[7] One significant archaeological discovery was that of the urn burial site in Melolo[8] in the 1920s,[9] dated around 2,870 BCE.

As the time goes by, in 1866, the island of Sumba was later transferred to and dominated by the following Dutch East Indies colonization power.

[13] The largest town on the island is the main port of Waingapu near the mouth of the Kambaniru River, with a population of 71,752[1] (including the adjoining district of Kambera) in mid 2023.

Although generally thought to be originally part of the Gondwana southern hemisphere supercontinent, recent research suggests that the island might have detached from the South East Asia margin.

Most of it was originally covered in deciduous monsoon forest while the south-facing slopes, which remain moist during the dry season, were evergreen rainforest.

[14] The northern part of the island is extremely arid; the soils have been depleted from deforestation and erosion.

[15] Sumba is in the Wallacea region, having a mixture of plants and animals of Asian and Australasian origin.

[16] Most of the original forest has been cleared for the planting of maize, cassava, and other crops so only small isolated patches remain.

Furthermore, this clearance is ongoing due to the growing population of the island and this represents a threat to the birds.

Sumba is part of the East Nusa Tenggara Province, and there is no single administrative body at the island level.

[25] Waingapu, a Kodi[a] village in the west of Sumba, has some 1,400 dolmens - one of the highest concentrations on the island.

[citation needed] Sumba is home to 24 ethnic groups who speak nine Austronesian languages, some of these including several dialects.

[citation needed] Twenty-five to thirty percent of the population practices the animist Marapu religion.

[28] Ikat from West Sumba is notably different to that produced in the East: its only designs are geometric motifs and it usually includes a part that imitates a reticulated python skin.

[citation needed] A relatively high percentage of the population suffers from malaria, although the illness is almost eradicated in the western part of the island.

The Sumba Foundation has been active in raising sponsorship to drill wells in villages and attempting to reduce poverty on the island.

[32] New projects include 3 MW Bayu wind power plant (PLTB) in Kadumbul, East Sumba by PT Hywind.