Traces of Sulawesi’s early humans

“Leang Pattae was the first cave in the Maros-Pangkep karst region found by archeologists to have prehistoric paintings, when CHM Heeren Palm conducted research here in 1950,” said Budianto Hakim, 53, an archeologist from the Makassar Archeology Center.

That day, Budianto was accompanying Kompas in venturing into several prehistoric caves in Maros, including Pettae. The caves are located in a karst region called Maros-Pangkep. Pangkep is an acronyum of Pangkajene and Kepulauan (Islands), which neighbors Maros to the north.

Palm’s research discovered prehistoric paintings in other caves in Maros, both by Palm himself and by other researchers such as HR van Heekeren and CHJ Franssen. Paintings were also found in caves including Leang Burung, Leang Jarie, Leang Lambattorang and Leang Petta Kere. “Leang” is a word in the local tongue that means “cave”.

The caves are located near one another. Leang Petta Kere, for instance, is only 50 m away from Leang Pettae. The two caves are now part of the Leang-leang Prehistoric Park managed by the South Sulawesi Cultural Heritage Preservation Center.

Budianto said that the latest data included around 230 caves in the Maros-Pangkep karst region. Around 80 caves are known to have prehistoric paintings. Some of the caves are located within the 43,700-hectare Bantimurung-Bulusaraung National Park.

“It remains possible that other caves are still to be discovered, as only around 10 percent of the Maros-Pangkep karst region is accessible,” Budianto said.

Regarding the many potential caves to be researched, Makassar Archeology Center head Irfan Mahmud said that the center would soon establish zones in the karst region. This is to ensure that all the caves can be included in the database, which can be used by the regency administration to facilitate region utilization.

“Currently, there are overlaps between business interests, especially mining, conservation and tourism. We have faced mining businesspeople several times when their mining licenses include areas within the conservation zone. This is why there has to be zonation,” Irfan said.

With a research-based zonation regulation, conservation areas will also be designated as prehistoric caves. Other parts can be developed for business. Research is also aimed at producing a more comprehensive karst region map.

The image of a hand is formed from the combination of the grey color of the rock surface and the black paint surrounding it. The images of the deer pigs were made using a kind of brush and paint, while the image of the hand was made using a different technique.

Makassar Archeology Agency archeologist Budianto Hakim said the painter used a spray technique, either with the help of a device or with the mouth. First, they collected hematite, mineral rocks containing red pigment.

The rocks were crushed and the red layers removed. The flour was then mixed with water to produce red paint.

“Then, the hand was pressed against the wall and the paint was sprayed on it, leaving the image of palm print,” said Budianto, who was also involved in the research to determine the age of the ancient paintings.

The patterns of these prehistoric paintings varied. There are the single paintings at Timpuseng, random groups at Leang Pettae and Leang Petta Kere, and lines at Leang Lompoa. The paintings are mostly on places that are difficult to reach.

The hand sketch at Leang Burung 1 is the most extreme example. There are two images at different locations on the ceiling, which is at least 10 m high.

Then what is the meaning of those images or paintings?

Budianto predicted that the hand paintings are part of a ritual to provide protection for the inhabitants of the cave from curses and other negative occurrences. He said they might have been created before man understood the concept of God or a higher being to ask for help.

The prediction was supported with the findings of several caves with paintings that were not occupied by humans. Such caves are located at the top of the hill and are difficult to access. They are also situated from food sources and river. Furthermore, no waste was found, such as animal bones or shells that were commonly found around caves inhabited by human.

It means those caves have particular functions, one of which is to perform ritual practices related to those paintings.“So, human at that time used rituals to unify their community,” Budianto said.

Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) researcher Pindi Setiawan said those prehistoric paintings showed the advanced skills of early humans living in the archipelago. Aside from Maros, Pindi has also researched cave paintings in East Kalimantan.

From his assessment, the men producing the paintings considered layout, lighting and points of view to produce the arts.

The ITB visual communication and multimedia lecturer also said the paintings were not mute drawings, but a process that involved all of the painter’s senses.

“There are cave paintings that are important visually, but there are also paintings that are important in their creation, such as the use of prayers during the painting process,” Pindi said. These were produced in high numbers and located in high places.

Why was the painting important? Pindi predicted it was related to the religious system of the painter at that time. In this sense, the hand painting functioned as a medium of communication with another world that existed with the real world.

Meanwhile, regarding the painting of animals, Pindi said it was an expression of the animal that was respected and considered to have special features at that time. “It was also related to the religious value of humans at that time,” he said.

Budianto added that the handprint painting culture continued until the arrival of the Austronesia-speaking humans to Sulawesi 4,000 years ago. Austronesia-speaking humans are one of the forefathers of the Indonesian nation.

Moreover, Budianto said in Buginese culture, hand painting is part of the Ma’bedda Bola tradition, which means putting cosmetics on the house. That tradition is a ritual to celebrate a new house, bless the inhabitant and protect them from evil.

The ritual was usually led by a sanro (community leader) who walked around the house while uttering prayers. Then, he would soak his hand into a mix of water and rice flour before pressing his palm onto the wall or pillar of the house. The handprint will be left as it is for years.

“This may be a form of knowledge from the prehistoric era to the present time,” Budianto said.

However, the Ma’bedda Bola tradition is now difficult to find, said Lahab, 54, a resident of Kalabbirang subdistrict and caretaker of the Leang-leang Prehistoric Park.

“In the past, when my parents entered a new house, they performed this ritual. I also performed the same ritual for my house. I did not know what it meant exactly. Essentially, it was a ritual to protect the inhabitants from misfortune,” Lahab said.

One of the main goals of this research is to discover Sulawesi’s early settlers and the “artists” who made the prehistoric paintings. Therefore, the research went on until 2017.

The research was focused on Leang Bulu Bettue in Bantimurung district, Maros, just 1 kilometer away from Leang Timpuseng. A number of prints and evidence have led archeologists to excavate the cave.

In 2016, they found prehistoric jewelries some 30,000 years old in the cave. The jewelries comprised earrings and beads made from the teeth and bones of endemic mammals in Sulawesi, such as babirusa and bear cuscus. This has been claimed as the oldest pieces of jewelry to have been discovered in Indonesia.

The findings boosted archeologists’ spirits. They are now more convinced than ever that they are getting closer to discovering the remnants of the very first settler of Sulawesi.

“We are lucky as, in our research, around 90 percent of old deposits are still trapped in the caves. In 2017, we dug deeper and in a wider area on the cave’s walls,” Budiato said.

The location was chosen because human fossils had always been found on the peripheries of cave walls. “In the past, the deceased were treated with care and placed on higher and safer parts of the wall,” Budianto said.

The excavation was temporarily stopped in September 2017. The findings were taken to Australia and several other countries for further research. The results will determine whether or not the excavation will continue. They may also provide answers to several big mysteries.