The development of subsistence system models for Island Southeast Asia and Near Oceania: The nature and role of arboriculture and arboreal-based economies

Unique arboreal-based subsistence economies emerged in Wallacea, New Guinea and Near Oceania. Initial developments have their roots in the Pleistocene. The developmental history of arboreal-based economies (often called arboriculture) in Southeast Asia and the Pacific is not well understood. A framework of subsistence system diversification in relation to unexploited ecological opportunities is useful for subsistence system model building. The emergence of arboreal-based economies in Island Southeast Asia and Near Oceania has significant implications concerning Pacific prehistory, as Austronesian descendants probably incorporated arboriculture and arboreal resources into their economies and subsequently translocated these to the more distant Pacific islands. The overall framework can be applied to assessing subsistence developments elsewhere.