Membangun pemahaman multikulturalisme: Perspektif arkeologi

Bagaimana Arkeologi dapat membantu menjawab masalah multikulturalisme di Indonesia ini ? Memang harus diakui, sesungguhnya tidak mudah bagi Arkeologi untuk menjawab pertanyaan itu. Namun, sebagaimana dikemukakan Ashworth et als (2007), keberagaman budaya (multikulturalisme) di Indonesia adalah akibat perjalanan panjang sejarahnya yang ditandai dengan gelombang-gelombang migrasi dan difusi budaya ke wilayah Nusantara. Karena itu, untuk menjawab masalah keberagaman budaya di Indonesia dibutuhkan pelacakan sejarah budaya di kawasan ini. Di sinilah Arkeologi dapat memberikan sumbangan yang utama. Sebagaimana dinyatakan oleh Hodder (1987), Arkeologi dapat berperan sebagai sejarah jangka panjang (archaeology as long term history). Dengan kemampuannya meretas ke masa yang amat silam (remote past), arkeologi dapat mengungkapkan perubahan-perubahan yang berlangsung lama dan bertahap, yang sulit dilacak oleh bidang ilmu lainnya. Meskipun Arkeologi lebih banyak melakukan kajian pada budaya bendawi, seperangkat metode yang diterapkannya ternyata mampu mengungkap fenomena multikulturalisme di masa lampau, di antaranya melalui analisis terhadap kesamaan dan perbedaan benda dan atribut benda yang merupakan representasi dari setiap budaya. Karena itu, arkeologi akan memilah-milahkan data yang dikajinya sehingga diperoleh pola pengelompokan yang bersifat politetik . Artinya, jika beberapa himpunan yang berisi artefak dengan atribut tertentu saling dibandingkan, maka akan terlihat beberapa ciri yang sama sementara beberapa ciri lainnya hanya terdapat pada himpunan tertentu (Clarke, 1968; Osborn, 1989). Hal ini setidaknya menyiratkan ada unsur-unsur budaya tertentu yang dimiliki bersama, sedangkan unsur-unsur khas yang menjadi identitas khusus budaya itu tetap dipertahankan dan tidak lebur. Selain itu, berdasarkan kajian arkeologis terhadap agama-agama besar di dunia, Insoll (2001) berani menyatakan salah satu peran penting arkeologi adalah kemampuannya memberikan sumbangan bagi pemahaman perkembangan agama dan kepercayaan, antara lain berkaitan dengan sinkretisme, co-existence, adaptasi, dan tradisi keagamaan yang populer dalam suatu masyarakat. Agama merupakan salah satu unsur pembeda yang cukup rawan dalam masyarakat multikultural (Stanford Encylopedia of Philosophy, 2010), sehingga amat perlu untuk dipelajari dalam pemahami multikulturalisme

Interaksi Regional dan Cikal Bakal Perdagangan Internasional di Maluku

Abstrak. Sejarah telah mencatat peran penting Kepulauan Maluku dalam jejaring perdagangan internasional setidaknya sejak awal abad Masehi. Beberapa sumber sejarah kuno memberikan kesaksian keberadaan cengkeh di tempat-tempat yang jauh dari sumber tanaman endemik Maluku ini. Naturalis Romawi, sejarah Dinasti Han (abad 2 SM – 2 M), menuliskan tentang adanya rempah-rempah (cengkeh, chi-shé, ting-hsiang) yang didatangkan dari Mo-wu atau Maluku (Wolters, 1967). Jejaring perdagangan yang melibatkan Maluku memuncak sekitar abad ke-16 tidak lama setelah orang-orang Eropa mulai menjelajahi lautan untuk mencari “emas hijau” ini di tempat asalnya. Peran penting Maluku dalam jejaring perdagangan dunia adalah salah satu puncak proses evolusi budaya yang berakar dari interaksi regional yang telah terjadi sejak ribuan tahun sebelumnya. Makalah ini mencoba menelusuri kembali cikal bakal dan perjalanan panjang sejarah terbentuknya jejaring perdagangan internasional di kawasan Maluku ini. Abstract. Regional Interaction and the Dawn of International Trade in Moluccas. History has recorded the important role of Moluccas Islands in international trade network at least since early century CE. A number of old historical sources reveal the existence of cloves at places far from the sources of these endemic plants of the Moluccas. Roman naturalist, the history of the Han Dynasty (2nd century BCE – 2nd century CE), wrote about spices (cloves, chi-shé, tinghsiang) sent from Mo-wuor Moluccas (Wolters, 1967). The trade network that involved Moluccas reached its peak around 16th century CE, not long after the Europeans began to roam across the oceans in search of this “green gold” in its places of origin. The important role of the Moluccas in the global trade network is one of the pinnacles of cultural evolution process, which was rooted in regional interactions that happened since thousands of years previously. This paper attempts to retrace the embryo and long journey of the establishment of international trade network in the Moluccas region

Reflection on the Production of Knowledge: From Postmodernism to Pseudoscience

In the last few years, the Indonesian government has impelled academics and higher education institutions as the centre of knowledge production to publish their works in reputed International journal. This policy is necessary to elevate the position of Indonesian higher education institution in the World University Rankings. In fact, such a policy will not only have impact on the status of the higher education institution but also in the course of human culture and society. This article tries to reflect on the impact of the implementation of the policy in the wider cultural context. Predictably, new knowledge will only be circulated among the elite academics and the higher education institutions will become inaccessible ivory tower for the society. On the other hand, the society will tend to consume more pseudoscientific knowledge which is more attractive and easier to understand. Ultimately this will have a significant impact on the course and quality of human culture

PARADIGMA ARKEOLOGI PUBLIK DAN UNDANG-UNDANG CAGAR BUDAYA 2010

Tulisan ini mendiskusikan beberapa masalah konseptual UUCB 2010 dan implikasinya, terutama dari perspektif Arkeologi Publik. Titik tolak diskusi ini adalah apakah konsep dasar dalam paradigma Arkeologi Publik telah diakomodasi dalam UUCB 2010 ini? Paradigma Arkeologi Publik dipilih untuk menyoroti penerapan UUCB 2010 karena disebutkan sebagai salah satu alasan utama penggantian UU RI nomor 5 Tahun 1992 tentang Benda Cagar Budaya dengan UUCB 2010 ini.This article discusses certain conceptual problems of the 2010 Cultural Property Law and their implications, particularly from the perspective of public archaeology. The starting point of the discussion is a question whether the fundamental concept of public archaeology has been accommodated in the 2010 Cultural Property Law. The public archaeology paradigm was chosen to analyse the implementation of the 2010 Cultural Property Law, which stated one of the main reasons for replacing Law No. 5 Year 1992 on Cultural Property Goods of the Republic of Indonesia with the 2010 Cultural Property Law was based on this paradigm

Epigrafi Indonesia Dalam Kerangka Pikir Pasca - Modernisme

The interest in studying inscriptions as a source of history in Indonesia has been ingrained since the beginning of the XIX century. This is evidenced by the publication of the book The History of Java in 1817. The author, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the governor-general of England set aside two chapters of his book to discuss and classify several inscriptions, both in Old Javanese and Sanskrit. Even though Raffles' study cannot be called scientific, at least he has tried to give meaning to the traced remains that he knows. It can be said that Raffles was the first to make use of this written legacy to share the history of Java.Minat mengkaji prasasti sebagai sumber sejarah di Indonesia sudah mulai tertanam sejak awal abad XIX yang lalu. Hal itu dibuktikan dengan terbitnya buku The History of Java pada tahun 1817. Pengarangnya, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, gubernur jendral lnggris yang menyisihkan dua bab bukunya untuk membahas dan mengklasifikasikan beberapa prasasti, baik berbahasa Jawa Kuna maupun Sanskerta. Waiaupun kajian Raffles belum dapat disebut ilmiah, tetapi setidaknya ia telah mencoba memberi makna pada tinggalan bertutis yang ia ketahui. Boleh dikata, Raffles-lah yang pertama kali memanfaatkan tinggalan bertulis itu untuk meraka-reka sejarah tanah Jawa

LUKISAN DINDING GOA SEBAGAI SALAH SATU UNSUR UPACARA KEMATIAN

Lukisan dinding gua merupakan salah satu hasil budaya Prasejarah yang menarik. Basil budaya ini terdapat di berbagai tempat di dunia, termasuk di Indonesia. Di Indonesia, lukisan dinding gua pada umumnya ditemukan di daerah Indonesia bagian timur, yaitu di Sulawesi, Maluku, Timor dan Irian Jaya. Bentuk-bentuk yang dilukiskan sangat beragam baik, yang digambar secara naturalistis, dengan garis-garis sederhana, maupun abstrak

Mansiri in Northern Sulawesi: a new dentate-stamped pottery site in Island Southeast Asia

This short report outlines new findings from the Mansiri site, close to Toraut village, in Northern Sulawesi. Initially discovered during survey activities in the early 1990s by Dr Joko Siswanto, Balai Arkeologi Manado, the site has not been focus of archaeological activities until a re-visit of the area by Puslit Manado in 2011 and a surface survey of the surrounding area detected additional artefactual material. Previous excavations conducted by Balai Arkeologi Manado in 2011 - 2013 uncovered large numbers of decorated ceramic sherds indicative of an early Neolithic site. Initial radiocarbon examination of a small sample showed evidence of a possible pre-3000 BP deposit at the site

Some behavioural aspects of the Bomo-Teleng stone adze workshop site in East Java (Indonesia)

This study is directed to recover some behavioural aspects of a prehistoric stone adze workshop site, the Bomo-Teleng, in East Java, Indonesia. In doing so, geomorphological reconnais­ sance and systematic archaeological survey were conducted on the site. Abundant archaeological material was discovered and its patterned distribution was recorded during the fieldwork. The sequence of activities involved in stone adze production was reconstructed based on analysis of raw materials, blanks, preforms, and stone debitage collected from the site or recorded in situ. Spatial analysis considering transformational processes conducted on the site reveals its spatial organisation. It is apparent that the whole complex of stages involved in stone adze manufacture, from raw material acquisition to finishing, took place on the site. However, distinct activity areas could be recognised within it. The upper part of the site, where the likely raw material source was encountered, seems to be used mainly for raw material acquisition and blank preparation areas, whereas the lover part was used more for the final manufacturing of preforms into ready-to-use polished stone adzes. Finally, a comparative study of five stone adze workshop sites in the Pacific region was undertaken. This study demonstrates the differences and similarities in spatial organisation, raw material acquisition, manufacturing processes, and variability of stone adze types between the site

Five centuries of settlement dynamics and mobility in the Northern Raja Ampat Islands of West Papua

We explore changes to settlement and mobility in the northern Raja Ampat Islands (Waigeo, Gam, and Batanta) over the past five centuries, a time when speakers of several Austronesian languages were moving throughout the archipelago. The evidence shows: 1) some settlement relocations were rapid, occurring within a generation, while other settlements remained fixed for hundreds of years; and 2) there were numerous clan and family scale movements that led to high levels of intermarriage between language groups and settlements. The results demonstrate that far from being a place of stasis caught between the worlds of Maluku and New Guinea, Raja Ampat settlement and mobility were highly dynamic. This dynamism prompts us to rethink the relationship between today’s settlement locations, their language affiliations, and the meta-narratives about their recent population histories. We propose that the deeper past of Raja Ampat may have also been characterized by dynamic movement and social flux