Professor Sue O'Connor was poor across a dozen years doing archaeological research in Timor Leste. Included in Jerimalai Cave, located in Lautem District, the most eastern tip of Timor Leste.
Some time ago, she and her colleagues from the Australian National University found that 38 thousand remaining bones of marine and freshwater fish. Including the bones of fish species, like pelagic, tuna, sharks, rays, and other marine fish.
They were surprised because, after a test conducted carbon dating, the age of ancient objects is 42 thousand years. Other findings are a few hooks made from shells whose age was 11-23 thousand years.
"Very impressive if 40 thousand years ago humans routinely catch fish in the sea," O'Connor said last week. According to him, the complex technology needed to catch pelagic fish species. Certainly Southeast Asia early humans had the ability to fish is very advanced.
At Blombos Cave, South Africa, once found a pile of fish bones 50-140 thousand years old. But the bones are largely derived from freshwater fish that can be captured easily using simple technology. "The findings of some tuna fish is likely due to stranding" said Richard Klein, an archaeologist at Stanford University in California.
Eye of the hook too surprising discovery. "Previously hook oldest age found that simultaneously with the beginning of the planting. In Southeast Asia it occurs around 5.500 years ago," said O'Connor. As a result, the findings in this Jerimalai Cave is the world's oldest hook.
What other implications of these findings? Thousands of years ago, said O'Connor, a human modem using East Timor as a stepping stone while migrating from Asia to Australia. He and his team of researchers expose Australian National University in the journal Science.
Some technologies may be used to catch fish at sea, among others, nets that have a hook. O'Connor explains, different fishing hooks with previous findings. But capturing fast swimmers, like tuna, can not possibly use the spear.
Christopher Henshilwood, an archaeologist at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, pleaded not surprised by these findings. "Humans have been able to go to sea at the time," he said. A number of experts does mention of modern human migration to Australia first occurred in a period of 50 thousand years ago.
However, O'Connor has not found direct evidence of a sophisticated fishing equipment and methods. Perhaps fishing skills enabling them to efficiently utilize the shoreline and survive in the open ocean to reach the Continent Kangaroo.
O'Connor suspect sites in coastal areas of Africa that can reveal more evidence of maritime technology may have been lost due to sea level rise from time to time.
Luckily, the site Jerimalai Cave is still incomplete because it is situated in coastal areas is high. "This site provides a window to find out what early modern humans," says O'Connor. That windows look to justify the statement that our ancestors was sailors. *** [UNTUNG WIDYANTO | ANTON WILLIAM | NATURE | LIVESCIENCE | KORAN TEMPO 3719]
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| The Jerimalai cave site in Timor Leste during excavation. (Picture from: http://news.nationalpost.com/) |
They were surprised because, after a test conducted carbon dating, the age of ancient objects is 42 thousand years. Other findings are a few hooks made from shells whose age was 11-23 thousand years.
"Very impressive if 40 thousand years ago humans routinely catch fish in the sea," O'Connor said last week. According to him, the complex technology needed to catch pelagic fish species. Certainly Southeast Asia early humans had the ability to fish is very advanced.
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| A complete shell fish hook from the Pleistocene levels of a cave site at the east end of Timor Leste. (Picture from: http://www.livescience.com/) |
Eye of the hook too surprising discovery. "Previously hook oldest age found that simultaneously with the beginning of the planting. In Southeast Asia it occurs around 5.500 years ago," said O'Connor. As a result, the findings in this Jerimalai Cave is the world's oldest hook.
What other implications of these findings? Thousands of years ago, said O'Connor, a human modem using East Timor as a stepping stone while migrating from Asia to Australia. He and his team of researchers expose Australian National University in the journal Science.
Some technologies may be used to catch fish at sea, among others, nets that have a hook. O'Connor explains, different fishing hooks with previous findings. But capturing fast swimmers, like tuna, can not possibly use the spear.
Christopher Henshilwood, an archaeologist at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, pleaded not surprised by these findings. "Humans have been able to go to sea at the time," he said. A number of experts does mention of modern human migration to Australia first occurred in a period of 50 thousand years ago.
However, O'Connor has not found direct evidence of a sophisticated fishing equipment and methods. Perhaps fishing skills enabling them to efficiently utilize the shoreline and survive in the open ocean to reach the Continent Kangaroo.
O'Connor suspect sites in coastal areas of Africa that can reveal more evidence of maritime technology may have been lost due to sea level rise from time to time.
Luckily, the site Jerimalai Cave is still incomplete because it is situated in coastal areas is high. "This site provides a window to find out what early modern humans," says O'Connor. That windows look to justify the statement that our ancestors was sailors. *** [UNTUNG WIDYANTO | ANTON WILLIAM | NATURE | LIVESCIENCE | KORAN TEMPO 3719]
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