Written at around 150 AD, Ptolemy‘s Geography first mentions the vast Pleistocene continent of Sundaland. It is a Pleistocene region of Southeast Asia which included the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, and parts of Indonesia. These areas, which are separated by the sea today, were previously one single landmass.
The eastern boundary of Sundaland is marked by the Wallace Line, identified by Alfred Russel Wallace, and provides a boundary between the Indomalayan and Australasian areas.
Formation of Sundaland.
During the Pleistocene there were many glacial periods in which the earth’s climate shifted becoming colder and causing sea water to freeze. The resulting increase in ice formation led to drastic decreases in the sea levels. Subsequently, during warming periods, the ice melted, and sea levels rose by as much as 16 meters.
Between 110,000 to 12,000 years ago the earth entered into a prolonged cold period called the Last Glacial Period. During this time sea-levels fell by nearly 30 meters. This connected the present day islands of Java, Borneo, and Sumatra to mainland Asia and the Malay Peninsula and formed the largest Sundaland mass.
(Photo Credit)
As the earth entered into the Holocene and began to warm up even more, the Sunderland sank into the sea forming the 17,000+ islands we see today.
Life on Sundaland.
The Last Glacial Period occurred during the Paleolithic and Mesolithic on Sundaland. This was a time when many parts of the earth were populated by multiple species of roaming Hunter Gatherers. Homo sapiens were spreading out of Africa while much of Europe was covered in ice up to 2 kilometers thick.
While Europe was encroached upon by ice, Sundaland was feelin’ pretty cozy. Being on the equator the temperatures were mild. Additionally, there would have been two summers every year. Sundaland was the place to be!
Sundaland the hot spot.
Sundaland is a famous hotspot for many significant paleo-archeological discoveries. The first Homo erectus was discovered by Eugene Dubois between 1891 and 1892, in Java. Shells excavated at the same site have been shown to be some of the oldest shell tools found anywhere in the world.
Furthermore, one of the worlds most significant archeological sites called, Sangiran is located in the Sunderland area. According to the UNESCO world heritage list, “half of all the world’s known hominid fossils” have been excavated from this site.
Sangiran and the surrounding Sundaland area was inhabited for over a million and a half years and remains one of the most important sites for helping us understand our human origins.
Jenny Digs 
