Resumen de Human dispersal and plant processing in the Pacific 55 000–50 000 years ago

Dylan Gaffney, Daud A. Tanudirjo, Erlin Novita Idje Djami, Zubair Mas'ud, Abdul Razak Macap, Tristan Russell, Moses Dailom, Yulio Ray, Thomas Higham, Fiona Bradshaw, Fiona Petchey, S. Anna Florin, Patrick Roberts, Mary Lucas, Monica Tromp, Karen Greig, Hermine Xhauflair, Alvaro Montenegro, Robert T Hall, Clara Boulanger, Rintaro Ono, Annette Oertle, Denis Scholz, Megan Spitzer, Katherine Szabó, Irene Bertelli, Erika Ribechini, Simon Haberle

• The dynamics of our species’ dispersal into the Pacific remains intensely debated. The authors present archaeological investigations in the Raja Ampat Islands, north-west of New Guinea, that provide the earliest known evidence for humans arriving in the Pacific more than 55 000–50 000 years ago. Seafaring simulations demonstrate that a northern equatorial route into New Guinea via the Raja Ampat Islands was a viable dispersal corridor to Sahul at this time. Analysis of faunal remains and a resin artefact further indicates that exploitation of both rainforest and marine resources, rather than a purely maritime specialisation, was important for the adaptive success of Pacific peoples.