Holocene Climate Amelioration and Monsoonal Variability in Southeast Asia: Alternative Pathways in Agriculture

The beginning of the Holocene is the period during which cultural and environmental transformations contributed to the emergence of Neolithic Agricultural societies. Climate amelioration and shifts in biophysical systems prompted new responses to changing ecological conditions, enabling the development of regionally diverse subsistence systems that ultimately led to the permanent adoption of agriculture. This literature review examines the role of Holocene monsoonal variability and climate change in shaping Southeast Asia (SEA) before the widespread adoption of cereal farming. This review addresses three questions: the Holocene saw extensive warming and climatic amelioration. What impact did that have on indigenous Pleistocene hunter-gatherer populations? What kinds of agricultural systems were practised in SEA before the introduction and spread of cereal-based farming? What implications did this have on the cultural and social organisation of Neolithic communities in these areas? This review synthesised 46papers in relation to Holocene monsoonal variability across Asia, alongside archaeological and vegecultural studies. The findings underscore a significant gap in understanding alternative plant-based systems in the region. While discussions of early agriculture in East and Southeast Asia often emphasise cereal-based systems, such as rice and millet, vegeculture offers an alternative form of cultivation, representing the complex relationship humans share with plants during the early Holocene. Thus, this review examines Holocene monsoonal dynamics and their role in shaping early domestication processes across East and Southeast Asia. Drawing on archaeological evidence from prehistoric and Neolithic Vietnam, this paper argues that root and tree-crop resources formed a central component of early plant-based subsistence and may represent an alternative pathway in the development of agricultural pathways in Southeast Asia.