beyond.

Transgressing the limits of palaeoenvironmental data for Southeast Asian Pleistocene faunal assemblages: A critical review to go further

“…Isotope analyses are routinely used in palaeontology, but many new parameters and new methodological constraints are emerging in an effort to take more aspects of reality into account. As indicated by McAllister et al (2022), stable isotope techniques applied to sediments, guano, dental enamel, speleothems or biomolecular material are making it possible to develop palaeoenvironmental reconstructions, but are still in their infancy for answering palaeoenvironmental and biodiversity evolution questions. While the diagenetic controls associated with the hot, humid environments that characterize the intertropical region are not yet fully understood, the availability of stable isotope sources also varies from site to site.…”

“…The evolution of vegetation cover seems fairly accurate, although Flenley (1996Flenley ( , 1998 acknowledges that the dating of the pollen sequences used is uncertain. As we shall see later, we should probably consider that the historical development of the vegetation landscape of Sundaland in the Late Pleistocene is complex and locally varied (McAllister et al, 2022). This is supported by Puspaningrum et al (2020) unless the differences result from issues specific to the proxies used.…”