Pigs by Sea: The Establishment of Pig Husbandry on Wallacean Islands during the Late Holocene

Summary

Domestic pigs play a crucial role in the socioeconomic systems of Island Southeast Asian cultures today. However, the timing of their introduction into the region during the late Holocene and details of their use by prehistoric inhabitants is not entirely clear. The introduction of domestic pigs by maritime Neolithic horticulturalists to the Wallacean island region of eastern Indonesia and Timor-Leste, which has never been connected to a major landmass, appears to have been an advantageous adaptation to these terrestrial depauperate environments. However, the archaeological record is complex with the possibility of independent domestication events in this region. This paper seeks to improve resolution of these issues by reviewing the evidence for pig domestication in Wallacea while adding new zooarchaeological evidence of pig vertebrate remains recovered from cave and rockshelter sites excavated in the lesser Sunda islands of Alor, Timor, lembata and Pantar.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21751