Concluding remarks: Continuing the work in Sumatran connections

Abstract

The island of Sumatra is at a critical crossroads of biodiversity and cultural diversity in Southeast Asia. Despite its central geographical position, the island has received relatively limited archaeological and palaeontological attention in comparison with its immediate neighbours to the north (the Thai-Malay Peninsula) and the south (Java), particularly regarding the Pleistocene. This volume has drawn together the history and current status of Sumatran archaeological and palaeontological research and, it is hoped, provides a firm baseline from which understanding of the island can progress. As hinted throughout the contributions presented in this volume, we are barely scratching the surface in our understanding of the biotic and cultural history of Sumatra, and it is telling that the first large-scale explorations and collections from the island, those conducted by Dubois in the late 1880s, still form the basis of much of the current research presented in these pages. The common theme emerging from all the chapters is one of connection-within Sumatra, but more importantly with the rest of Southeast Asia-biologically, culturally and through time and space. We echo the call of researchers from the 1970s-Edwards McKinnon, Bronson and others-for wider and more numerous field expeditions and greater research attention to this island.