Tracking the (Temporary) Dwellings of Prehistoric Humans in the Bumiayu Area and Surroundings, Brebes Regency, Central Java Ediyanto1, Istiana2, Monica Maharani3, Karyono4, Budi Santosa5, Dhani Firmansyah6
Prodi Teknik Geologi, Jurusan Teknik Geologi, Fakultas Teknologi Mineral
UPN Veteran Yogyakarta, Jl. Padjajaran Jl. Ring Road Utara No.104, Ngropoh, Condongcatur, Kec. Depok, Kabupaten Sleman, DIY 55283 1,2, Prodi Teknik Geomatika, Jurusan Teknik Geologi, Fakultas Teknologi Mineral UPN Veteran Yogyakarta, Jl. Babarsari 2, Tambakbayan, Depok, Sleman, DIY 55283 3.
Abstract
The Bumiayu area and its surroundings in Brebes Regency, Central Java, are very similar to the Sangiran area in Sragen Regency, Central Java, regarding the discovery of vertebrate fossils and prehistoric human fossils. The rock unit (Formation) that contains many vertebrate fossils and prehistoric human fossils in Sangiran is the sandstone unit of the Kabuh Formation. In Bumiayu, the rock unit that contains vertebrate fossils and prehistoric human fossils is the sandstone unit of the Kaliglagah Formation. These two formations have similar lithological characteristics.
For archaeologists, they believe that the life and death of vertebrates and prehistoric humans occurred at the site where the fossils were found. For geologists, the life and death of prehistoric humans did not occur at the site where the fossils were found, but they were transported from distant places carried by floods and deposited at the discovery site. This implies that the habitat of vertebrates and prehistoric humans was far from where the fossils were found. The purpose of this research is to track the (temporary) dwellings of prehistoric humans. To determine the source/headwaters of the river that transported and deposited the fossils, it is necessary to know the direction of the ancient currents by measuring the cross-bedded sediment structures present in the sandstone layers/units as a result of large floods.
The research results show that the direction of the ancient currents is relatively northwest-southeast. This aligns with the locations of caves that have the potential to be (temporary) dwellings of prehistoric humans. One of the criteria for prehistoric human dwellings is the presence of a small river inside the cave that never dries up. This river exists due to a fault that cuts through the cave. Some caves believed to have the potential to be (temporary) dwellings of prehistoric humans include Lawa Cave in the Larangan area, Brebes, and Srewiti Cave in the Ajibarang area.
Keywords: limestone cave, cross-bedded, (temporary) dwellings of prehistoric humans
Topic: Engineering
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