Some perspectives regarding human settlements and ancient prehistory of Indonesia in the context of Southeast Asia from the first hominids to the arrival of our species

Knowledge of the ancient prehistory of Indonesia and adjacent areas has undergone significant developments in recent decades, which have resulted in a relative complexity of models related to the history of the settlement of the archipelagos, but also demonstrate the multiple links of the archaeological register with the geological, climatic and environmental evolution of the region. Here we address a limited number of perspectives guiding current works, from the colonization of islands by non-human hominoid primates and hominins becoming early islanders, until the arrival of Homo sapiens during the Late Pleistocene. These approaches underline that since the end of the Pliocene, from the first hominid confronted with interruptions of the ecosystems essential to its survival up to the organized groups of navigators, the sea, the coastal landscapes, as well as the various tropical forest formations remain at the center of the questions about the prehistory of the Southeast Asian archipelagos.(c) 2023 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.