The Toalean (or Toalian or Toala in Indonesian)[2] people were hunter-gatherers who inhabited the Indonesian island of Sulawesi during the Mid- to Late-Holocene period[3] prior to the spread of Austronesian Neolithic farmers some 3,500 years ago from mainland Asia.[4]
The term 'Toalean' was assigned by the earliest excavators from the local Bugis word 'Toale' meaning "forest people". The term is misleading as later research has found the Toalean culture to be unrelated to the later forest-dwelling people of southern Sulawesi.[5]
The Toalean culture is recognised by the presence of refined bone points, backed microliths, large amounts of shell (especially the freshwater gastropod Tylomelania perfecta), small denticulate stone 'Maros points', and an absence of the ground stone technologies that characterise later local cultures.[6] Toalean artefacts are often associated with skeletal remains of Sulawesi warty pigs.[7][8] Few examples of Toalean art have been found, and these are limited to portable examples including an engraved bone point from Ulu Leang 1 and a painted shell at Leang Rakkoe.[9] No Toalean cave art has been identified.[10]
^Perston, Y. L., Sumantri, I., Hakim, . B., Oktaviana, A. A., & Brumm, A. (2020). "Excavation Report for Leang Rakkoe: A New Toalean Site with Engraved Art in the Bomboro Valley, Maros Regency, South Sulawesi". WALENNAE: Jurnal Arkeologi Sulawesi Selatan Dan Tenggara. 18 (1): 51–64. doi:10.24832/wln.v18i1.427 (inactive 2024-10-24). S2CID221709383.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of October 2024 (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Perston, Yinika Lotus; Sumantri, Iwan; Hakim, Budianto; Oktaviana, Adhi Agus; Brumm, Adam (2020-06-22). "Excavation Report for Leang Rakkoe: A New Toalean Site with Engraved Art in the Bomboro Valley, Maros Regency, South Sulawesi". Jurnal Walennae. 18 (1): 51–64. doi:10.24832/wln.v18i1.427 (inactive 2024-10-24). ISSN2580-121X. S2CID221709383.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of October 2024 (link)