Published:31/07/2025Language:EnglishPages:163, Illustrated throughout in black & white and colour.BAR Number: S3226Series: BAR International Series

Island Life

Name: Island Life
SKU: Island Life
Availability: InStock

40,000 years of shellfish exploitation in the Wallacean Archipelago

Written by Elena Luisa Piotto

€44.40 – €57.60

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Description

This research is based on the coastal economies of three sites in the Wallacean archipelago of Island Southeast Asia: Asitau Kuru (formerly Jerimalai) and Matja Kuru 2 on the island of Timor, and Tron Bon Lei, Alor Island. The site occupation dates all begin within the Pleistocene, with the earliest dates at c. 40,000 years, spanning the Last Glacial Maximum, through the Pleistocene/Holocene Transition, and into the Holocene, with the latest dates at c. 2,000 years. This book focuses on human exploitation of shellfish, both subsistence and artefactual, and presents new coastal based economic data. It is one of the few comprehensive archaeomalacological studies conducted in the region, and the first such study for these sites.

This research contributes to understanding of human coastal adaptations and the importance of coastal economies for migrating early Homo sapiens populations, particularly in areas where terrestrial fauna was limited.

About the Author

Elena Luisa Piotto holds a PhD in Archaeology and Natural History from the Australian National University. She has more than 15 years of experience in archaeology and cultural heritage management.

Reviews

‘This is a marvellous new study and the results presented are of great scientific value—both regionally for the Wallacea and ISEA areas and globally for the literature on coastal adaptations and island historical ecology. Piotto contributes to new views on the significance of marine resources to early Homo sapiens populations as they left Africa and spread around the world.’ Professor Jon Erlandson, University of Oregon