The History Of Prehistoric In Indonesia

HISTORY OF CULTURE | The History Of Prehistoric Indonesia | Indonesian prehistoric period include a very long period, from approximately 1.7 million years ago, based on existing findings. Knowledge of people against it is supported by the findings of fossil animals and humans (hominids), remnants of stone tools, animal body parts, metal (iron and bronze), and pottery.

Archipelago is an interesting study of the geology as it is very active. In the eastern part to the southern islands of the meeting of two arcs have a great continental plates: the Eurasian Plate and the Indo-Australian Plate. In this section, the Eurasian plate is moving toward the south and plunged to the bottom of the Indo-Australian Plate is moving north. Due to this line of volcanoes formed along the island of Sumatra, Java, to the islands of Nusa Tenggara. This area is also prone to earthquakes as a result.

In the eastern part of the meeting there were two other major continental plates, the Eurasian plate and Pacific plate. This meeting was forming a line of volcanoes in northern Maluku Islands to the northern island of Sulawesi to the Philippines. Modern western archipelago appeared roughly around Pleistocene connected with mainland Asia. Previously estimated some of its territory is part of the ocean floor. Mainland is called the Sunda Shelf ("Sundaland") by the geology. The eastern boundary of the old land is paralleled by what is now known as the Wallace Line.

The eastern archipelago, on the other hand, is geographically connected with the continent of Australia and older age as the mainland. Mainland is known as Sahul Shelf and is part of the Indo-Australian Plate, which in turn is part of the continent of Gondwana.

At the end of the last Ice Age (20000-10000 years ago) the earth's average temperature increases and sea level rise rapidly. Most of the Sunda Shelf is ocean and form a series of Malacca Strait, South China Sea, Strait Karimata, and the Java Sea. In this period formed the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and surrounding islands. In the east, the island of New Guinea and the Aru Islands separated from the mainland continent of Australia. Sea-level rise is forcing people separated from each other occupant of this region and encourage the formation of the inhabitants of the archipelago of modern society. History of Indonesia covering a very long time span that began in prehistoric times by the discovery of "Java Man" which was 1.7 million years ago.

Prehistoric

Geologically, the territory of modern Indonesia is a meeting between the three major continental plates: the Eurasian Plate, the Indo-Australian Plate and Pacific Plate. Indonesian archipelago such as the current is formed when the melting of ice after the end of the Ice Age, only 10,000 years ago. In the Pleistocene, when it was still connected with the Asian mainland, enter the first settlers. The first evidence to show first inhabitants were Homo erectus fossils from Java man the 2 million to 500,000 years ago. The discovery of the remains "Flores man" (Homo floresiensis) in Liang Bua, Flores, opening the possibility is still survival of H. erectus until the last Ice Age.

Homo sapiens first entered the archipelago since an estimated 100,000 years ago through the coastline of Asia from West Asia, and in about 50,000 years ago have reached New Guinea and Australia. Those, who characterized racial curly-haired, dark-skinned and meetings (Negroid), the ancestors of indigenous Melanesians (including Papua) now and bring the culture of hatchet shaped (Paleolithic). A wave of Austronesian-speaking immigrants to come in waves Neolithic culture since 3000 BC from southern China through Formosa and the Philippines to bring culture pickaxe square (Dong Son culture).

Process migration is part of the occupation of the Pacific. Mongoloid population characterized by the arrival of this wave tends to the west, urged residents to the east early or spouse interfering with the locals and the physical characteristics of the population of Maluku and Nusa Tenggara. These newcomers brought farming techniques, including rice cultivation in paddy fields (at the latest evidence since the 8th century BC), raising buffalo, bronze and iron processing, weaving techniques, practices megaliths, and the worship of spirits ( animism) as well as sacred objects (dynamism). In the first century BC had formed settlements and small kingdoms, and quite possibly already entered the trust of India due to the influence of trade relations.

Plants, animals and hominids

Geological history of the archipelago affect the flora and fauna, including human-like creature ever to inhabit this region. Some mainland archipelago was once a seabed, such as the south coast of Java and Nusa Tenggara. Various fossil marine animal found in this region. This area is known as an area of karst limestone deposits formed from ancient coral reefs.

Coal deposit in Sumatra and Kalimantan have indicated the existence of the forest from the Paleozoic. Shallow sea between Sumatra, Java (including Bali), and Borneo, and the Arafura Sea and Torres Strait waters are young who are just beginning to form when the end of the last Ice Age (10,000 years before the modern era). This is why there are many similarities of plants and animals among the three large islands.

Flora and fauna in all three islands have in common with mainland Asia (Indochina, the Malay Peninsula, and Philippines). Tiger, elephant, tapir, buffalo, pigs, rhinos, and a variety of birds that live in the Asia mainland many who have relatives in the third island.

Human-like creature (hominins) are known to inhabit the archipelago is Java man. Fossils from one part of Pithecanthropus erectus skull found in 1891 by Eugene Dubois in Trinil, Ngawi district. Since 1934, G.H.R. von Koenigswald and his team found a series of fossil hominins in the valley along the Solo River, which is in Sangiran and Ngandong as well as on the banks of the Brantas River near Mojokerto. The most paleontologists now believe that all the fossil findings from Java is a Homo erectus and is a primitive form. It was initially thought one million to 500,000 years old (carbon measurements are not possible), now based radiometry measurements of volcanic minerals on the alleged discovery layer is older, ie 1.7 to 1.5 million years.

The first modern Homo sapiens allegedly entered the archipelago of about 100,000 years ago, through India and Indochina. The first fossils of Homo sapiens in Java was found by van Rietschoten (1889), team members Dubois, in Wajak, near Campurdarat, Tulungagung, on the banks of the Brantas River. He was found along with bones tapir, an animal which at present do not live in Java. Fossil Wajak considered together with fossil races Niah Caves in Sarawak and Tabon Cave on Palawan Island. Fossil Niah estimated 40000-25000 years old (Pleistocene period) and shows characteristics of race Australomelanesoid. They are supporters of cultural axes perimbas (chopper) and included in the culture of the Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age).

The announcement in 2003 of the discovery of Homo floresiensis is considered a primitive Homo species by its discoverers sparked new debate about the possibility of human-like species that lived in the same period with H. sapiens, because only 20000-10000 years old since the modern era and are not fossilized. This contradicts the previous assumption that states that only H. sapiens survive in the archipelago at that time. This debate is not finished, because the opponents consider H. H. floresiensis is sapiens that suffered from the disease so that dwarf sized.

Migration of human

Evidence of the first Homo sapiens known from skulls and the remains of hominin bones in Wajak, Niah Cave (Sarawak), as well as new findings in the Mountains Sewu early second half of the 20th century to the present, extending from Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta, up to the Gulf region Pacitan, Pacitan. The findings in Wajak, who first found difficult to date, but the fossils in the Niah Caves shows age about 40,000 years ago. Age fossils in the cave intact Braholo (Gunungkidul, discovered in 2002) and Song (Cave) Keplek and Continue (Pacitan) younger age (around 10,000 years before the modern era or year 0 AD). This prediction comes from the form of tools that are found attached to them.

Although derived from the different cultures, the fossils show traits Austromelanesoid, a subras of the Negroid race is now known as the indigenous New Guinea, Melanesia, and Australia. The theory of the origin of this race was first described by Fritz and Paul Sarasin, two bachelor brothers (cousins ??of each other) from Switzerland in the late 19th century. In his study, they see the common feature among those who inhabit the Vedda of Sri Lanka with a population characterized by the same native in the islands of Southeast Asia and Australia.