Studies of Land Bridges and the Migration of Men and Other Animals along Them. Quaternary Paleogeography of the Ryukyu Arc.

Compilation of seismic reflection profiles, rock sample analyses and manned and non manned diving observations revealed that land bridges, connecting the Ryukyu Arc to the Chinese continent, have appeared in two stages since the late Pliocene. The first stage occurred before the deposition of Pleistocene Ryukyu Limestone and ceased in the early stages of deposition, while the second was apparent during the middle and late stages of the Ryukyu Limestone. The land bridge in the first stage may have appeared between 2.0-1.0 Ma and is well identified by the unconformity between Shimajiri and Ryukyu Groups before the deposition of Ryukyu Limestone. The land bridges may have appeared two or three times in the second stage during or after deposition of Ryukyu Limestone between 0.4-0.02 Ma. The last land bridge may have appeared during the Würm glacial stage in the late Pleistocene, connecting the Chinese continent through Taiwan, Okinawa and Amami-Oshima to the Kyushu main land. This supports the hypothesis that the Minatogawa Man migrated to Nansei-shoto Islands passing through the land bridge in the Late Pleistocene.