Scientists discover possible artefacts of oldest known Wallacean Hominids in Indonesia
Archaeologists from Australia and Indonesia have uncovered stone tools on Sulawesi island that may provide evidence of human presence in the Wallacea region as far back as 1.5 million years ago, making them the oldest known hominids in this part of Indonesia.
The small, chipped tools—used for cutting small animals and carving rocks—were found buried in soil in Soppeng, South Sulawesi. Radioactive dating of the tools and animal teeth found nearby dated them to approximately 1.48 million years ago, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Previously, early humans, specifically Homo erectus, were believed to have settled only Flores and Luzon islands around 1 million years ago, due to presumed limitations in sea travel. These new findings challenge that view, suggesting Homo erectus managed to cross significant ocean gaps to reach Sulawesi far earlier than thought.
Lead archaeologist Adam Brumm from Griffith University said, “We think Homo erectus somehow got from the Asian mainland across a significant ocean gap to this island at least 1 million years ago.”
<img src='https://news.az/photos/2025/08/1754896759.jpg' class='responsive-img img-responsive'/><div style='font-size: 11px;color: #746a6a;line-height: 13px;'>Stone tools are pictured at the site where archaeologists from Australia and Indonesia found small, chipped tools, used to cut little animals and carve rocks, under the soil in the Wallacea region, which scientists say may be evidence of humans living there 1.5 million years ago, in Soppeng, South Sulawesi province, Indonesia, August 6, 2025. REUTERS</div>
Wallacea, named after naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace, is a biodiversity-rich region of Eastern Indonesia situated between Asia and Australia, encompassing islands like Sulawesi, Lombok, Flores, and Timor.
This discovery could reshape scientific understanding of early human migration patterns in Southeast Asia.
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