Malay Archipelago

"If we draw a line ... commencing along the western coast of Gilolo, through the island of Bouru, and curving round the west end of Mores, then bending back by Sandalwood Island to take in Rotti, we shall divide the Archipelago into two portions, the races of which have strongly marked distinctive peculiarities. This line will separate the Malayan and all the Asiatic races, from the Papuans and all that inhabit the Pacific; and though along the line of junction intermigration and commixture have taken place, yet the division is on the whole almost as well defined and strongly contrasted, as is the corresponding zoological division of the Archipelago, into an Indo-Malayan and Austro-Malayan region." there are arguments for excluding Papua New Guinea for cultural and geographical reasons: Papua New Guinea is culturally quite different from the other countries in the region, and it is geologically not part of the continent of Asia, as the islands of the Sunda Shelf are (see Australia). ===Insulindia and East Indies=== **Insulindia** is a somewhat archaic geographical term for Maritime Southeast Asia, sometimes extending as far as Australasia. More common in Portuguese and Spanish, it is also sometimes used in art history or anthropology to describe the interface zone between the cultures of Oceania and Southeast Asia. Insulindia is used as a geopolitical term in academic discussions of the former European colonial possessions within Maritime Southeast Asia, especially Dutch East Indies and Portuguese East Indies ("*Portuguese Insulindia*") much as former French colonial possessions in Southeast Asia are still termed French Indochina. It is also used to describe and locate the Chinese cultural diaspora (the "*insulindian Chinese*") across the islands of Southeast Asia. The archipelago was called the "East Indies" from the late 16th century and throughout the European colonial era. It is still sometimes referred to as such, but broader usages of the "East Indies" term had included Indochina and the Indian subcontinent. === Jazirah Al-Jawi === Arab merchants and cartographers referred to this archipelago as Jazirah Al-Jawi or Java Islands. People originating from this region were commonly identified by the name 'Al-Jawi'. The term 'Jawi' was subsequently applied to the Jawi script, referring to the modified Arabic alphabet used to write the Malay language. === Maritime Southeast Asia, Island Southeast Asia, and Insular Southeast Asia === The term "Maritime Southeast Asia" is largely synonymous, covering both the islands in Southeast Asia and nearby island-like communities, such as those found on the Malay Peninsula. == Geography == The land and sea area of the archipelago exceeds 2 million km2. The more than 25,000 islands of the archipelago consist of many smaller archipelagoes. The major island groupings in the Indonesian Archipelago include the Maluku Islands, New Guinea, and the Sunda Islands. The Sunda Islands comprise two island groups: the Greater Sunda Islands and the Lesser Sunda Islands. The major island groupings in the Philippine Archipelago include Luzon, Mindanao, and the Visayan Islands. The seven largest islands are New Guinea, Borneo, Sumatra, Sulawesi and Java in Indonesia; and Luzon and Mindanao in the Philippines. Geologically, the archipelago is one of the most active volcanic regions in the world. Producing many volcanoes especially in Java, Sumatra and Lesser Sunda Islands region where most volcanoes over 3000 m high are situated. Tectonic uplifts also produce large mountains, including the highest, Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia, with a height of 4,095.2 m and Puncak Jaya on Papua, Indonesia at 4884 m. Other high mountains in the archipelago include Puncak Mandala, Indonesia at 4760 m and Puncak Trikora, Indonesia, at 4750 m. The climate throughout the archipelago is tropical, owing to its position on the equator. === Biogeography === Wallace used the term *Malay Archipelago* as the title of his influential book documenting his studies in the region. He proposed what would come to be known as the "Wallace Line", a boundary that separated the flora and fauna of Asia and Australia. The ice age boundary was formed by the deep water straits between Borneo and Sulawesi; and through the Lombok Strait between Bali and Lombok. This is now considered the western border of the Wallacea transition zone between the zoogeographical regions of Asia and Australia. The zone has a mixture of species of Asian and Australian origin, and its own endemic species. == See also == {{Portal|Geography|Indonesia|Malaysia|Philippines }} * Archipelago * East Indies * Ethnic groups in Southeast Asia * Greater Indonesia * Indonesian archipelago * Malay Peninsula * Malayness * Maphilindo * Maritime Southeast Asia * Names of Indonesia * Nusantara == Notes == == External links == * * Wallace, Alfred Russel. *The Malay Archipelago*, [Volume I](http://www.authorama.com/book/malay-archipelago-1.html), [Volume II](http://www.authorama.com/book/malay-archipelago-2.html,). * [Art of Island Southeast Asia](http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/42850/rec/1), full-text of an exhibition catalog from the Metropolitan Museum of Art [[Category:Malaya|01]] [[Category:Islands of Southeast Asia]] [[Category:Archipelagoes of Southeast Asia]] [[Category:Maritime Southeast Asia|*]] [[Category:Archipelagoes of the Indian Ocean]] [[Category:Archipelagoes of the Pacific Ocean]] [[Category:International archipelagoes]] [[Category:Regions of Oceania]]