Evidence of human occupation has been found in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Timor-Leste dating to the Paleolithic era, despite these regions never being connected to the mainland.
Notes on verification
Confirmed by multiple independent peer-reviewed sources spanning different research teams and decades, corroborating both the lack of land bridge connection and Paleolithic occupation evidence in all three regions (Callao Cave, Homo floresiensis, Jerimalai/Laili sites).
Sources
- News - Humans in Southeast Asia 40,000 Years Ago May Have Been Skilled Seafarers - Archaeology Magazine (archaeology.org)
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7190613/ (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15564894.2015.1119218 (tandfonline.com)
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0047248410000850 (sciencedirect.com)
- https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/89412 (intechopen.com)