To trace the ancient migration trail

Sumatra Island is geographically located in a very strategic position for fauna and human migration paths in the Pleistocene era. However, the island's early human traces that survive in the ice age is still a puzzle.

From Padang Bindu, District Ogan Komering Ulu, South Sumatra Province, the last village that can be reached by vehicle, a group of scientists from the Centre for Research and Development National Archaeological walk karst hills.

They must go through a suspension bridge crossing the River Ogan, through dense forest and climb the steep hill to get to Goa Tiger, archaeological sites excavated since 2010. In the cave, the research team of 12 people trying to collect traces of ancient settlements from the time of 60000-10000 years ago, to the older, the ice age. "We are continually looking to fill the data gaps in Sumatra," said Rev. Saptomo, one of the researchers.

Compared to other parts of Indonesia, traces of ancient human settlements in Sumatra, including the youngest, on average, younger than 10,000 years ago. Researchers have found traces of settlements of modern humans (Homo sapiens) who live in Sumatra 60000-10000 years ago.

Between 60,000 and 10,000 years ago, the Earth is inhabited by humans from Homo sapiens species, aka "modern man". Before that time, Earth is populated by humans of the type Pythecantropus erectus or Homo erectus, which spanned his time between 1.5 million and 100,000 years ago.

Some traces of prehistoric settlements dating back some 10,000 years are found on the east coast of North Sumatra to Aceh, Nias, and Tianko length. The findings of the cave in the area of ​​Padang Bindu, such as Princess Goa, Goa Silabe, Pandan Goa, and Goa roots, younger, 9000-2000 years ago, marks the beginning of modern human civilization.

"There is an unbroken line. In Sumatra, we find only 'modern humans and then', but have not found the 'early modern humans'. It's a big question mark among the researchers. Was at that time Sumatra uninhabited?" Wahyu said.

Goa Tigers attracted attention because of adjacent rivers. On the edge of the river, according to Revelation, found a number of objects in the paleolithic culture, such as gravel which is simple to get tajaman trimmed, hand-held axes.

River became a vital part of human prehistory. During the life of the oldest, are dependent on the availability of food from the surrounding environment. The next stage, namely the neolithic culture, humans began to cultivate environmental resources to meet the necessities of life.

In Goa tigers, researchers discovered the tomb area and the findings of metal and pottery. Found 35 adults and children who are single or buried together. Also found in the cave wall paintings that became the first findings. During this time, Metro is considered to have shaped the prehistoric cave paintings.

According to Revelation, the findings in Goa Tiger is a trace of modern humans who lived 4,000 years Austronesian ago. After transferring the findings and make a mold of findings, the investigators still digging to find the oldest settlements in the life of Homo erectus.

Important species

Homo erectus occupied important positions in human evolution because it is a direct predecessor of Homo sapiens (modern humans) at this time.

According to Harry Widianto of Ancient Man Site Preservation Hall Sangiran, in the process line of evolution, Homo erectus is known to have rapid cultural development.

These humans are the creators and users of stone tools reliably. They develop specific technologies, such as hand-held axes.

Homo erectus also have a toughness in adapting to nature. They are the first species to leave their ancestral places in Africa 1.8 million years ago. They are able to adapt to climate change in the world, ranging from cold climate in Europe until hot climates along the equator.

Homo erectus migrated via land bridges formed by the shrinking of sea water. This eliminates shrinkage South China Sea and Java Sea to the ocean floor into the valley. The valley was the path of migration of Homo erectus to Indonesia. "They're not through the island of Sumatra and Kalimantan, because at that time the two islands is a plateau," said Harry.

In Indonesia, Homo erectus is found only in Java. This is because Java is a 'dead end' for humans to migrate eastward.

To the east, Homo erectus was blocked by a trough between Bali and Lombok, which reaches 8,000 meters and still the oceans. While still in the highlands of Sumatra, a difficult climb. Today, researchers continue to search for traces to find the oldest human settlements.