**5. Conclusion**

better indicator of the level of technological capacity of prehistoric populations in ISEA. The results of a combined geometrics morphometrics study from Early Holocene lithics of Song Terus, Java indicate that form was not the major parameter in the selection of tools for use but rather their suitability for particular tasks [87]. To overcome the lack of formal tool types as an indicator of technological development, the "typology dilemma" of Southeast Asia's Paleolithic [85], several use-wear studies have recently provided more substantial insights into the functionality and technological capacity of informal flake tools. This analytical method, also known as traceology or the microscopic identification of traces of wear and tear [88] has the potential to fill the gaps on our understanding of lithic technology in the region. Use-wear analysis can provide actual information on the intended use and purpose of lithic tools, independent of their form and level of manufacture. While the absence of formal and standardized stone tools was previously often regarded as a result of the presence of a plant-based tool kit, sometimes referred to as a "bamboo industry" [81, 89], no material evidence of such "vegetal tools" has yet been found in the archeological record. On the other hand, the presence of a variety of useful plants and the identification of wear traces caused by plant working has led to extensive experimental research dedicated to the exploration of the various functions and uses of plants in prehistoric Southeast Asia [90, 91]. While direct evidence for an actual existence of bamboo tools is still lacking in the archeological record, experimental use-wear analysis has significantly contributed to our understanding of the importance and versatility of tropical plants throughout human history. Numerous artifacts have been found that carry traces of plant processing in form of intensive micropolishes, the so-called "sickle gloss," for instance in late Pleistocene sites in Central and North Sulawesi [32, 38, 39]. Although stone tool assemblages in ISEA are generally characterized by the production and use of unretouched flake tools, it does not necessarily mean that the prehistoric technology in the region was less complex. In several sites in ISEA, the

*Pleistocene Archaeology - Migration,Technology, and Adaptation*

existence of composite technologies have been identified that employed

technologies in Southeast Asia being backward obsolete.

**102**

unretouched flakes by attaching them as insets to shafts with the aid of resinous adhesives, for hunting weapons and also for tools with handles such as knives [32, 86, 92]. This is another example when a microscopic approach is particularly suitable for addressing current issues in understanding the prehistoric lithic technology of ISEA [32, 38, 86, 93]. It has also rendered the stereotypical label of lithic

Lithic technology during the course of human occupation in Wallacea indicates a

reliance on secondary raw material sources, for instance nodules from rivers or streams [25, 32, 38, 77, 82]. Examples are the use of igneous beach pebbles as hammerstones and net sinkers, and their sharp-edged fragments as tools for cutting and scraping activities [9, 32]. Other examples are the use of marine shells that possess physical characteristics similar to rocks for non-formal and formal tools that were employed for a variety of activities [9, 42, 94–97]. While microscopic traces indicate intensive plant processing that was most likely associated with the production of other forms of technology and consumption during the late Pleistocene, this might also be a reflection of adaptation to environmental changes. The technological advancements in ISEA are often associated with the need for sea crossings and the processing and production of tools made from organic materials such as shells, animal bones and plants. Several aspects in the development and application of prehistoric technologies in island environments still need to be further explored, especially the role of plant working in the production of rafts, nets, traps, and binding materials. More experimental research on the identification and differentiation of traces from different types of materials, such as plants and animal bones, needs to be conducted. In terms of understanding prehistoric technology, a robust

The progress of maritime adaptation was far more developed than previously expected, when AMH or *Homo sapiens* reached various marine and coastal environments after migrating Out of Africa, particularly in ISEA including Wallacea and Oceania after 45-50 ka. Early traces of long-distance seafaring and intense maritime activities, including pelagic fishing, and the use of shell fishhooks and/or bone fishing gorges for bait fishing, as well as the increased processing of grassy plants for the extraction of fibrous materials for products that may also have been a part of the maritime technology of early modern humans, have been discovered in these maritime regions since the late Pleistocene. Such finds strongly indicate that the archipelagic environment of AMH, with many small and remote islands, could be the major background for their high maritime adaptation and mobility. After the Holocene, and with warmer temperatures, rapid rise of sea level, and the expansion of coastal areas including a possible development of coral reefs after around 6000 years ago, there were both, maritime adaptation and adaptation to new Holocene island environments, accompanied by the development of lithic production and functional tools for hunting and using plant and other materials by AMH in Wallacea.
