Jerimalai (cave)
Lautém District | |
Region | East Timor |
---|---|
Coordinates | 8°23′38″S 127°16′6″E / 8.39389°S 127.26833°E |
Altitude | 75 m (246 ft) |
Type | Limestone cave |
Jerimalai is a limestone cave southeast of Tutuala, on the eastern tip of East Timor. Fish remains and fish hooks excavated in Jerimalai provide evidence for advanced fishing technique by inhabitants of Timor 42,000 years ago.[1][2]
Jerimalai has the third oldest findings discovered in Wallacea, after Madjedbebe in mainland Northern Australia and the Laili cave near Manatuto on Timor. [3]
Location
The cave lies at an altitude of 75 m, less than a kilometer from the sea.[1]
42,000 years ago, the sea was 55 m lower than in 2016, and the cave was 2.8 km from the sea. 22,000 years ago, during the Last Glacial Maximum, the sea level was 121 m lower than in 2016 and Jerimalai was 3.5 km from the shore. During the glacial age, the descent from the cave to the coastline was much steeper, which explains why the cave was little used at that time.[1]
Findings
Background
Since 2005, several archaeological findings dating back more than 42,000 years have been made in the cave. The age of the findings was determined using radiocarbon dating. However, some findings might be older, as their level of Carbon-14 is below the detection limit.[1]
The inhabitants of the cave fed on turtles, tuna and giant rats (probably
Tools found in Jerimalai are similar to findings in the
Fishing
The fish remains found in Jerimalai are the oldest evidence of fishing far from the shore.[6][7] In addition, a fish hook believed to be between 16,000 and 23,000 years old was discovered. The four inches long hook is made from the shell of a marine snail. The hook was used to catch fish in the coastal waters, which at the time were rich in coral reef fish.[4]
The high advancement of fishing technique for the time can be explained by the lack of land animals on Timor in that era. 40,000 years ago, rodents and reptiles were the only land species available to the inhabitants of Timor.[4]
Jewelry
Five pieces of jewelry were also found, made from the shell of
Migration to Australia
The findings corroborate the theory that the anatomically modern man spread from Asia to Australia on the South route over the Lesser Sunda Islands and not on the northern route via Borneo, Sulawesi and New Guinea. Earlier findings on the islands of the southern route were too young to prove that the southern route was the propagation path.[9]
Avifauna
Jerimalai also preserves fossils of birds. With the exception of an undescribed species of Grus, all the avian remains represent taxa still extant in the present.[10]
References
- ^ PMID 27457541. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
- ^ "ANU Center for Archaeological Research News". Archived from the original on 14 February 2009. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
- hdl:1885/244982.
- ^ PMID 22116883. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
- PMID 27886810.
- .
- ^ "Deep sea fishing for tuna began 42,000 years ago". New Scientist.
- ISBN 978-0-671-61951-0.
- ISSN 0003-598X. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
- ISSN 0277-3791. Retrieved 9 October 2023.