Andamanasia (4,365 – 2,638 BCE) Late Neolithic/Chalcolithic — Canoe Economies and Outer-Island Exchange

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.

• Nicobars as Bay hub; Aceh/Nias/Mentawai coastal villages expanded; Andamans maintained foraging identity.

Climate & Environmental Shifts

• Monsoon reliable but cyclones episodic; high productivity sustained.

Subsistence & Settlement

• Village agriculture expanded: yam/taro/banana, coconut/pandanus, fishing and pig-raising.

• Canoe villages ringed lagoons.

• Andamans: maintained hunter-forager marine economies.

Technology & Material Culture

• Pottery widespread; copper ornaments begin in Aceh/Mentawai; barkcloth and weaving.

• Large outrigger canoes.

Movement & Interaction Corridors

• Canoe economies: dried fish, copra, resin, shells moved between Nicobars and Aceh.

• Cocos/Preparis lightly visited; no permanent villages.

Cultural & Symbolic Expressions

• Feasting during inter-island voyages; ancestor cults maintained.

Environmental Adaptation & Resilience

• Transported landscapes (coconut groves, yam gardens) stabilized subsistence.

Transition

By 2,638 BCE, Andamanasia was embedded in regional Bay exchange