Stone tools from the Philippines, Indonesia and Timor-Leste show wear consistent with processing plant fibers for cordage, and are found with hooks, net weights and bones of tuna and sharks. Researchers interpret these combined lines of evidence as indicating rope-making, boatbuilding and offshore fishing skills around 40,000 years ago. The study argues these data challenge the view that Paleolithic seafaring was passive drift and instead point to deliberate navigation and advanced maritime knowledge in island Southeast Asia.
Stone Tools Reveal Skilled Southeast Asian Seafarers 40,000 Years Ago — Rethinking Paleolithic Navigation
Stone tools from the Philippines, Indonesia and Timor-Leste show wear consistent with processing plant fibers for cordage, and are found with hooks, net weights and bones of tuna and sharks. Researchers interpret these combined lines of evidence as indicating rope-making, boatbuilding and offshore fishing skills around 40,000 years ago. The study argues these data challenge the view that Paleolithic seafaring was passive drift and instead point to deliberate navigation and advanced maritime knowledge in island Southeast Asia.
07:41 PM, 11/15/2025Science
New Evidence Suggests Advanced Maritime Technology in Paleolithic Island Southeast Asia
Recent analyses of stone tools and associated finds from the Philippines, Indonesia and Timor-Leste point to surprisingly advanced seafaring capabilities in island Southeast Asia (ISEA) as early as 40,000 years ago. Researchers from Ateneo de Manila University, publishing in the Journal of Archaeological Science, interpret wear patterns on stone implements and a suite of marine-related artifacts as indirect but compelling evidence for boatbuilding, cordage production and open-ocean fishing.
Because perishable materials such as wood and plant fibers rarely survive in ancient deposits, archaeologists often must rely on indirect traces. The study documents stone tool wear consistent with the extraction and processing of plant fibers used to make ropes, nets and bindings. These tools were found alongside fishing hooks, net weights, gorges and the remains of large pelagic fish including tuna and sharks — species that are typically captured far offshore.
“The remains of large predatory pelagic fish at these sites indicate the capacity for advanced seafaring and knowledge of the seasonality and migration routes of those fish species,” the authors write, adding that cordage would have been essential for both boat construction and effective deep-ocean fishing.
Taken together, the evidence suggests that prehistoric communities in ISEA were not passive drifters but practiced purposeful navigation using watercraft built from perishable materials and bound with plant-based cordage. The authors argue this challenges the long-standing view that Paleolithic seafaring innovations were centered in Africa and Europe, instead positioning parts of Southeast Asia as early centers of maritime technological development.
Why this matters
This research reframes our understanding of early human dispersal and technological creativity. If early mariners in ISEA indeed built seaworthy craft and fished offshore, it implies advanced ecological knowledge (seasonality and migration of pelagic species), skilled navigation, and complex material technologies tens of thousands of years ago. The study does not claim absolute proof of specific boat designs — direct organic evidence remains rare — but it provides a robust, multi-proxy case that complements earlier archaeological and genetic evidence for purposeful island colonization.
Implications: The findings highlight the ingenuity of early island inhabitants and suggest a deep ancestry for maritime traditions that persist in the region today. Further excavations and residue analyses are needed to refine models of Paleolithic boat construction, seafaring routes and the social contexts of these technologies.