| Abstract: |
The Punung area is part of the Southern Mountains of Java, whose last tectonic uplift is estimated at the end of the Lower Pleistocene. It has been well-known for decades for its Neolithic settlements, either in the caves or in the numerous open air huge workshops of silicified limestone adzes. But Palaeolithic tools are present too, like the well-known Pacitan industry in the Baksoka river. Since 1992, horizontal excavations in the Song Keplek cave yielded a very rich Mesolithic layer, characterized by an abundant lithic industry - including artefacts like borers, several bone tools like points and spatulae, together with human and animal remains. This cultural horizon is provisionally dated to 4510 +/- 90 BP, that is to say BC 3370 to 2900 (2 sigma calibrated C14 age). Vertical, stratigraphically oriented excavations in the Song Terus cave gave evidence of an anthropic filling of the cave, which extends far below the Mesolithic horizon of Song Keplek. One of the pits met a deeply weathered, ferruginous alluvial layer which yielded both fresh and patinated Paleolithic looking artefacts. Such recent discoveries, while reflecting a still in progress project, open new perspectives for a chronological framing of human occupation in the Southern Mountains of Java and emphasize the importance of the Punung area for the study of Indonesian prehistoric culture.
|
