This work challenges previous ideas regarding the geographic limits of Homo erectus by providing the first direct evidence of human ancestor existence in the now-submerged Sundaland landscapes.
It emphasizes the important part submerged environments play in tracking human migration and evolution over Southeast Asia.
Berghuis and colleagues show how lost chapters of human history buried beneath the water may be unearthed by integrating geological, archeological, and paleoenvironmental techniques.
Melting glaciers sank the low-lying plains of Sundaland by more than 120 meters, raising world sea levels between 14,000 and 7,000 years ago. Whole populations were driven to flee higher islands or inland.
One element of a puzzle spanning continents and millennia are the Madura Strait fossils. Scientists aim to find the cities, farms, and memories left behind in the flooded areas as underwater exploration technologies develops.
