Imagine thousands of years before written history, when humans had yet to discover metal, the wheel, or navigation maps. While much of the world still lived inland, prehistoric humans in Southeast Asia had already begun to conquer the seas.
Recent research reveals that long before Magellan, Zheng He, or even the Polynesian voyagers, ancient communities in the Wallacea region—which includes eastern Indonesia, the Philippines, and Timor-Leste—had built sturdy boats from plant materials and navigated open waters with remarkable skill.
The findings, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, are reshaping our understanding of early human intelligence and innovation.
Maritime Technology in the Stone Age
Archaeological evidence from the Philippines, Indonesia, and Timor-Leste shows that humans in this region were consciously seafaring more than 40,000 years ago. Microscopic analyses of stone tools found at excavation sites revealed distinctive marks, wear patterns, and traces of plant fibers on their surfaces.
These findings indicate that the tools were used to process tough plant materials, such as bark or large leaves, to make ropes and bindings essential for boat construction.
This was no random activity. The repeated, consistent patterns suggest a deliberate and systematic process, pointing to organized craftsmanship rather than chance.
In other words, these prehistoric humans already possessed technical knowledge of how to make rope, assemble frameworks, and construct seaworthy vessels capable of withstanding open-ocean conditions. At a time when metal was unknown, this represents a remarkable technological achievement.
Evidence from the Deep Seas of Mindoro and Jerimalai
Traces of early maritime activity have been found in the Philippines, particularly at the Bubog I and II sites on Mindoro Island and at Bilat Cave. There, archaeologists discovered piles of fish bones indicating that prehistoric humans were already fishing as early as 30,000 years ago.
The fish remains were not from small coastal species, but from deep-sea fish that live far from shore, clear evidence that these ancient people ventured out to sea, rather than simply waiting for fish near the coast.
Meanwhile, at Jerimalai Cave in Timor-Leste, researchers unearthed even more astonishing findings: remains of pelagic fish such as tuna and shark, along with fishhooks made from shell. These discoveries suggest that early humans in the region had developed advanced fishing techniques, crafting specialized tools from natural materials to catch large fish in deep waters.
Even more remarkable, the Jerimalai fishhooks are among the oldest in the world. This highlights that fishing and seafaring technologies in Southeast Asia evolved extremely early—long before great civilizations like Egypt or Mesopotamia ever set sail.
From Rafts to Fiber Boats: Testing the Hypothesis
For years, many theories proposed that ancient humans in Southeast Asia crossed the seas using bamboo rafts carried by ocean currents. However, modern experiments have disproven this idea.
In 2025, a team of researchers conducted a successful sea trial using a replica “dugout” canoe, a boat carved from a single tree trunk, that managed to travel 225 kilometers from Taiwan to Yonaguni in just 45 hours. By contrast, bamboo or reed rafts repeatedly failed to withstand the strong Kuroshio Current.
The challenge, however, lies in the fact that 40,000 years ago, prehistoric humans in the Wallacea region had no metal tools or large chisels to carve solid tree trunks. This led researchers to propose that they instead used flexible plant fibers, which were twisted and bound together to form light yet durable structures.
From this innovation emerged the earliest framed and outrigger boats, ingenious solutions designed to maintain balance and stability in open waters. The technique was highly practical: fiber ropes could be easily repaired, plant materials were abundant, and boats could be assembled or disassembled at will.
Armed with these skills, early Southeast Asian seafarers were able to navigate across islands, and even migrate across deep seas that had separated the landmasses since prehistoric times.
Clues from Other Parts of the World
Interestingly, similar evidence has been found elsewhere. At Abri du Maras in France, archaeologists uncovered fragments of rope estimated to be between 41,000 and 52,000 years old. This discovery suggests that plant fiber technology emerged independently in multiple regions around the same time.
However, in tropical Southeast Asia, organic materials such as wood and fiber decay rapidly, making direct evidence extremely rare. That is why stone tool traces and deep-sea fish remains serve as invaluable indirect clues to the region’s early maritime innovation.
Unveiling the Secrets of the World’s Oldest Seas
Today, archaeologists are preparing a new experiment to further test these theories—replicating ancient stone tools to extract plant fibers and building full-scale boat reconstructions for trials in real ocean conditions.
The project, known as First Long-Distance Open-Sea Watercrafts (FLOW), is led by researchers from Ateneo de Manila University in collaboration with naval architects from the University of Cebu.
Its goal is simple yet extraordinary: to demonstrate how prehistoric humans conquered the open sea, without the use of metal, engines, or maps.
If the experiment succeeds, it will support the profound conclusion that the world’s earliest seafarers came from Southeast Asia, not Europe or the Middle East.
