Early ground axe technology in Wallacea: The first excavations on Obi Island.
The first excavations on Obi Island, north-east Wallacea, reveal three phases of occupation beginning in the terminal Pleistocene. Ground shell artefacts appear at the end of the terminal Pleistocene, the earliest examples in Wallacea. In the subsequent early Holocene occupation phase, ground stone...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2020-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0236719 |
| _version_ | 1818666287154331648 |
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| author | Ceri Shipton Sue O'Connor Shimona Kealy Mahirta Indah N Syarqiyah Nico Alamsyah Marlon Ririmasse |
| author_facet | Ceri Shipton Sue O'Connor Shimona Kealy Mahirta Indah N Syarqiyah Nico Alamsyah Marlon Ririmasse |
| author_sort | Ceri Shipton |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The first excavations on Obi Island, north-east Wallacea, reveal three phases of occupation beginning in the terminal Pleistocene. Ground shell artefacts appear at the end of the terminal Pleistocene, the earliest examples in Wallacea. In the subsequent early Holocene occupation phase, ground stone axe flakes appear, which are again the earliest examples in Wallacea. Ground axes were likely instrumental to subsistence in Obi's dense tropical forest. From ~8000 BP there was a hiatus lasting several millennia, perhaps because increased precipitation and forest density made the sites inhospitable. The site was reoccupied in the Metal Age, with this third phase including quadrangular ground stone artefacts, as well as pottery and pigs; reflecting Austronesian influences. Greater connectivity at this time is also indicated by an Oliva shell bead tradition that occurs in southern Wallacea and an exotic obsidian artefact. The emergence of ground axes on Obi is an independent example of a broader pattern of intensification at the Pleistocene-Holocene transition in Wallacea and New Guinea, evincing human innovation in response to rapid environmental change. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-17T06:02:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c5922bd7315644cd8aba0d2a7f7916d6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-17T06:02:08Z |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-c5922bd7315644cd8aba0d2a7f7916d62022-12-21T22:00:51ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032020-01-01158e023671910.1371/journal.pone.0236719Early ground axe technology in Wallacea: The first excavations on Obi Island.Ceri ShiptonSue O'ConnorShimona KealyMahirtaIndah N SyarqiyahNico AlamsyahMarlon RirimasseThe first excavations on Obi Island, north-east Wallacea, reveal three phases of occupation beginning in the terminal Pleistocene. Ground shell artefacts appear at the end of the terminal Pleistocene, the earliest examples in Wallacea. In the subsequent early Holocene occupation phase, ground stone axe flakes appear, which are again the earliest examples in Wallacea. Ground axes were likely instrumental to subsistence in Obi's dense tropical forest. From ~8000 BP there was a hiatus lasting several millennia, perhaps because increased precipitation and forest density made the sites inhospitable. The site was reoccupied in the Metal Age, with this third phase including quadrangular ground stone artefacts, as well as pottery and pigs; reflecting Austronesian influences. Greater connectivity at this time is also indicated by an Oliva shell bead tradition that occurs in southern Wallacea and an exotic obsidian artefact. The emergence of ground axes on Obi is an independent example of a broader pattern of intensification at the Pleistocene-Holocene transition in Wallacea and New Guinea, evincing human innovation in response to rapid environmental change.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0236719 |
| spellingShingle | Ceri Shipton Sue O'Connor Shimona Kealy Mahirta Indah N Syarqiyah Nico Alamsyah Marlon Ririmasse Early ground axe technology in Wallacea: The first excavations on Obi Island. PLoS ONE |
| title | Early ground axe technology in Wallacea: The first excavations on Obi Island. |
| title_full | Early ground axe technology in Wallacea: The first excavations on Obi Island. |
| title_fullStr | Early ground axe technology in Wallacea: The first excavations on Obi Island. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Early ground axe technology in Wallacea: The first excavations on Obi Island. |
| title_short | Early ground axe technology in Wallacea: The first excavations on Obi Island. |
| title_sort | early ground axe technology in wallacea the first excavations on obi island |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0236719 |
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