Bandung, IndonesiaSentinel.com — The research published by Cambridge University provides direct evidence that 55,000 years ago, ancient mariners traveled along the equator to reach and inhabitated Raja Ampat archipelago of western Papua.
This is the first international archaeological research collaboration involving researchers from New Zealand, West Papua, Indonesia, and other countries to study Waigeo Island one of the island in the Raja Ampat archipelago.
Researchers focused their excavation inside a massive limestone chamber surrounded by tropical rainforest named Mololo Cave, . In the local Ambel language, Mololo means “meeting place of currents,” named after the water, which has high waves and large whirlpools in the nearby strait.
The cave, which stretches 100 meters deep, is home to colonies of bats, monitor lizards, and snakes. However, excavations in the cave uncovered multiple layers of human activity, including stone artifacts, animal bones, shells, and charcoal. These finds are believed to be the physical remnants left by ancient humans who once lived in the cave.
Archaeological discoveries of this kind at the deepest layer are considered rare. A tree resin artifact in the depths of Mololo Cave is the most significant find from this excavation. This is the earliest known example of resin use by humans outside Africa.
The radiocarbon dating conducted by the University of Oxford and the University of Waikato indicates that these tree resin artifacts are at least 55,000 years old, suggesting humans inhabited Mololo Cave 55,000 years ago.
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It also indicates that the resin artifact was crafted in multiple stages, which can be seen through electron microscope analysis. It shows how the resin was made. The resin was left hardened after it was dripped from the cut bark of a resin-producing tree. The hardened resin was then taken off and shaped into an object.
While the artifact’s exact purpose is unknown, it may have been used as fuel for lighting fires inside the cave. Similar resin was found around West Papua during the 20th century and used for fire-starting before gas and electric lighting were introduced.
In addition to the resin artifact, researchers also found animal bones from Mololo Cave, which suggests that the people of that era hunted ground-dwelling birds, marsupials, and possibly huge bats.
This discovery from one of the deepest cave at Raja Ampat Archipelago is a crucial example of human adaptability and resilience in challenging environments. It may represent one of the oldest signs of human civilization in the world, alongside the cave paintings found in Maros-Pangkep, South Sulawesi, Indonesia.
(Raidi/Agung)
