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According to a statement released by Ateneo de Manila University, new research suggests that prehistoric people living in the Philippines and Island Southeast Asia may have had the capability of building sophisticated seafaring boats far earlier than expected. The study challenges the widely held contention that advances in boatbuilding technology during the Paleolithic era only took place in Europe and Africa. The researchers argue that places such as the Philippines, Indonesia, and Timor-Leste were never connected to the mainland during this period, yet somehow contain evidence of human occupation. Analysis of 40,000-year-old stone tools excavated at sites across these regions...

Neanderthal peoples' Asian cousins occupied the islands of our nearest neighbours and possibly Australia itself, scientists believe. Writing today in the journal Science, Adelaide University archaeologist Alan Cooper argues that the Denisovans – Neanderthal-like relatives of ancient humans – crossed Wallace’s Line, one of the world’s most formidable marine barriers, more than 100,000 years ago. Having achieved this feat, it would be “amazing” if they had not made what was then an easy crossing to Australia. “If you cross Wallace’s Line you’ve done all the hard work,” Professor Cooper told The Australian. The Denisovans were unknown before a finger bone...