Andamanasia (6,093 – 4,366 BCE) Middle Holocene — Garden-Tending, Canoe Exchange, and Island Alliances

Geographic and Environmental Context

Andamanasia encompasses:

• Andaman Islands (North, Middle, South Andaman) and Nicobar Islands.

• Aceh in northern Sumatra, with nearby islands (Simeulue, Nias, Batu, Mentawai).

• The Cocos (Keeling) Islands.

• The Preparis, Coco, and Little Coco Islands (off Myanmar).
  
  Anchors: North–South Andaman coasts and reefs, Nicobar Great Channel, Aceh’s Weh Island and Lhokseumawe–Banda Aceh corridor, Simeulue–Nias–Mentawai arc, Preparis/Coco islets, Cocos (Keeling) lagoon.

• Andamans: dense rainforest; Nicobars: fertile volcanic soils; Aceh/Nias: mixed forest–garden zones.

Climate & Environmental Shifts

• Monsoon stability; high rainfall; fertile volcanic soils.

Subsistence & Settlement

• Proto-horticulture: taro, yam, banana tended in gardens in Nicobars, Nias, Mentawai.

• Andamans: continued foraging + arboriculture (pandanus, coconut groves).

• Coastal villages semi-permanent; canoe traffic intensified.

Technology & Material Culture

• Polished adzes; pottery in Aceh/Nias/Mentawai; barkcloth beaters; shell ornaments.

• Sophisticated outrigger canoes appear.

Movement & Interaction Corridors

• Inter-island alliances based on kinship/canoe exchange networks.

• Nicobars positioned in Bay of Bengal crossroads.

Cultural & Symbolic Expressions

• Canoe-burial rituals; ancestor shrines; carved canoe prows as symbolic markers.

Environmental Adaptation & Resilience

• Diversified mixed subsistence; reliance on canoe exchange buffered local failures.

Transition

By 4,366 BCE, Andamanasia was an island-horticultural canoe society.