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Abstract

The insular region of Wallacea has become a focal point for studying early human evolution in island environments. Here we focus on how socioeconomic adaptations, under changing climatic conditions, influenced the belief systems and burial practices of past foragers at Ratu Mali 2, an elevated coastal cave site on the small, impoverished island of Kisar dated to 15.5–3.7 ka. This multidisciplinary study reveals the impressive flexibility of our species in the most marginal of environments by demonstrating extreme marine dietary adaptations as well as engagement with an extensive trade and exchange network across open seas. A male and a female, interred in a single grave at Ratu Mali 2 by 14.7 ka are the oldest known human burials in Wallacea with established funerary rites. These findings enable exploration of how human societies and belief systems adapted to rising sea levels in Wallacea after the Last Glacial Maximum.