Who painted rock art in Sulawesi?
Traces of pre-Austronesian and Austronesian painting traditions on Sulawesi cave walls
By Archaeological, Language and Literature Research Organization
In collaboration with Griffith University
Humans in Wallacea
We don’t know a lot about the early history of humans in Wallacea, a region that includes Sulawesi and nearby islands. Leang Bulu Bettue site is located near Leang-Leang Prehistoric Park, Maros, South Sulawesi. The site is known for its human burial site.
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The excavation revealed human occupation in Bulu Bettue cave
Since 2012 the archaeological research collaboration between Arkenas (now BRIN) and Griffith University was done with the support from researchers and staff from Balai Arkeologi Makassar and BPCB South Sulawesi, lectures, and students from Hasanuddin University and Haluoleo University, has been done in Bettue.
Stalagmite dated using U-series analysis at Bulu Bettue cave. (2017) by Adam Brumm and Basran BurhanArchaeological, Language and Literature Research Organization
The excavation context of human burial at Leang Bulu Bettue
Since there aren’t many fossils from that time, finding any new pieces, even if they are just small parts like the right upper jawbone from Leang Bulu Bettue, is really important.
Human remain from Bulu Bettue cave. (2017) by Ratno Sardi and David BulbeckArchaeological, Language and Literature Research Organization
The human remains in Leang Bulu Bettue
This jawbone helps us know that early humans, called Homo sapiens, lived in this area.
The Maros-LBB-1a jawbone is the first direct evidence we have about these early humans. It shows us some interesting things about their teeth and health, which might tell us how they lived in the rainforest.
Human burial from Jarie Cave, Maros, South Sulawesi (2019) by Balai Arkeologi Sulawesi SelatanArchaeological, Language and Literature Research Organization
The human burial in Leang Jarie
The first modern humans who came to Sulawesi also made some of the oldest known rock art. But we still don’t know much about their lives and culture.
Learn more about Austronesian culture
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/figures?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0257273
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