Paleocurrents in a Least-Cost Pathway Model of Human Dispersal from Sunda to Sahul, 65 – 45 Kya

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2021: General Sessions" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The timing of human colonization of Sahul, potentially as early as 65 ka (up from the previous 42 ka) has revised our understanding of the dispersal of anatomically modern humans (AMH). This movement represents, to date, the earliest known AMH long distance migration by sea, implying significant levels of complex language, marine technology, and colonization abilities. The pathway analysis applied to migration models generally utilizes a combination of eustatic sea level, low-resolution ancient topography, and/or present-day ocean currents. Using robust paleotopography and sea level reconstructions based on geophysical modeling of ice age dynamics and paleoclimate simulations using the Community Earth System Model (CESM1.1.1) and MIT General Circulation Model (MITgcm), we retrodict paleocurrents for 65 – 45 ka. The reconstructed ocean currents and topography determine potential pathways for migration from Sunda into Sahul. The least-cost pathway analysis applied to the migration model is a function of time at sea and island-to-island intervisibility. We seek to identify the most favorable time and path of migration into Sahul. We establish a new method for applying cost analysis to migration pathways and lay the framework for estimating paleocurrents using global and regional climate models, while also providing insight into the first peopling of Sahul.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)   •
• SAA 2021: General Sessions

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 32094