Sites
Kilu Cave
Wikipedia data hasn't been reviewed for accuracy by the Gignos Research Team
- Lat/Long:
- -5.33, 154.68
- Country:
- Papua New Guinea
Kilu Cave is a paleoanthropological site located on Buka Island in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. Kilu Cave is located at the base of a limestone cliff, 65 m (213 ft) from the modern coastline. With evidence for human occupation dating back to 30,000 years, Kilu Cave is the earliest known site for human occupation in the Solomon Islands archipelago. The site is the oldest proof of paleolithic people navigating the open ocean i.e. navigating without land in sight. To travel from Nissan island to Buka requires crossing of at least 60 kilometers of open sea. The presence of paleolithic people at Buka therefore is at the same time evidence for the oldest and the longest paleolithic sea travel known so far.
Kilu Cave was first occupied during the Pleistocene from around 29,000 to 20,000 BP.[5] The earliest radiocarbon date (ANU-5990: 28740 +/- 280 BP) was made on the shell of a sea snail (Nerita) and using the southern curve (SHCAL13) calibrates to between 29,850-31,560 BC cal (95% probability).
After a hiatus during the end of the Pleistocene, the cave is reoccupied more intensively during the Holocene from around 9,000 to 5,000 BP. The hiatus in occupation was most likely due to changes in the sea level that left Kilu Cave far away from the coastline. Some post-Lapita Buka phase pottery was also found at Kilu Cave in its upper layers after around 2,500 BP.