The role of open ocean and coastal tidal currents in the maritime migration to Sahul, ca. 65,000–50,000 years ago

Abstract

The earliest evidence for the presence of people on Sahul, present-day Australasia, represents some of the earliest conclusive evidence for early seafaring worldwide. As seafaring requires forward planning and a detailed understanding of the maritime environment, the migration to Sahul gives important insights into human behaviour, technology, and skills in the deep past. But despite its significance, the timing and nature of the migration process are debated. Open ocean and coastal tidal currents are likely to have had a strong effect on early seafaring. In order to better understand this process, it is crucial that ocean dynamics and their effects on maritime movement are examined.
In this study, dynamic effects of the maritime environment on seafaring are explored with high-resolution computer models of open ocean and coastal tidal circulation. A particle-tracking algorithm is used to calculate large ensembles of simulated ocean drifts in an Ocean General Circulation Model. These are analysed to determine probable timescales and trajectories of movement between Sunda (Southeast Asia) and Sahul. In addition, changes in tidal currents at lower mean sea levels are investigated and the effects of tidal dynamics on early seafaring are explored, using a barotropic hydrodynamic model of the Australian coast. A discussion of the combined effects of open ocean currents, coastal tidal currents, and winds on voyages between Sunda and Sahul reveals that these processes had a strong but variable influence of on human movement. Familiarity with currents and winds would have been advantageous to early seafarers. By using oceanographic research methods to explore an archaeological issue, new perspectives are gained on current debates surrounding early seafaring.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Eveline Kiki Kuijjer: orcid.org/0000-0003-2786-3984

ORCID for Rosemary Farr: orcid.org/0000-0002-7922-9179

ORCID for Ivan Haigh: orcid.org/0000-0002-9722-3061

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