Kisar and the Archaeology of Small Islands in the Wallacean Archipelago

Abstract

The occupation of small islands presents particular challenges for people largely related to limited terrestrial resources and susceptibility to natural disasters. Nevertheless, the challenges and risks inherent in maintaining stable populations on small islands can be offset or overcome through the use of maritime technologies and exchange networks. The archaeology of Here Sorot Entapa rockshelter (HSE) on Kisar Island in the Wallacean Archipelago provides an unparalleled record for examining these issues in Southeast Asia. Kisar is the smallest of the Wallacean islands known to have a Pleistocene occupation record, and one of the smallest permanently inhabited today. Our results indicate that Here Sorot Entapa was first occupied in the terminal Pleistocene by people with advanced maritime technology who made extensive use of local marine resources and engaged in social connections with other islands through an obsidian exchange network. As a result, populations appear to have been maintained on the island for approximately 6,000 years. In the early Holocene occupation at HSE ceased for unknown reasons, and the site was not reoccupied until the mid-Holocene, during which time a major change in the lithic resources can be observed and the exchange network appears to have ceased.

Human foraging responses to climate change; Here Sorot Entapa rockshelter on Kisar Island

“…Evidence of the high archaeological potential on Kisar can be seen from the discovery of numerous caves and rockshelters containing rock art (O'Connor et al 2018) and also from the results of the small excavations conducted at here sorot entApA (hse) rocKshelter HSE consists of a rockshelter in a limestone terrace with a smaller cave chamber at the back (Figure 2). The shelter lies at a height of about 24 m above present mean sea level and is located approximately 80 m from the modern shoreline (O'Connor et al 2019). Archaeological evidence from HSE suggests Kisar was occupied from 15.5 ka calibrated Before Present (cal BP) with settlement terminating around 2 ka cal BP (O'Connor et al 2019).…”

“…Archaeological records on smaller islands including Roti, Gebe, Talaud, and Alor indicate heavy dependence on marine resources in the face of their depauperate terrestrial faunas. Hence Kisar, the smallest (approximately 80 km2) Wallacean island with a known archaeological record (O'Connor et al 2019(O'Connor et al , 2018, is the ideal location for the study of human adaptation to insular environments.…”

“…The shelter lies at a height of about 24 m above present mean sea level and is located approximately 80 m from the modern shoreline (O'Connor et al 2019). Archaeological evidence from HSE suggests Kisar was occupied from 15.5 ka calibrated Before Present (cal BP) with settlement terminating around 2 ka cal BP (O'Connor et al 2019). Hence, Kisar is the smallest Wallacean island with a Pleistocene record of modern human occupation and its chronology spans the post-LGM period that saw significant climate and sea level changes during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition and into the Holocene.…”

“…Small islands are significant in human history for their depauperate terrestrial faunas that forced a variety of subsistence adaptations in early human colonizers (O'Connor et al 2019). Even today, people who live on the island have their own distinct lifeways that differ from people on larger islands 1 and mainland.…”

“…Here we discuss the relationship between environmental and cultural factors on human adaptation to the small Island of Kisar, in the eastern Indonesian region of southern Wallacea, during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition and through into the Holocene. We use zooarchaeological data obtained from the analysis of marine vertebrates (marine fishes, sea turtles), terrestrial micro-vertebrates (small rodents, shrews, bats, birds, lizards), and invertebrates (crustaceans, molluscs, and sea urchins) remains recovered from the Here Sorot Entapa (HSE) rockshelter site (O'Connor et al 2019) to determine changes in general subsistence strategies and settlement intensity. We then compare our data and associated modelled dates with local Lesser Sunda Islands climate records from nearby Flores Island (Ayliffe et al 2013) to reconstruct prehistoric human subsistence responses to climate change between 16 ka and 2 ka.…”