Illegal digging threatens prehistoric relics<\/p>\n
Bambang M and Gigin W Utomo, Contributors, Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
Apart from the natural scenery of a beautiful karst, Pegunungan
\nSewu mountain range in Gunungkidul in southeastern Yogyakarta
\nboasts numerous archaeological findings, ranging from human and
\nanimal fossils, ceramic fragments to stoneware.<\/p>\n
Extensive findings have presented evidence that the mountain
\nrange was inhabited by human beings thousands of years ago,
\nprompting archeologists to consider the area a capital of
\nprehistoric life.<\/p>\n
Study reveals that most human beings living in the area in
\nprehistoric days were predominantly Mongoloid, while others had
\nAustralomelanesian characteristics, such as oval craniums,
\nvertical cranium walls and prominent jaws.<\/p>\n
\"They lived in the Pegunungan Sewu mountain range between
\n12,000 and 8,000 B.C.,\" said Anggraeni of the Gadjah Mada
\nUniversity (UGM) School of Archeology.<\/p>\n
According to experts, the formation of Pegunungan Sewu
\nmountain range began in the form of coral rock karst in the
\nMiocene period and later surfaced during the Pleistocene period.
\nHowever, river erosion and water infiltration on the karst over
\nthousands of years eventually changed it into a beautiful
\nmountain range with conical karst and caves that are still
\nevident up to the present time.<\/p>\n
When prehistoric man lived there, Pegunungan Sewu mountain
\nrange, which was previously below sea level, had become a dense
\nforest and a habitat of various fauna. Evidence includes
\ncountless findings of various fauna fossils, such as from deer
\nand wild cats.<\/p>\n
\"The reason why prehistoric people were willing to live there
\nwas because it was as an ideal area, rich with food supplies,
\nshelter and materials to create various tools,\" Anggraeni said.<\/p>\n
For shelter, for example, prehistoric man chose caves or
\nhollows. There were plenty such places in the area.<\/p>\n
Convincing evidence that prehistoric man once used the caves
\nfor shelter was gathered during an excavation by PTKA, an
\nintegrated research team for the Gunungkidul archeological site
\nof the UGM School of Archeology in March 2002.<\/p>\n
The excavation, which took place at Song (Cave) Bentar in
\nKenteng village and Song Blendrong in Tambakromo village, for
\nexample, found various findings that confirmed that prehistoric
\npeople did once live in the caves.<\/p>\n
\"The findings included, among other things, human bones,
\nanimal bones, ceramic fragments and fragments of various
\nhousehold articles made of stone and bone,\" Tjahjono Prasodjo of
\nthe UGM School of Archeology said.<\/p>\n
Archeologists could have found more in the caves, but they
\nwere unfortunately competing with unauthorized diggings conducted
\nby local residents in search of either guano or precious stones
\ncalled watu lintang. Guano is used as fertilizer while watu
\nlintang or batu lintang is used as a raw material to produce
\nglass.<\/p>\n
\"They (local residents) did not realize that the caves housed
\nprecious relics of prehistoric civilization, and that were
\ndamaging relics that were important for further archeological
\nstudies,\" Tjahjono said.<\/p>\n
In Lawa Cave in Ponjong region, for example, while local
\npeople were collecting guano from the cave during daytime, the
\nUGM archeological team conducted excavation work in it at night.<\/p>\n
Similar problems were also encountered at other caves,
\nincluding Song Bentar and Song Blendrong. The team feared that
\nimportant archeological relics had already disappeared or been
\ndestroyed since local residents had started excavating stones
\nyears before the team conducted research there.<\/p>\n
\"We often found small bones while digging, but we did not take
\nany out. We put them back in the cave,\" said Satiman, a villager
\nof Kenteng. He added that most local residents had stopped
\nlooking for watu lintang in the 1980s due to a drop in prices.<\/p>\n
What happened in Song Sengok in Getas village, Playen, was no
\ndifferent. In 2001, the archeological team found hippopotamus
\nfossils. However, local people had already been working in the
\ncave to collect guano.<\/p>\n
\"My father often found bones while searching for guano in the
\ncave, but he did not take them out. He just left them there,\"
\nsaid Mursinah, whose house is above Sengok Cave.<\/p>\n
Another cause of concern, according to Tjahjono, was the karst
\nquarrying activities conducted in the mountain range that might
\nalso house prehistoric relics.<\/p>\n
But people, he said, could not be blamed since most of them,
\nespecially local residents, do not fully understand the
\nimportance of such findings -- meaning the government and
\narcheologists are left with the task of educating people about
\nthe importance of managing archeological resources in their
\nrespective areas.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/illegal-digging-threatens-prehistoric-relics-1447893297",
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