REVEALING THE ROLE OF SELAYAR IN THE EASTERN SHIPPING AND TRADE ROUTE; ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDS FROM AN UNDERWATER EXCAVATION ON THE BONTO SIKUYU SITE

During the 16th-19th centuries, besides exporting copra and woven fabrics, Selayar Island was a part of the shipping route called the ‘eastern route’ used by ceramic traders. This is supported by archaeological evidence found on the Bonto Sikuyu underwater site, which has been under the threat of illegal excavation, in the forms of ceramics and Chinese coins. These archaeological finds, which are dominant in the site, may help us find out where they came from. This study used a survey method by carrying out excavation on the site. During the excavation, we found 1,718 coin pieces, 299 coin chunks, 190 porcelain pieces, 5 stoneware pieces, and one ironware piece. The ceramics came from China, Annam, and Thailand. The Chinese ceramics came from the Sung dynasty (the 9th-12th centuries) and the Yuan dynasty (the 12th-13th centuries). The Annamese and Thai ceramics came from the 14th-16th centuries.&nbsp

A reassessment of the early archaeological record at Leang Burung 2, a Late Pleistocene rock-shelter site on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi

This paper presents a reassessment of the archaeological record at Leang Burung 2, a key early human occupation site in the Late Pleistocene of Southeast Asia. Excavated originally by Ian Glover in 1975, this limestone rock-shelter in the Maros karsts of Sulawesi, Indonesia, has long held significance in our understanding of early human dispersals into \u27Wallacea\u27, the vast zone of oceanic islands between continental Asia and Australia. We present new stratigraphic information and dating evidence from Leang Burung 2 collected during the course of our excavations at this site in 2007 and 2011-13. Our findings suggest that the classic Late Pleistocene modern human occupation sequence identified previously at Leang Burung 2, and proposed to span around 31,000 to 19,000 conventional 14C years BP (~35-24 ka cal BP), may actually represent an amalgam of reworked archaeological materials. Sources for cultural materials of mixed ages comprise breccias from the rear wall of the rock-shelter-remnants of older, eroded deposits dated to 35-23 ka cal BP-and cultural remains of early Holocene antiquity. Below the upper levels affected by the mass loss of Late Pleistocene deposits, our deep-trench excavations uncovered evidence for an earlier hominin presence at the site. These findings include fossils of now-extinct proboscideans and other \u27megafauna\u27 in stratified context, as well as a cobble-based stone artifact technology comparable to that produced by late Middle Pleistocene hominins elsewhere on Sulawesi

A reassessment of the early archaeological record at Leang Burung 2, a Late Pleistocene rock-shelter site on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi

This paper presents a reassessment of the archaeological record at Leang Burung 2, a key early human occupation site in the Late Pleistocene of Southeast Asia. Excavated originally by Ian Glover in 1975, this limestone rock-shelter in the Maros karsts of Sulawesi, Indonesia, has long held significance in our understanding of early human dispersals into 'Wallacea', the vast zone of oceanic islands between continental Asia and Australia. We present new stratigraphic information and dating evidence from Leang Burung 2 collected during the course of our excavations at this site in 2007 and 2011-13. Our findings suggest that the classic Late Pleistocene modern human occupation sequence identified previously at Leang Burung 2, and proposed to span around 31,000 to 19,000 conventional 14C years BP (~35-24 ka cal BP), may actually represent an amalgam of reworked archaeological materials. Sources for cultural materials of mixed ages comprise breccias from the rear wall of the rock-shelter-remnants of older, eroded deposits dated to 35-23 ka cal BP-and cultural remains of early Holocene antiquity. Below the upper levels affected by the mass loss of Late Pleistocene deposits, our deep-trench excavations uncovered evidence for an earlier hominin presence at the site. These findings include fossils of now-extinct proboscideans and other 'megafauna' in stratified context, as well as a cobble-based stone artifact technology comparable to that produced by late Middle Pleistocene hominins elsewhere on Sulawesi

Early human symbolic behavior in the Late Pleistocene of Wallacea

Wallacea, the zone of oceanic islands separating the continental regions of Southeast Asia and Australia, has yielded sparse evidence for the symbolic culture of early modern humans. Here we report evidence for symbolic activity 30,000–22,000 y ago at Leang Bulu Bettue, a cave and rock-shelter site on the Wallacean island of Sulawesi. We describe hitherto undocumented practices of personal ornamentation and portable art, alongside evidence for pigment processing and use in deposits that are the same age as dated rock art in the surrounding karst region. Previously, assemblages of multiple and diverse types of Pleistocene “symbolic” artifacts were entirely unknown from this region. The Leang Bulu Bettue assemblage provides insight into the complexity and diversification of modern human culture during a key period in the global dispersal of our species. It also shows that early inhabitants of Sulawesi fashioned ornaments from body parts of endemic animals, suggesting modern humans integrated exotic faunas and other novel resources into their symbolic world as they colonized the biogeographically unique regions southeast of continental EurasiaS. For facilitating this research, we thank Pusat Penelitian Arkeologi Nasional (ARKENAS) director I.M. Geria and the former directors of Makassar’s Balai Pelestarian Cagar Budaya and Balai Arkeologi, Fig. 4. Evidence for pigment use at LBB. (A) Used ochre nodule (layer 4a). On the accompanying illustration, striations from scraping are depicted in dark gray. (B) Use-worn ochre piece (layer 4a); light gray, ground area; dark gray, scraped area; midgray, scraped area partially worn away by abrasion. (C) Ochre nodule with flake scars at the proximal extremity suggesting it was detached from a larger nodule (layer 4b)—a central (dorsal) facet reaches 14.8 mm from the distal edge and, along with a single facet located on both the left and right sides of this central one, displays evidence for rubbing against a soft surface. (D) Use-worn ochre piece (layer 4a). (E–G) Chert artifacts with red ochre residues from layer 4a. (H) Chert flake with ochre residues (layer 4f). (I) Chert flake with ochre residues (layer 4f). (J) Possible pigment blow-pipe made on a bear cuscus long bone (layer 4b). [Scale bar, (A–J) 10 mm and ( H1–3, I1 and I2, and J1–4) 1 mm.] Brumm et al. PNAS | April 18, 2017 | vol. 114 | no. 16 | 4109 ANTHROPOLOGY M. Said and G.M. Sudarmika, respectively. Fieldworkers included D. Susanti, R. Salempang, H. Arsyad, Muhtar, Sungkar, R. Ali, L. Lantik, Asri, H. Lahab, O. Amrullah, Idrus, M. Husain, Busran, and D.P. McGahan. For advice and assistance, we thank T. Sutikna, I. Glover, J. Joordens, W. Roebroeks, C. Little, D. Bulbeck, P. Piper, X. Zhihong, A. Abdul, F. Petchey, U. Pietrzak, L. Kinsley, J. Hellstrom, P. Bajo, S. Wroe, S. Hayes, and B. Jones. The Indonesian fieldwork was authorized by the Ministry of Research and Technology (RISTEK) and ARKENAS

Earliest hunting scene in prehistoric art

Humans seem to have an adaptive predisposition for inventing, telling and consuming stories1. Prehistoric cave art provides the most direct insight that we have into the earliest storytelling2,3,4,5, in the form of narrative compositions or ‘scenes’2,5 that feature clear figurative depictions of sets of figures in spatial proximity to each other, and from which one can infer actions taking place among the figures5. The Upper Palaeolithic cave art of Europe hosts the oldest previously known images of humans and animals interacting in recognizable scenes2,5, and of therianthropes6,7—abstract beings that combine qualities of both people and animals, and which arguably communicated narrative fiction of some kind (folklore, religious myths, spiritual beliefs and so on). In this record of creative expression (spanning from about 40 thousand years ago (ka) until the beginning of the Holocene epoch at around 10 ka), scenes in cave art are generally rare and chronologically late (dating to about 21–14 ka)7, and clear representations of therianthropes are uncommon6—the oldest such image is a carved figurine from Germany of a human with a feline head (dated to about 40–39 ka)8. Here we describe an elaborate rock art panel from the limestone cave of Leang Bulu’ Sipong 4 (Sulawesi, Indonesia) that portrays several figures that appear to represent therianthropes hunting wild pigs and dwarf bovids; this painting has been dated to at least 43.9 ka on the basis of uranium-series analysis of overlying speleothems. This hunting scene is—to our knowledge—currently the oldest pictorial record of storytelling and the earliest figurative artwork in the world

Early human symbolic behavior in the Late Pleistocene of Wallacea

Wallacea, the zone of oceanic islands separating the continental regions of Southeast Asia and Australia, has yielded sparse evidence for the symbolic culture of early modern humans. Here we report evidence for symbolic activity 30,000-22,000 y ago at Leang Bulu Bettue, a cave and rock-shelter site on theWallacean island of Sulawesi. We describe hitherto undocumented practices of personal ornamentation and portable art, alongside evidence for pigment processing and use in deposits that are the same age as dated rock art in the surrounding karst region. Previously, assemblages of multiple and diverse types of Pleistocene "symbolic" artifacts were entirely unknown from this region. The Leang Bulu Bettue assemblage provides insight into the complexity and diversification of modern human culture during a key period in the global dispersal of our species. It also shows that early inhabitants of Sulawesi fashioned ornaments from body parts of endemic animals, suggesting modern humans integrated exotic faunas and other novel resources into their symbolic world as they colonized the biogeographically unique regions southeast of continental Eurasia

Correction: A reassessment of the early archaeological record at Leang Burung 2, a Late Pleistocene rock-shelter site on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi (PLoS ONE (2018) 13, 4 (e0193025) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0193025)

A portion of the figure legend for Fig 7 is incorrectly displayed in the second paragraph under the subheading “Evaluating Glover’s model of human occupation at the site 35–23 ka cal BP” in the Results section. Please see the complete, correct Fig 7 caption here

Results of U-series dating of straw stalactites from Leang Burung 2.

<p>Results of U-series dating of straw stalactites from Leang Burung 2.</p

Results of Leang Burung 2 pollen analysis.

<p>Results of Leang Burung 2 pollen analysis.</p

Study locality and context.

<p>Map of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi (<b>a</b>) showing the location of the Late Pleistocene rock-shelter site, Leang Burung 2 (<b>b</b>); the Holocene cave site, Ulu Leang 1, is located around 1.5 km to the north (<b>c</b>), plan view of Ian Glover’s 1975 excavations at Leang Burung 2; (<b>d</b>) stratigraphic profile of the south wall of the 1975 trench (redrawn from Fig 3 in [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0193025#pone.0193025.ref001" target="_blank">1</a>]). Calibrated ¹⁴C ages are reported at the 95% confidence interval.</p