Coastal foragers beyond the mainland: Seafaring and early island settlement on Velanai, Jaffna, Sri Lanka, ca. 3460 cal BP

The semi-arid Jaffna Peninsula in northern Sri Lanka has often been considered unsuitable for prehistoric habitation due to its dry climate and scarce stone resources. New excavations at a shell midden (CB/Ex1) in Velanai Island challenge this view, revealing a Late Holocene coastal foraging community dated ∼3460 cal BP that utilized coastal resources long before the agro-pastoral migrations from India around the fifth century BCE. This microlithic activity locus, including non-local quartz debitage, provides the earliest scientifically confirmed evidence of prehistoric occupation by island dwellers in northern Sri Lanka. The inhabitants strategically exploited intertidal reefs with Gafrarium pectinatum as a dietary staple, alongside marine and terrestrial fauna. Their technological toolkit combined locally available limestone, bone tools, and non-local raw materials from the mainland, underscoring deliberate raw material transport and mobility, as well as possibly short-distance seafaring. These findings transform current models of Sri Lankan prehistory by highlighting the adaptive strategies of coastal foragers in marginal environments and their early participation in regional mobility and exchange networks. This research highlights the significance of coastal archaeological sites in reconstructing long-term human–environment interactions and early maritime traditions in South Asia.