Sea levels in Micronesia rose much faster over the past 5,000 years than previously thought, according to our new study published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Sea levels in Micronesia rose much faster over the past 5,000 years than previously thought, according to our new study published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
This sea-level rise is shown by the accumulation of mangrove sediments on the islands of Pohnpei and Kosrae. The finding may change how we think about when people migrated into Remote Oceania, and where they might have voyaged from.
Formidable voyagers
While recent decades saw significant advancements in linguistic, bio-anthropological and archaeological research in the region, the exact pattern and timing of human settlement of Remote Oceania is still debated.
Humans began migration into Remote Oceania—the area of the « open » Pacific Ocean east of New Guinea and the Philippines—some 3,300–3,500 years ago. This migration required formidable long-distance ocean voyaging of the likes never seen before in human history.
The region of Micronesia extends many thousands of kilometers and contains thousands of low-lying atolls. Many of these atolls formed roughly 2,500 years ago when the sea level in the region stabilized close to where it is today.
Before that, the sea level might have been up to two meters higher than at present. People could only settle these atolls successfully once sea levels had lowered and stabilized.
But there are also older and higher volcanic islands in Micronesia.
