Research released by Ateneo de Manila University suggests prehistoric people in the Philippines and Island Southeast Asia may have had the capability of building sophisticated seafaring boats far earlier than previously expected.
Notes on verification
Confirmed against peer-reviewed source (Fuentes & Pawlik 2025, JAS Reports) and university press release; most secondary outlets reproduce the same press release rather than independently verifying, but the underlying study is peer-reviewed and traceable via ScienceDirect and institutional repository.
Sources
- News - Humans in Southeast Asia 40,000 Years Ago May Have Been Skilled Seafarers - Archaeology Magazine (archaeology.org)
- https://www.ateneo.edu/news/2025/02/21/clues-advanced-ancient-technology-found-philippines-island-southeast-asia (ateneo.edu)
- https://archium.ateneo.edu/sa-faculty-pubs/156/ (archium.ateneo.edu)
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352409X25000525 (sciencedirect.com)