Archaeology of East Timor
Southeast Asia’s newest country (re)gained independence in 2002 but archaeological evidence goes back millennia. East Timor or Timor-Leste is located in the island of Timor in the Indonesian archipelago. East Timor is the newest nation-state in Southeast Asia, having been annexed by Indonesia in 1976 and regained independence in 2002.
To cite this page:Â Tan, Noel Hidalgo (2021, Updated 10 February 2023) Archaeology of East Timor. Southeast Asian Archaeology. Available at:Â https://www.southeastasianarchaeology.com/east-timor-archaeology/
Overview
Back to top
As a new nation, the practice and regulation of archaeology is still in its infancy. Archaeology in East Timor has been investigated mostly by archaeologists from Australia. Findings from cave sites show that humans have been living in East Timor from as early as 44,000 years ago, with fish hooks discovered from one site dating between 16,000 – 23,000 years ago. Rock art also dates to the start of the Holocene. As with other parts of Island Southeast Asia, the Austronesian migration into the area is believed to have started around 2000 BCE. Up until colonisation by the Portuguese, East Timor was home to several chiefdoms and small kingdoms.
Archaeology in East Timor is overseen by the Secretary of State for Art and Culture.
Notable Archaeological Sites of East Timor
Back to top
Note: Not all of these sites in this list are open to the public, and the locations marked on the map may not be exact. For more information about museums in East Timor, check out the museum page here.
Lene Hara: Prehistoric cave with evidence for human occupation from around 35,000 years ago and rock art.
Recommended Books
Back to top
There aren’t many books relevant to the archaeology and history of East Timor, and the list below is my personal recommendation based on what I have in my library or have read, and are easily available. There are some local-language publications that are not available in the internet, and newer books are higher up on the list. Some of these links are affiliate links and I may receive a commission if you click on them and make a purchase. For other sources of reliable academic information, you should also check out the books page for latest releases and the occassional free book, as well as the journals page for the latest scientific research.
Last update on 2024-12-25 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Popular Posts about East Timor Archaeology
Back to top
These links are dynamically generated and are based on the most viewed posts in the last 30 days.
No Content Available
Archaeology News from East Timor
Back to top
The news reports indexed below usually link to external sites that were active at the time of posting; sometimes websites may be temporarily down or may have reorganised their underlying architecture or have even closed down – in these cases the links may not be available. Most of the news articles archived are in English; this is largely because I do not have a working competency in Portuguese or Tetum, although when I am made aware of stories in this and other languages I try to index them.
Links to External Sites
Back to top
These are links to external sites and unless stated, I have no connection with the organisations or entities in these links or control over their content. They are sorted alphabetically, but you should also explore the Resources page which have links sorted by themes. If you have a link to suggest, please get in touch!
- History of East Timor – Wikipedia page
© 2019
