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Subsistence adaptations to coastal environments and the capacity to take advantage of mangrove swamps has likely played an important role in the success of the maritime colonization of Southeast Asian and Wallacean islands by modern humans. Yet, ichthyoarchaeological studies remain rare in this part of the world. Bubog I rockshelter (Ilin Island, southwestern Mindoro, the Philippines) has yielded a stratigraphic filling extending from 30 ka to 4 ka, including a human-produced shell midden. Several remains from marine and terrestrial animals have been recovered from the site. We report here on an Australo-Melanesian subsistence behavior based on ichthyofaunal, crustacean, and large mammal remains. Their adaptation to successfully exploit different marine environments from open reef to mangrove swamps is demonstrated by the continuous presence of fishes from these marine zones throughout the stratigraphy and by the development of a range of fishing and foraging techniques. The increased hunting of Sus oliveri furthermore shows increased foraging in tropical rainforests after 6 ka. Interestingly, based on crustaceans analysis, mangrove foraging in Bubog I declined when the development of these swamps was at their maximum in other islands in the Philippines. Variability in subsistence strategies therefore appears to be a response to changing landscapes during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition with a strong marine specialization that only increased as mangrove habitats declined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the southern Vietnamese site of Rach Nui, dated to between 3390 and 3850 cal BP, in the context of three major aspects of the Neolithic in Mainland Southeast Asia: mound formation and chronology, construction techniques, and subsistence economy. Results indicate that this ca. 75 m in diameter, 5 m high mound, comprising over a dozen phases of earthen platforms, upon which were raised sophisticated wooden structures, was built in <200 years. While consuming domesticated millet, rice, and occasionally dogs and pigs, the main subsistence orientation included managed tubers and fruits and a range of mangrove ecosystem taxa: catfishes, turtles, crocodiles, monitor lizards, macaques and langurs, to name a few. This combined vegeculture-foraging lifeway in a mangrove forested environment, likely in the context of a tradable goods extractive industry, adds to a growing picture of significant diversity, and sophisticated construction skills in the Southeast Asian Neolithic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recently discovered human remains from Callao Cave, northern Luzon, Philippines securely date the migration of hominins into the Philippines to ca. 70 kya (thousands of years ago). The direct route to reach Luzon from the Asian mainland is via Borneo, Palawan, through Mindoro and into Luzon. Our research focuses on Mindoro Island as a potential stepping stone to the main Philippine Archipelago. While Palawan and Luzon have produced evidence for early human occupation, no systematic research on the prehistory of Mindoro has been conducted until now. We report on recent archaeological investigations at the Bubog rockshelter sites on the small island of llin just off the coast of Mindoro. The excavations produced evidence of stratified sequences of human habitation at the two rockshelter sites in the form of dense shell middens that date to ca. 11 kya onwards. They provide direct evidence on how variability in landscape formation, sea levels, and landmass during the terminal Pleistocene and early Holocene influenced the behavior of early human populations. Numerous species of molluscs were recorded and provisional results indicate variations in the invertebrate faunas throughout the stratigraphic sequences, resulting from sea level rise and the establishment of coral reefs between llin and Mindoro at the end of the Pleistocene. Our results contribute substantially to our understanding of the processes of human island adaptation, complement ongoing research into Island Southeast Asia's paleogeography, and enhance current knowledge of prehistoric subsistence strategies across the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The faunal remains recovered from the Neolithic and Metal Age Nagsabaran shell midden site in Cagayan, Northern Luzon Philippines were analyzed to gain insights into the arrival of managed animal populations, subsistence patterns, and animal processing during the occupation of the site around 2000 cal BC to within the last 1,500 years. Introduced pigs are present from the earliest recognized phases of settlement, but dogs are only evident from the Late Neolithic/Metal Age onwards. The faunal assemblage is dominated by wild taxa suggesting the reliance on hunting for subsistence even up to the Late Metal Age (1350 BP). There was no intensification in animal husbandry, even in the presence of domestic animals, which is in contrast to other sites in the region dating to the same period and demonstrates regional variability in the resource importance of introduced domestic taxa. Analysis of skeletal element representation in the assemblage revealed that whole carcasses were being brought to the site and processed, and systematic analysis of the butchery marks permitted the description of carcass processing sequences. Over-representation of certain skeletal elements, and the presence of finished tools suggests the on-site manufacture of bone implements during the later phases of site occupation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]