Prehistoric Indonesia
Prehistoric Indonesia is a prehistoric period in the Indonesian archipelago that spanned from the Pleistocene period to about the 4th century CE when the Kutai people produced the earliest known stone inscriptions in Indonesia. Unlike the clear distinction between prehistoric and historical periods in Europe and the Middle East, the division is muddled in Indonesia. This is mostly because Indonesia's geographical conditions as a vast archipelago caused some parts — especially the interiors of distant islands — to be virtually isolated from the rest of the world. West Java and coastal Eastern Borneo, for example, began their historical periods in the early 4th century, but megalithic culture still flourished and script was unknown in the rest of Indonesia, including in Nias, Batak, and Toraja. The Papuans on the Indonesian part of New Guinea island lived virtually in the stone age until their 1st contacts with modern world in early 20th century. Even today living megalithic traditions still can be found on the island of Sumba and Nias.
Geologically the area of modern Indonesia appeared from under the Southeast Asian seas as the result of the Indian and Australian plates collides and slips under Sunda Plate, sometimes in the early Cenozoic era around 63 millions years ago. This tectonic collission creating Sunda volcanic Arc that has produced chains of islands of Sumatra, Java and the Lesser Sunda Islands. The active volcanic arc creating supervolcano that today become Lake Toba in Sumatra. The massive eruption of Toba supervolcano that occurred some time between 69,000 and 77,000 years ago instigated the Toba catastrophe theory, a global volcanic winter that caused a bottleneck in human evolution. Another notable volcanoes in Sunda Arc is Mount Tambora and Krakatau. The region is known for its instability due to volcano formations and other volcanic and tectonic activities; as well as climate changes; resulted in lowlands drowned occasionally under shallow seas, the formation of islands, the connection and disconnection of islands through narrow land-bridges, etc.The Indonesian archipelago nearly reached its present form in Pleistocene period. For some periods the Sundaland was still linked with Asian mainland creating the landmass extension of Southeast Asia that enabled the migrations of some Asian animals and hominid species. Geologically the New Guinea island and the shallow seas of Arafura is the northern part of Australia tectonic plate and once connected as a landbridge identified as Sahulland. During the end of last ice age earth experienced global climate change; a global warming with the rising of average temperature caused the melting of polar ice caps and contributed to the rising of sea surface. Sundaland was submerged under shallow sea creating Malacca Strait, South China Sea, Karimata Strait and Java Sea. During this period Malay peninsula, Sumatra, Java, Borneo and the islands around them was formed. On the east, New Guinea and Aru Islands was separated from Australia mainland. The rise of sea surface creating isolated areas that separated plants, animals and hominid species causing further evolution and specification.
In 2007 analysis of cut marks on two bovid bones found in Sangiran, showed them to have been made 1.5 to 1.6 million years ago by clamshell tools, and is the oldest evidence for the presence of early man in Indonesia. Fossilised remains of Homo erectus, popularly known as the "Java Man" were 1st discovered by the Dutch anatomist Eugxne Dubois at Trinil in 1891, and are at least 700,000 years old, at that time the oldest human ancestor ever found. Further Homo erectus fossils of a similar age were found at Sangiran in the 1930`s by the anthropologist Gustav Heinrich Ralph von Koenigswald, who in the same time period also uncovered fossils at Ngandong alongside more advanced tools, re-dated in 2011 to between 550,000 and 143,000 years old. In 1977 another Homo erectus skull was discovered at Sambungmacan
In 2003, on the island of Flores, fossils of a new small hominid dated between 74,000 and 13,000 years old and named "Flores Man" were discovered much to the surprise of the scientific community. This 3 foot tall hominid is thought to be a species descended from Homo Erectus and reduced in size over thousands of years by a well known process called island dwarfism. Flores Man seems to have shared the island with modern Homo sapiens until only 12,000 years ago, when they became extinct. In 2010 stone tools were discovered on Flores dating from 1 million years ago, which is the oldest evidence anywhere in the world that early man had the technology to make sea crossings at this very early time.
| The archipelago was the latest ice age. Early spread from mainland Asia Australia. Homo sapiens reached years ago. In 2011 evidence neighbouring East Timor, showing early settlers had implication the technology needed reach Australia and other and consuming large as tuna. | formed during the thaw after humans to travelled by sea and eastward to New Guinea and the region by around 45,000 was uncovered in that 42,000 years ago these high-level maritime skills, and by to make ocean crossings to islands, as they were catching numbers of big deep sea fish such - |
| Homo erectus were known paleolithic stone tools and also Sangiran and Ngandong. Cut mark mammalian fossils documents 18 tools of thick clamshell created during butchery at the between 1.6 and 1.5 million document the use of the 1st tools evidence of shell tool use in the | to utilize simple coarse shell tools, discovered in analysis of Pleistocene cut marks inflicted by flakes on two bovid bones Pucangan Formation in Sangiran years ago. These cut marks in Sangiran and the oldest world. |
| The polished stone such as polished stone axe developed by Austronesian people archipelago. Also during this the large stone structures also flourished in | tools of neolithic culture, and stone hoe, are in Indonesian neolithic period in Indonesia, of megalithic culture archipelago. |
| The Indonesian Austronesian megalith cultures both megalith sites and structures Indonesia. Menhirs, dolmens, stone statues, and step Punden Berundak were Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi, and | archipelago is the host of past and present. Several are also found across stone tables, ancestral pyramid structure called discovered in various sites in the Lesser Sunda Islands. |
| Punden step pyramid and Pagguyangan Cisolok and Gunung megalith site also in West Java terraces, and sarcophagus. The believed to be the predecessor Hindu-Buddhist temples structure in Hinduism and Buddhism by native Borobudur and 15th-century Candi step-pyramid structure. | menhir can be found in Padang, West Java. Cipari displayed monolith, stone Punden step pyramid is and basic design of later Java after the adoption of population. The 8th century Sukuh featured the - |
| Living megalith isolated island off the western Batak people in the interior island in East Nusa Tenggara the interior of South cultures remained preserved, into the late 19th century. | cultures can be found on Nias, an coast of North Sumatra, the of North Sumatra, on Sumba and also Toraja people from Sulawesi. These megalith isolated and undisturbed well - |
| The human livelihood of simple forest tools to elaborated cultivation, domesticated animals, industry. | prehistoric Indonesia ranges from hunter-gatherer equipped with stone agriculture society with grain with weaving and pottery - |
| Ideal agricultural wet-field rice cultivation as allowed villages, towns, and the 1st century CE. These ethnic and tribal religions. temperature, abundant rain and wet rice cultivation. Such well-organised society in contrast to simpler form of cultivation elaborate social structure to | conditions, and the mastering of early as the 8th century BCE, small kingdoms to flourish by kingdoms evolved with their own Java's hot and even volcanic soil, was perfect for agriculture required a dry-field rice, which is a much that doesn't require an support it. |
Related Sites for Prehistoric Indonesia
- Indonesia Uncovered: Prehistoric Indonesia read Prehistoric Indonesia
- Ancient or Antique Objects: Prehistoric read Prehistoric Indonesia
- "Prehistoric Indonesia" bei ZVAB - Verzeichnis Antiquarischer ... read Prehistoric Indonesia
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