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Foraging-farming transitions at the Niah Caves, Sarawak, Borneo

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Graeme Barker ,
Lindsay Lloyd-Smith ,
Huw Barton ,
Franca Cole ,
Chris Hunt ,
Philip J. Piper ,
Ryan Rabett ,
Victor Paz  and
Katherine Szabό
Graeme Barker
Affiliation:
McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3ER, UK
Lindsay Lloyd-Smith
Affiliation:
McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3ER, UK
Huw Barton
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
Franca Cole
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3DZ, UK
Chris Hunt
Affiliation:
School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK
Philip J. Piper
Affiliation:
Archaeological Studies Program, University of the Philippines, Quezon City 1101, Philippines
Ryan Rabett
Affiliation:
McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3ER, UK
Victor Paz
Affiliation:
Archaeological Studies Program, University of the Philippines, Quezon City 1101, Philippines
Katherine Szabό
Affiliation:
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
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The Niah Caves in Sarawak, Borneo, have captured evidence for people and economies of 8000 and 4000 years ago. Although not continuous on this site, these open two windows on to life at the cultural turning point, broadly equivalent to the transition from Mesolithic to Neolithic. They have much in common, inferring that the occupants, perhaps belonging to an older maritime dispersal, had a choosy appetite for the Neolithic package.

Keywords

BorneoNiah CavesNeolithicMesolithicfarmingforaging
Type
Debate
Information
Antiquity , Volume 85 , Issue 328 , June 2011 , pp. 492 - 509
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd 2011

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