Laili (cave)

Laili is a limestone cave located near the town of Laleia,Manatuto District, East
Laili
Timor. Archeological findings in Laili provide evidence that the cave was
occupied by modern humans 44,600 years ago, making it the oldest known such
habitation in Wallacea.[1]:58[2][3]
Laili cave
The age of findings made in Laili corroborates the theory that humans spread
from Asia to Australia through the Southern route, via Java and the Lesser
Sunda Islands.[1][4]

Location in East Timor

Contents Location near Laleia, Manatuto

District
Location
Region East Timor
Occupation
Coordinates 8.5409°S 126.1632°E
Findings
Animal remains Altitude 86 m (282 ft)
Tools Type Limestone cave
Migration to the Australian continent
References

Location
Today, the cave lies at an altitude of 86 metres (282 ft).[1] 44,600 years ago, during initial settlement, the sea level was 63 metres
(207 ft) lower than today. During the Last Glacial Maximum, about 20,000 years ago, the sea level was 130 metres (430 ft) lower
than today. The steepness of the shore near Laili means that the distance from the cave to the shore has stayed relatively unchanged
.[1]
over time, from 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) during the peak of the glacial era to 4.3 kilometres (2.7 mi) today

Occupation
Findings from the cave provide evidence for occupation spanning 44,600 to 11,200 years before present. Usage of the cave increased
[1]
towards the end of the Last Glacial Maximum 15,000 years ago, suggesting a dramatic increase of the population as sea levels rose.

Findings

Animal remains
The remains of fruit bats, rodents, birds, fishes and turtles were found in Laili. Not all can be attributed to human hunting. For
example, presence of murids (small rodents) was relatively constant during the occupation of the cave, suggesting that humans had
little impact on murids.[1]

As there is no evidence of fishing by owls present in Timor at the time, fish remains (parrotfish and freshwater eel) can be attributed
to human consumption. However, unlike in Jerimalai, it is thought that these fishes were caught using traps or spears, and not with
fishing hooks.[1]
While abundant bird remains were found in Laili, it is thought that most were deposited by avian predators. However, larger birds
[5]
like ducks and imperial pigeons were probably hunted by humans.

Despite being close to the sea, few faunal remains found in Laili come from the sea. In that regard, Laili is similar to inland caves like
Uai Bobo and Matja Kuru.[1][6]

Ice Age.[1]
Birds and fruit bats suggest that the local environment was covered by forests during the

Tools
A high number of stone artefacts were excavated at Laili, suggesting that tools used by occupants of the cave were primarily made
[2]
from the reduction of stones. This contrasts with theJerimalai cave, where tools and jewelry made from seashells were found.

Migration to the Australian continent

The Laili cave findings show that Timor was colonised at least 44,600 years ago. However, the oldest findings in Northern Australia
date back more than 50,000 years.[7] It is possible that some findings in Laili are older, but their age could not be determined using
radiocarbon dating. Luminescence dating, which was used to date the earliest sites in Northern Australia, could produce earlier
results.[1]

References
1. Hawkins, Stuart; O'Connor, Sue; Maloney, Tim Ryan; Litster, Mirani; Kealy, Shimona; Fenner, Jack N.; Aplin, Ken;
Boulanger, Clara; Brockwell, Sally; Willan, Richard; Piotto, Elena; Louys, Julien (September 2017)."Oldest human
occupation of Wallacea at Laili Cave, Timor-Leste, shows broad-spectrum foraging respon ses to late Pleistocene
environments" (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318403952_Oldest_human_occupation_of_W allacea_at_L
aili_Cave_Timor-Leste_shows_broad-spectrum_foraging_responses_to_late_Pleistocene_environments) .
Quaternary Science Reviews. 171: 58–72. Bibcode:2017QSRv..171...58H (http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017QSR
v..171...58H). doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2017.07.008 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.quascirev.2017.07.008).
2. Langley, Michelle C.; O'Connor, Sue; Piotto, Elena (August 2016). "42,000-year-old worke d and pigment-stained
Nautilus shell from Jerimalai (Timor-Leste): Evidence for an early coastal adaptation in ISEA".Journal of Human
Evolution. 97: 1–16. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.04.005(https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.jhevol.2016.04.005) .
PMID 27457541 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27457541).
3. O’Connor, Sue; Barham, Anthony; Spriggs, Matthew; Veth, Peter; Aplin, Ken; St Pierre, Emma (17 March 2016).
"Cave Archaeology and Sampling Issues in the T ropics: A Case Study from Lene Hara Cave, a 42,000 e
Yar Old
Occupation Site in East Timor, Island Southeast Asia".Australian Archaeology. 71 (1): 29–40.
doi:10.1080/03122417.2010.11689382(https://doi.org/10.1080%2F03122417.2010.11689382) .
4. O'Connor, Sue (2 January 2015). "New evidence from East Timor contributes to our understanding of earliest
modern human colonisation east of the Sunda Shelf".Antiquity. 81 (313): 523–535.
doi:10.1017/S0003598X00095569(https://doi.org/10.1017%2FS0003598X00095569) .
5. Hawkins, Stuart; O’Connor, Sue; Louys, Julien (8 December 2017). "Taphonomy of bird (Aves) remains at Laili Cave,
Timor-Leste, and implications for human-birdinteractions during the Pleistocene".Archaeological and
Anthropological Sciences. doi:10.1007/s12520-017-0568-4(https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs12520-017-0568-4) .
6. O'Connor, S.; Robertson, G.; Aplin, K.P. (February 2014). "Are osseous artefacts a window to perishable material
culture? Implications of an unusually complex bone tool from the Late Pleistocene of Eastimor".
T Journal of Human
Evolution. 67: 108–119. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2013.12.002(https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.jhevol.2013.12.002).
7. Clarkson, Chris; Smith, Mike; Marwick, Ben; Fullagar , Richard; Wallis, Lynley A.; Faulkner, Patrick; Manne, Tiina;
Hayes, Elspeth; Roberts, Richard G.; Jacobs, Zenobia; Carah, Xavier; Lowe, Kelsey M.; Matthews, Jacqueline;
Florin, S. Anna (June 2015)."The archaeology, chronology and stratigraphy of Madjedbebe (Malakunanja II): A site
in northern Australia with early occupation"(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25957653). Journal of Human
Evolution. 83: 46–64. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.03.014(https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.jhevol.2015.03.014) .
PMID 25957653 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25957653).

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