New find re deep sea fishing blows previous histories “out of the water”

In “Deep sea fishing for tuna began 42,000 years ago” (New Scientist 24 November 2011), Wendy Zukermanreports that the recent find blows evidence for fishing with hooks or spears arund 12,000 years ago “out of the water”:

Sue O’Connor at the Australian National University in Canberra and colleagues dug through deposits at the Jerimalai shelter in East Timor. They discovered 38,000 fish bones from 23 different taxa, including tuna and parrotfish that are found only in deep water. Radiocarbon dating revealed the earliest bones were 42,000 years old.

Also, hooks.

By way of explanation, investigator Sue O’Connor observes that they really had to learn such skills:

“Apart from bats and rats, there’s nothing to eat here.”

[Yum. Can we see the fish of the day?]

Besides, sea levels were 60-70 m lower than today. But were they fishing from shore or watercraft? With luck, the group practiced ship burial, as at Sutton Hoo, and O’Connor’s team will find the craft.