PAPER

“PREHISTORY ASTRONOMERS”

Dosen pengampu
Olivia Yolanda, S.E.,M.M.,

Disusun oleh:
Jodi Setiawan
217001516071

PROGRAM STUDI TEKNIK MESIN

FAKULTAS TEKNIK DAN SAINS
UNIVERSITAS NASIONAL
JAKARTA
2022
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................3

1.1 BACKGROUND..........................................................................................3
1.2 FORMULATION OF PROBLEM............................................................4
1.3 PAPER PURPOSE.....................................................................................4

CHAPTER 2.......................................................................................................5
THEORICAL BASIS........................................................................................5
1.4 DEFINITION OF PREHISTORY,PRE-SCRIPT....................................5
1.5 DEVELOPMENT OF INDONESIAN PREHISTORIC RESEARCH. .6
1.6 PRE-HISTORY SOURCES OF INDONESIA.........................................6

CHAPTER 3.......................................................................................................6
DISCUSSION.....................................................................................................6

CLOSING...........................................................................................................9
1.5 CONCLUSION............................................................................................9

GLOSARIUM..................................................................................................10
 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND
Since Prehistoric times, humans with their extraordinary abilities have tried to develop the use
of media to facilitate survival. Humans who have the nature of Human Society (socialization
humans), will not be separated from its relationship with other humans. From nature that, they
began to think about one way to be able to bring it up a form of communication media that can be
understood and understood, not only for certain group, but understood by all humans. Appearance
This kind of thinking then influences the development of the system information and communication
among other humans since prehistoric time Until now, one example of this media is visual media or
pictures.

The pre-literate period or commonly called the prehistoric period is the period of human life
before knowing writing. Humans who are thought to have lived in the pre-literate period were
ancient humans. At this time, we cannot know human history and culture through writing. The only
source to know about early human life is only through their remains in the form of fossils (petrified
remains of living things), tools for life, and growing fossils. Plants and animals that lived and
developed at that time.

The era when humans know and use writing is called the era of the script or the historical era. The
era of pre-literacy in Indonesia lasted a very long time, that is, since humans did not know writing
until humans began to recognize and use writing. An example of several artifacts is Kjokkemoddinger
or kitchen waste, which is a pile of shells that mounts or forms a hill. Then also Abris sous roche or
shelter under the reef is a place to live used by early humans. At that time to communicate and
convey messages to others, you could meet directly, through other people, or use symbols.

Since Prehistoric times, humans with their extraordinary abilities have tried to develop the use of
media to facilitate their survival. Humans who have the nature of Human Society (human
socialization), will not be separated from their relationship with other humans. From these
characteristics, they began to think about a way to be able to come up with a form of
communication media that can be understood and understood, not only for one particular group,
but understood by all humans. The emergence of thoughts like this which then influenced the
development of information and communication systems among other humans since prehistoric
times until now, one example of such media is visual media or images.
1.2 FORMULATION OF THE PROBLEM

From the background he author can inform the formulation of the problem as follows:
1. How was life in prehistoric times?

2. How did the inhabitants of prehistoric times determine the harvest time?

1.3 PAPER PURPOSE

From the background and formulation of the problem above, the author can inform the
purpose of the paper as follows:
The expected goal of this paper is for readers to know about prehistoric astronomers
 CHAPTER 2
THEORETICAL BASIS

1.4 Definition of Pre-History, Pre-Script

Pre-history is a term used to refer to a time when written historical records were not yet
available. Not much different from the term praaksara which comes from a combination of
words, namely pre and script. Pre means before and script means writing. Thus, what is
meant by the pre-literate period is the period before humans knew the form of writing. The
pre-history and pre-literacy period is also called the nirleka period (nir means nothing, and
leka means writing), namely the period when there was no writing.

The pre-literate period is also called the pre-historic period, which is a time when humans did
not know writing. The period after humans became acquainted with writing is also known as
the script period or historical period. Regarding terms, there is an opinion that the term pre-
script is actually more appropriate because pre-script means before there was writing. In
contrast to pre-history which means before there was history. Even though humans do not
know writing, it does not mean that humans do not have history and culture. As Colin
Renfrew put it, prehistoric times can be said to be the beginning of the formation of the
universe, but it is generally used to refer to the time when human life on Earth did not know
writing.

The boundary between prehistoric times and historical times is the beginning of writing. This
gives rise to an understanding that pre-history is the era before the discovery of writing, while
history is the era after writing. The end of prehistoric times or the start of historical times for
every nation in the world is not the same depending on the nation's civilization. For example,
the Egyptians around 4000 BC were familiar with writing, so that at that time, the Egyptians
had entered the historical era. Unlike the pre-historic era in Indonesia, it is estimated that it
will end at the time of the founding of the Kutai Kingdom, around the 5th century AD. This is
evidenced by the existence of a yupa-shaped inscription found on the banks of the Mahakam
River, East Kalimantan, which has just entered the historical era.

This prehistoric era is the most difficult time to find historical evidence. Because there are no
written records from prehistoric times. Information about this era is obtained through
scientific fields such as Paleontology, Astronomy, Biology, Geology, Anthropology,
Archeology. In the sense that prehistoric evidence is obtained from artifacts found in the
excavation area of prehistoric sites.
1.5 Development of Indonesian Prehistoric Research

Research on Indonesian prehistory has been going on for a long time. Since the Dutch East
Indies era, research efforts to uncover the past of nations have been carried out mainly by
experts from abroad (the Netherlands), such as Eugene Dubois, Von Koenigswald, Van
Heekeren, and others. They do research to reconstruct pre-history in Indonesia. The research
carried out showed extraordinary results which can be seen from the great discoveries,
namely the discovery of sites in various places such as the Sangiran Site in Central Java, the
Chicken Starch Site, the Terus Macan Site, and others. Besides that, the research by the
archaeologists also produced findings that shocked the world, namely the discovery of
prehistoric human fossils in Indonesia. After the independence era, scholars from Indonesia
were also actively involved in prehistoric research. The development of higher education
institutions in Indonesia, especially in the field of archeology, has resulted in the production
of many competent archaeologists from Indonesia. The Indonesian palaeontologist, Teuku
Yacoeb (UGM) has done a lot of great research, besides there are other figures like RP
Sujono who has also done a lot of research in the field of Palaeontology. In addition, there are
also foreign experts who research Indonesian prehistory, such as Peter Bellwood, who
researches prehistory in Southeast Asia.

1.6 Pre-history sources of Indonesia

1. Artifacts
Artifacts or artefacts are all objects that have been modified in part or in whole for the benefit
of humans. Examples of artifacts are stone axes, statues of gods, manuscripts. Artifacts are
Archaeological objects or relics of historical objects, namely all objects made or modified by
humans that can be moved. Examples of artifacts are stone, metal and bone tools, pottery,
plate and paper inscriptions, metal weapons (arrows, arrowheads, etc.), terracotta and animal
horns. It is important that this historical item be placed in a museum so that everyone can see
and learn about it.
2. Features / Features
A feature is a symptom or sign of residual human activity, although it cannot be moved
unless the base or matrix is disassembled. Examples of features are garbage pits, temples,
churches.
3. Fossil
Fossils or in Latin, fossa which means "digging out of the ground" are the remains or traces
of living things that have become rocks or minerals. In order to become a fossil, the remains
of these animals or plants must be immediately covered with sediment. By experts
distinguished several kinds of fossils. There are common rock fossils, fossils formed in
amber, tar fossils, like those formed in the La Brea tar wells in California. Animals or plants
that are thought to be extinct but in fact still exist are called living fossils. The most common
fossils are skeletons. What remains are shells, teeth and bones. Soft tissue fossils are very
rare.

4. Biofact Or Ecofact
Biofacts or ecofacts are all things that have never been changed by humans, but have become
part of human life. Examples of ecofacts are ancient elephant bone fossils, food leftover
bones, river networks. In Archeology, ecofacts or also known as biofacts are objects found at
archaeological sites and have archaeological significance, but these objects have never been
altered by humans. These objects are related to the environment, such as animal horns,
charcoal, plants, and pollen. Ecofacts are natural objects that are usually associated with
finding artifacts and features. Ecofacts show how humans in the past adapted to their
environment. The most common types of ecofacts are plant remains or pollen, which is often
referred to as macrobotany, can provide a wide range of information from diet to medicine
and textiles. Pollen provides archaeologists with information about the past environment, and
the foods processed or grown by people at that time. Pollen can also tell about changes in the
environment and diet. Other ecofacts, such as seeds, can tell archaeologists about the plant
species used in the past. If these seeds are present in large numbers at a site, it can be
concluded that the plant species was planted or developed for food or other objects that are
useful to humans, such as clothing, or even offerings. Another type of ecofact is wood. Wood
is made of cellulose, carbohydrates and lignin. From the findings of the logs, it can be seen
how old the remains of the tree are from the rings on the body of the tree, so that
dendrochronological dating can be done. Charcoal is burning wood, which is commonly
found in cave sites. This charcoal can be dated using Carbon-1417, so it can provide
information about the surrounding environment and human adaptation to the use of fire.

CHAPTER 3
 DISCUSSION

1.7CONFLICT/PROBLEM
Early Human Evolution An overview of early human evolution during the Pleistocene
can be known through studies paleoanthropology. What is the process of evolution What
happened is not yet known with certainty. Many theories and dendrograms about early human
evolution has been made. This shows there are still many disagreement among experts.
Wrong one causative factor is because there is none enough data to be able to reconstruct
total biological evolution. However Efforts toward compiling evolution must continue done.
In the history of paleoanthropological research in Indonesia, especially in Java there is
sufficient early human physical data complete the circuit step by step from simple to complex
forms progress. Early human fossils in find in the region of Indonesia comes from layers of
the earth during the lower Pleistocene, Pleistocene middle, upper Pleistocene, and early
epoch holocene. Thus it will appear clearly the evolution of the human physical form ancient
at that time.Early Human Evolution in the Pleistocene. Early human evolution in Java begins
with the human fossil Meganthropus paleojavanicus. This human was found on the Pucangan
formation layer in Sangiran. The formation is included in the kala Lower Pleistocene.
Because of the findings Meganthropus is only a few, it is difficult to determine with certainty
its position in human evolution and its relationship with Pithecanthropus. Through
comparative studies with the discovery of human fossils from Africa and Europe in terms of
physical and cultural then in human taxonomy, Meganthropus paleojavanicus is considered as
genus that lived during the lower Pleistocene,and was the predecessor of Pithecanthropus
erectus from the middle Pleistocene(Widianto 1980).
Younger human fossils are Pithecanthropus. This human fossil found in Indonesia,
especially in Java. Therefore, during the Pleistocene in Indonesia is inhabited by many
Pithecanthropus humans. This human is thought to have lived on during the lower, middle,
and possibly the Pleistocene Upper Pleistocene. The Pithecanthropus Man the oldest is
Pithecanthropus modjokertensis which was first discovered in the formation Pucangan in
Kepuhklagen in 1936 a child's skull. Other findings from the Sangiran site. Estimated human
these lived about 2.5 to 1.25 million years ago, so roughly the same time asMeganthropus
(Soejono 2010).More Pithecanthropus Man there are many and more widely distributed is
Pithecanthropus erectus.
 CLOSING
CONCLUSION
Observing prehistoric developments In general there are three factors related to nature,
humans, and culture. Therefore to get an explanation of life prehistoric humans then necessary
integrate the natural environment, human remains and cultural heritage. Prehistoric culture is
reflection of environmental conditions and ways humans exploit it. Method human life during the
very paleolithic period depend on the natural environment. They live a nomadic life in quite places
supplies of materials necessary for survival. During the Mesolithic period Early evidence of burial was
found inside caves (Sampung Culture) and shell hills(North Sumatra). They also have express
aesthetic and religious feelings through the paintings on the cliffs and cave walls. Society in the
Neolithic period began showing signs of settling in place, in groups to form small settlements, and
develop a new livelihood in the form of match activities simple cultivation and domestication of
animals certain. Technical proficiency achieved in the paleometallic period varies with its
composition society is becoming increasingly complex. Centered spiritual life Ancestor worship
flourished wide. As for technology improvements in this era is the art of metal casting. Besides life
forms In this case, in Indonesia there is a tradition prehistory that still survives today among others:
the tradition of simple farming, stone ax making traditions, traditions pottery making, aat making
tradition metal, and megalithic traditions, as well as stillmany more prehistoric traditions remain
lasts until now inside Indonesian people's lives.
 GLOSARIUM

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Wijaya, Hanny. "Nekara: Peninggalan Seni Budaya dari Zaman Perunggu." Humaniora 4.1 (2013):
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Abd Rahman, Nik Hassan Shuhaimi Nik. "Masyarakat Prasejarah dan Perkaitannya dengan
Masyarakat Pribumi Semenanjung Malaysia." Jebat 18 (1990): 3-14.

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