Sangiran Archaeological Site

Sangiran is an archaeological site in Java, Indonesia and is considered as one of the best archaeological sites in the world. The site has an area of 56 km ² and is located in Central Java, 15 kilometers north of Surakarta in Solo River valley and is situated at the foot of Mount Lawu. Astronomically this site is located at 7^o 25′ – 7^o 30′ South Latitude dan pada 4^o – 7^o 05′ East Longitude (Moelyadi dan Widiasmoro, 1978).

Sangiran administratively located in Sragen regency and district of Karanganyar in Central Java. On 15 March 1977 Sangiran determined by the Minister of Education and Culture of Indonesia as a cultural heritage. In 1996 the site was listed in UNESCO World Heritage Site No. 593.

In 1934 anthropologist Gustav Heinrich Ralph von Koenigswald begin research in the area. In subsequent years, the results of excavations found the fossil of the first human ancestor, Pithecanthropus erectus (“Java Man”). There are about 60 more fossils of other fossil Meganthropus palaeojavanicus them have been found on these sites.

At Sangiran Museum, located in this region also, presented the history of early humans since about 2 million years ago until 200,000 years ago, from when the late Pliocene to late middle Pleistocene. In this museum there are 13,086 ancient human fossil collection and is an ancient human site stood the most comprehensive in Asia. It can also be found in vertebrate fossils, animal fossils water, rocks, fossils of marine plants and stone tools.

Initially the research Sangiran is a dome called Sangiran Dome.Top of the dome is then opened through a process of erosion to form a depression. In the depression that can be found in soil layers that contain information about life in the past.

Java Man (Homo erectus paleojavanicus) is Homo erectus was first discovered. In the early discovery, human-like creature was given the scientific name Pithecanthropus erectus by Eugene Dubois, the team leader who managed to find a fossil skull in the Sandpipers in 1891. Pithecanthropus erectus name itself comes from Greek and Latin roots and means man-ape that can stand up.

At that time, Eugene Dubois was not able to collect fossils Pithecanthropus intact but only the shell of the skull, upper thigh bone and three teeth only. And until now, have not found clear evidence that these three bones are from the same species. A report containing 342 pages written at that time about the doubts the validity of the findings. Nonetheless Java man can still be found in textbooks today. A more complete fossil was later found in the village of Sangiran, Central Java, about 18km north of the city of Solo. Fossil shell of a human skull was discovered by Gustav Heinrich Ralph von Koenigswald, a paleontologist from Berlin, in 1936. In addition to fossil fuels, many other inventions in this Sangiran site.

Until the findings of the older man was found in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya, the findings of Dubois and von Koenigswald is the oldest known human. These findings also made reference to support the evolution theory of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace. Many scientists at that time who also proposed the theory that Java Man is probably the missing link between ape-man with modern humans today. Today, anthropologists agree that human ancestor Homo erectus is currently living in Africa.

Sangiran site name in the valley of  Solo in Central Java begin to spread among the mass media in the last quarter of 1993 because the event of sale of human skulls and animal fossils and delivery plans a number of fossils of ancient animals and fossil skull made by a foreign expert. Actually, what and how it Sangiran site?

Archeological sites in river valleys
The oldest archaeological sites of prehistoric period in the valley in Java Solo, Madiun River, and the Brantas River. The location of these sites are as follows.

1. Archeological Sites in the Valley Solo

1.1. Site Punung. The site is located near the upstream Solo River, near the village of Donorejo, about 10 km northwest of Pacitan. On the site this Punung found stone tools from the Paleolithic period (during hunting simple level) and Neolithic (farming period).

1.2. Sangiran site. The site is situated on the banks of the River Cemoro, namely child Solo River about 10 km north of the city of Surakarta (Solo). In this river valley are found stone tools and human animal skeleton. In the framework of early man was a human skull fossil, named Pithecanthropus erectus (man-ape that stood upright). Meganthropus paleojavanicus (big man Old Javanese) and soloensis Pithecanthropus (ape-man from Solo) (Solo Man.)

1.3. Situa Masaran. This site teretak near the town of Sragen, and a new site that was opened in 1989. On this site find the tools of iron, pottery and metal mas. This form of gold objects blindfolds corpse. According to information, people also found the bones and skulls, but not yet identified.

1.4. Site SAMBUNGMACAN. Its location is near the western city Mantingan Ngawi. On this site found a skull type soloensis Pithecanthropus.

1.5. Sites On this site Pithecanthropus erectus skulls found from the older period.

1.6. Ngandong site. At the site north of this Sandpipers dtemukan eleven soloensis Pithecanthropus skulls and stone tools produced by the creature.

2. Archeological Sites in the Madison River Valley

Site Sampung. The location of the existing umbrella cave near the town of Roxburgh, so in the upstream Bengawan Madison. Here is found a large amount of equipment from the bone (bone spatula).Madison Bengawan Solo is met with in the northern town of Ngawi.

3. Sites in the Brantas River Basin

3.1. Situas Wajak. The site is located in the eastern city of Tulung Great, so it still includes the upper Brantas River. On this site find human skull called Homo wajakensis.

3.2. Site Perning. The location is 7 km northeast of the city of Mojokerto, so in the Valley Brantas slightly to the downstream section, found mojokertensis Pithecanthropus skull.

Historical Research
Historical research Sangiran site long enough to have started since 100 years ago that was pioneered by Eugene Dubois. In 1931, Van Es published geological maps with scale 1:20,000 Sangiran area but later revised by HR Von Koenigswald in 1940.Further research Sartono Sangiran in 1961, 1970, 1975 and so on and also published geological maps.

The Japanese and Indonesian geologists have been working together researching Sangiran since 1976. The geologists also been researching Sangiran Indonesia since 1966, for example concentration D (1966). Otto Sudarmadji (1976), B.W. Hariadi (1978), S. Mahadi (1979) and Widiasmoro (1976-1978).

Earth’s Layer of  Sangiran
If the Sangiran site visits layer is cut to the soil, it will appear a few layers of soil with special characteristics as a result of the formation of the earth in the past. Prof. Dr. S. Sartono, a geologist who is always in collaboration with archaeologists, dividing the Sangiran site in several layers (termed formation) from the youngest to the oldest rocks along with a description of the material it contains.

The condition of the Earth and Fauna and Human Existence

The condition of the earth layer and the natural environment will determine what kind of creatures that can live in ancient times.Indications that can be seen now only in soil layers that are formed due to various factors. For example, in formation Pucangan (older than the formation kabuh and notopuro), there are only a layer of clay and volcanic alone. This clay layer contains three types of marine mollusks which is mixed with shark teeth: this as a sign that there had occurred a short transgressions. The presence of mollusc associations mixed with wood, sulfur, machinations, and crocodile shows the environment paya-paya waterfront.

Paya-paya developing seaside by the sea and the land-sea transition environment that precipitates a fine-grained sediments and a large number of plant material. The addition of material from the mainland are more dominant in the atmosphere with low energy levels up to dismpulkan that fossils are still in situ and presumed origin of the material from the north.

Volcanic layer which is generally getting thinner to the north indicate that the origin of the south and deposited by the system or concentrated flow, which is known as popular lava rain (cold lava).Deposition run fast in a short time. Systems deposition laharik TIPA is punctuated by the deposition of the river that produced the new conglomerates and cross-bedding sand.

Based on the depositional environment and the pattern of the ancient flow direction of ancient geography changes since the Pleistocene in the Lower to Middle Pleistocene can be determined. In the early history of life and Meganthropus Pithecanthropus together animals and plants tumbuhannya Sangiran area is still a paya-paya waterfront. At the time the lava flood rains which lasted a disaster for the development of life.

A life around paya-paya beach and then forwarded to the development of residential areas around the coast or river estuaries during the early Middle Pleistocene, and probably only develop in areas north of Kali Cemoro. In this part of human life going on around the river delta region bercander above.

Natural conditions during the Middle Pleistocene are reconstructed as described above, really very difficult for humans Pithecanthropus. New on the Upper Pleistocene natural conditions more conducive to allow life-like creature Pithecanthropus and Homo soloensis wadjakensisi and Homo sapiens.

Sangiran Site as the location of the findings of an ancient creature (types of reptiles and mammals between judgments Pithecanthropus erectus) is a site that berkatian with other ancient sites along the Solo River. Bengawan Madison and the Brantas River. On the formation notopuro eg, also found on other sites outside Ngandong. The earth’s geological formations produced by deposition processes in volcanic ancient, primordial laharik and sedimentation flows. In formations in Sangiran Kabuh can live kind of Pithecanthropus erectus, while in a more favorable geological conditions, such as the formation Notopuro (fauna Ngandong) to living creatures human species known as Homo and Homo soloensis wadjakensis (of the approximately 100,000 to 50,000 years ago).

Site Sandpipers with the findings of Pithecanthropus erectus has been known since 100 years ago and now has established a special museum and a memorial at the place of finding the Pithecanthropus erectus. In any case Sangiran site has become a mecca for experts study ancient geology, paleobiology, paleo-anthropology and arkeoogi worldwide.

With over100 fossils are found in this site, it constitutes 65% of all ancient fossils found in Indonesia and 50% of all fossils found all over the world (Widianto,et.al.,1996).