| Abstract: |
This chapter examines the archaeology relevant for discussing the arrival and expansion of Homo sapiens in Island Southeast Asia, from about 50 kya down to the beginning of the Neolithic. It focuses on the Paleolithic archaeology associated with Homo sapiens in Southeast Asia. There appear to be two major, but rather diffuse, industrial divisions in the late Paleolithic. The first consists of a series of pebble tool‐based unifacial or bifacial industries, made on river or beach pebbles, which occur in caves and shell middens on the Southeast Asian mainland and in some regions of Sumatra. The second consists of a series of flake‐based industries found similarly in caves and shell middens in the islands of Southeast Asia, as well as in Paleolithic Australia and New Guinea. The differences are of emphasis only, all industries have both core and flake tools in varying proportions.
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