Abstract There is increasing evidence that confirms the existence of the Acheulean Techno-complex at sites in Southeast and East Asia, especially for its earliest appearance at ~0.8 Ma; however, these Acheulean sites are characterized by significantly low lithic densities and infrequent Large Cutting Tools (LCTs) (e.g. sites in the Bose Basin). Various hypotheses have been proposed to account for these low artefact densities. In this paper, we consider the interplay between cataclysmic events in the environment and population dynamics during the Acheulean, which has received little attention with regard to ecology. We focus on two sudden penecontemporaneous geological events at ~0.8 Ma: the Australasian tektite fall and the oldest Toba supereruption, both of which have been well documented in Southeast Asia and the southern part of South China and have been confirmed causing severe environmental change (e.g. deforestation). We propose that this destruction of the original habitat created a bottleneck effect on the Acheulean toolmakers that had moved from the West into the area. This study broadens our understanding of the regional character of the Acheulean Techno-complex in Southeast and East Asia, and it provides an interesting case study that highlights the relationship between Acheulean population dynamics and sudden environmental change.

中文翻译：

---

东亚和东南亚约 0.8 Ma Acheulean 期间的人口动态：考虑两次地质灾害的影响

摘要 越来越多的证据证实了东南亚和东亚地区存在阿舍利技术综合体，尤其是它最早出现在~0.8 Ma；然而，这些 Acheulean 遗址的特点是岩体密度非常低，并且很少有大型切削工具 (LCT)（例如 Bose 盆地中的遗址）。已经提出了各种假设来解释这些低人工制品密度。在本文中，我们考虑了阿舍利时期环境中的灾难性事件与人口动态之间的相互作用，这在生态学方面很少受到关注。我们专注于大约 0.8 Ma 的两个突然的准同期地质事件：澳大拉西亚陨石坠落和最古老的多巴超级喷发，这两种情况在东南亚和华南南部都有很好的记录，并已被证实会导致严重的环境变化（例如森林砍伐）。我们认为，原始栖息地的这种破坏对从西部迁移到该地区的 Acheulean 工具制造商造成了瓶颈效应。这项研究拓宽了我们对东南亚和东亚 Acheulean Techno-complex 区域特征的理解，并提供了一个有趣的案例研究，突出了 Acheulean 人口动态与环境突然变化之间的关系。