Anthropologie最新文献

The field of prehistoric research in South America has been shaped by various schools of thought. Historically, the French School probably focused more on the most ancient periods. This school has applied rigorous excavation methods, including spatial studies, 3D recording of archaeological remains, and technological analyses of lithic artifacts. In the past two decades, a new school of thought — functional technology — has emerged, offering a fresh perspective in prehistoric research. This article aims to undertake an historical review of academic contributions on this theme, reflect on the impact of this school as a methodological cornerstone for lithic studies in South America, and propose scientific guidelines for current and future research.

Gua Harimau (gua = cave) is a crucial site for understand the prehistory of Sumatra and its relationship to the peopling of Insular Southeast Asia. A large number of archaeological records has been discovered at the western part of the cave, including human burials, lithic artefacts, potteries, and faunal remains that have been anthropogenically altered. The chronological stratigraphy of these records extends to the Late Pleistocene Period, enabling us to reconstruct the dynamics of prehistoric culture in Sumatra. At least three episodes of human occupation have been recognized in the cave: The Preneolithic, Neolithic, and Paleometalic (early metal age). However, the distributional pattern of various archaeological remains, such as mollusk shells, ground tools, unifacially-shaped pebble tools, and bone artefacts, reveals significant differences. These differences provide insight into the cultural development that occurred in Sumatra during the prehistoric occupation of Gua Harimau, and demonstrate changes in cultural affinity that may correspond to past environmental conditions and human adaptation.

In the past five years, our archaeological research has uncovered evidence of iron making in the Meratus mountains, located upstream of the Barito watershed on the east coast of Kalimantan (Indonesian side of Borneo Island), as well as the Lamandau watershed in southwestern Kalimantan. At these iron industry sites, we discovered slags, ore fragments, tuyere, charcoal, and smelting furnaces. These discoveries provide new insights to address the debates among experts about the emergence and development of iron metal technology in Kalimantan/Borneo Island. Radiocarbon dating conducted at the Cililin 1 Cave site in the Meratus Mountains indicates that the earliest iron ore smelting occurred during the early Christian era (2000–1700 BP). Our excavations also confirm that this ferrous metal technology spread and was practiced towards the east coast and watersheds by the end of the 19th century. The excavated smelting furnaces suggest that direct smelting (bloomery) techniques were used to produce raw iron, based on the furnace shape, charcoal dates, and type of iron slag found. The shape and size of the smelting furnaces in Kalimantan remain consistent from the oldest to the most recent sites. This similarity suggests that there was little technological advancement in iron-making in Kalimantan/Borneo Island between the early AD period and the end of the 19th century. This finding supports the theory that iron technology possibly emerged and developed in Kalimantan several centuries BC.

Sangiran Dome in Central Java, Indonesia, is the most significant hominin site in Island Southeast Asia. Up to now, there are more than a hundred of Homo erectus individuals recovered from the site, and the most recent finding is an unpublished posterior part of Bjg 1602 skullcap, discovered by a local people in 2016 from the surface of Kali (River) Bojong, out of stratigraphical context. But, based on the hard concretion well attached on the fossil, consists of coarse conglomeratic sand and pisoid-limestones – defined for the first time by G.H.R. von Koenigswald as the grenzbank layer – this skullcap is interpreted originally from this layer. Stratigraphically, the layer is situated between the black clay of Pucangan Formation of Lower Pleistocene and the fluvio-volcanic sands of Kabuh Formation of Middle Pleistocene. Thus, this layer was deposited on the Sangiran site some 0.9–0.8 ma, which is the minimal age of the skull respectively. This paper aims to identify the possibly position of the specimen and its context to the Homo erectus evolution in Java. The specimen was analysed by applying the morphological and metrical descriptions of the external characters. Then, a comparative study to other African (n = 5), Asian (n = 7), and Javan Homo erectus (n = 23) was conducted by using univariate and bivariate statistical analysis, in order to place the specimen into evolutionary perspective. The result shows that Bjg 1602 skullcap is very closed in morphology and size to the robust Sangiran 4 skullcap (firstly known as Pithecanthropus robustus), which is one of the robust Homo erectus members from the Early Pleistocene between 1.6 to 1.2 ma. Thus, it could be concluded that the specimen of Bjg 1602 represents the last survival of robust Homo erectus in Java during the early of Middle Pleistocene, some 0.9 ma.

Sumba is one of the islands in the archipelago that plays an essential role in the migration process of Austronesian speakers. This island is considered one of the contact zones that can show initial interactions between Austronesian speakers and residents who have inhabited this island before. However, archaeological research on this island is still relatively limited, so it cannot yet provide evidence of the arrival of early Austronesian speakers. However, in 2016–2022, several archaeological studies were conducted in Sumba and revealed essential sites with quite old dates. This article discusses the new evidence found at several sites, notably Lambanapu, Melolo, Kambaniru, Mborobakung, and Wunga. Among the research results are individual remains, burial jars, and artifacts that can provide a new understanding of the history of Austronesian settlements on Sumba. Some of the ¹⁴C datings show that Austronesian speakers with a complex culture inhabited this island around 3000 years ago.

Song Toyapakeh is a submerged cave located on Nusa Penida Island, Bali, at a depth of 16 m below sea level. The cave is believed to have been inhabited by human during the late Pleistocene period, as evidenced by the large numbers of bones from Cervidae and Elephantoid families, as well as turtles, that are scattered throughout the cave. The presence of these bones raises questions about the past use of Song Toyapakeh by humans and the transformation of the island's landscape into a submerged cave. The objective of this study is to address the function of Song Toyapakeh during the late Pleistocene period, based on the animal bones found within. To accomplish this, data were collected using scuba method to record the morphology of the cave and to take samples of the animal bones that were likely used by human in the past. Macroscopic and microscopic observations were then conducted on the cut marks and burn marks present on the bones to identify evidence of human use. In addition, paleogeographical and paleoclimatological data were examined to understand the landscape transformation of the cave. The analysis of the bones revealed traces of trimming and burn marks, indicating that the bones were used as tools and as food source by humans. Changes in the landscape caused by fluctuations in the sea level due to climate change during the Pleistocene period are believed to be responsible for the transformation of the cave from an area located above sea level to one that is now submerged. The evidence of human activity on the faunal remains found in Song Toyapakeh provides strong evidence of the use of the cave as human occupation during the late Pleistocene period.

The correlation between language spread and the existence of archaeological remains is often debated when trying to prove prehistoric human migration in various locations. Numerous experts argue that language spread cannot always serve as evidence of human migration, as language and artifacts can diffuse without necessitating migration. This process may have taken place in Western New Guinea which is now part of Indonesian territory. In this area, known as Indonesian Papua, the influence of Austronesian culture has been significant for thousands of years. This paper aims to investigate whether there are any parallels between the presence of Austronesian material culture and the distribution of Austronesian languages in Papua, Indonesia. The method employed involves overlaying the locations of archaeological sites containing Austronesian material culture with the distribution of Austronesian languages in the region. The results indicate that while there is some overlap between language distribution and Austronesian cultural remains in the Papua region, particularly in parts of coastal areas and surrounding island, there are also coastal areas with high Austronesian archaeological potential that lack Austronesian language presence. This is especially true in the central highlands which are predominantly Australo-Papuan areas, where Austronesian cultural influence exists but is not accompanied by the language. This demonstrates that the presence of Austronesian cultural influences in the Papua region does not always have to be associated with Austronesian migration or the language, it is possible that the culture was adopted as a result of contacts that took place.

Java is one of the oldest places outside Africa which was occupied by early humans, from the first ‘archaic’ Homo erectus after 1.8 ma to the progressive form around 70-40 ka. Up to now, paleoanthropologists do not know clearly when the anatomically modern human started to colonize this island. Some previous scholars proposed scenarios which presumed to be as early as 125 ka, or just after one of the Toba eruptions after 74 ka, and or at least to the last glacial maximum about 21 ka. This research tried to contribute to the question about the history of human occupation in Java during the Late Pleistocene. Two unpublished deciduous teeth discovered in the Song Terus site are considered: ST06 is dated back from older than 80 ka and another tooth ST04 is younger than 60 ka. We compared both specimens with Homo erectus s.l., Neanderthal, ancient and recent Homo sapiens, to identify their taxonomical position. Morphological and metrical comparative analysis of the external and internal dental characters were observed. Preliminary results show that ST04 is closed to Homo sapiens while ST06 belongs to the Homo erectus s.l. group. It confirms that Homo erectus was still survived at least at the beginning of the Late Pleistocene, during the last interglacial maximum period (125 ka). Moreover, it suggested that Homo sapiens was probably present in Java Island after 60 ka at the same time as a renewal of the local fauna takes place. It could imply a chronological succession of occupations between the last Homo erectus and early Homo sapiens in Southeast Asia.

Several prehistoric sites have been studied intensively through surveys and excavations by the former National Research Center of Archeology. The extraordinary scientific information of those archaeological sites is barely conveyed to the wide audience. Realizing this situation, the Government of Indonesia, through the Directorate General of Culture (Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology), has established eight site museums for prehistoric sites and nineteen historical and ethnographical museums. The site museums are including: five clusters of Sangiran, three of Semedo, Song Terus, Gua Harimau sites. Although there is no generally accepted tight definition of an archaeological site museum, several characteristics stand out. An archaeological site museum is not just a storehouse for findings made at a particular excavation. It is a place for both research and education. That is why the site museums are realized in accordance with the provisions of a modern museum, not only to apply the modern techniques displayed for the audience, coffee shop and souvenirs, but also other facilities such as storage, laboratories, workshops, audio-visual rooms, seminar rooms, and researchers’ housing. The positive impacts of the construction of modern museums by the Directorate General of Culture is the number of visitors increase dramatically, as shown by Sangiran Museum. The community is immediately close to the museum, and vice versa, the museum is less distant from the community. The museum and the community come closer and closer, and the museum became a link between science and community.