J.Anthrop.Soc.Nippon人 類 誌 100(2):191-203(1992) LETTER TO THE EDITOR Two Microliths from Javanese Wadjak Man P. STORM Collection Dubois National Museum of Natural History Leiden, The Netherlands Abstract Recently, during a restudy of the fragmentary bone material of the Wadjak site two microliths were discovered. A description of these artefacts is given. A discussion is presented in the light of other Holocene prehistoric sites from Java, a supposed linkage between Wadjak Man and the Pacitanian, the fauna and suggestions about the age of the Wadjak site. These new finds fit with the view of Wadjak Man as Modern Man ("Proto Javanese"), found in association with the subrecent fauna from Java. Key Words Java, Wadjak Man, Subrecent Fauna, Microliths Introduction (BRACE et al., 1971; SOEJONO, 1984), Mediterranean In 1888 Mr. B.D. Van RIETSCHOTEN,in a search for (PINKLEY, 1936), or Wadjak Man as an extinct form marble, discovered a fossilized human skull in a (KEITH, 1925). The fauna associated with the Wadjak skulls is well rockshelter, nowadays well known as the Wadjak site known (DUBOIS,1922; Van den BRINK, 1982). Based on (Van RIETSCHOTEN, 1888; DUBOIS 1889, 1922; Plate the fauna and the morphology of the human skulls 1). The Wadjak site is located on a mountain slope in (DUBOIS, 1922; JACOB, 1967; SANTA LUCA, 1980; Southwest Java, south of Mount Willis near the village STORM, 1990b), the date could be considered as of Wadjak (present day; Wajak), (DUBOIS,1922; Azlz somewhere in the Late Pleistocene or Holocene. and De VOS,1989). The human skull was sent to DUBOIS According to DUBOIS (1922) no artefacts had been who, attracted by this find, visited the site in 1890 and found in the Wadjak site. However, recently, during a found fragments of a second fossilized human skull, restudy of the fragmentary material, collected by postcranial skeleton elements.and fossil mammal bones. DUBOIS in 1890 at the Wadjak site and stored in the The first skull was indicated as W-I and the second National Museum of Natural History (N.M.N.H.) in as W-II. These two skulls became well known after their Leiden, two microliths were discovered. The purpose of description as " Proto-Australians" (DUBOIS, 1922) and this paper is to give a description of these artefacts and their suggested link with Pithecanthropus and the to discuss them in their wider context, and in the light Ngandong hominids (OPPENOORTH, 1932). From the of a supposed link between Wadjak Man and the Paci- moment that KEITH (1936) included them in his theory tanian Culture (BARTSTRA, 1984a, b, 1987; SEMAH et about the origin of modern man, they played an important al., 1990). role in the setting up of hypotheses and models about (local) evolution in Java and migration from Southeast Two Microliths from the Wadjak Site Asia to Australia (WEIDENREICH, 1945; COON, 1963; JACOB, 1967; WOLPOFF et al., 1984), although other Wadjak Artefact l(W-A-l) opinions have also been published, a link between Wadjak A small blade, made from limestone (Fig. 1; Plates Man and Papuans (DUBOIS, 1889), Neandertal Man 2, 4). The distal end is broken and there is some damage Received December 18, 1991 192 P. STORM Fig. 1. Artefact W-A-1. Fig. 2. Artefact W-A-2. Two Microliths from Javanese Wadjak Man 193 at the proximal end. The shape of the body is elongated objects and human remains. with parallel sides. Present are the bulb of percussion and Layer B: Roughly between 1.2 and 2.2 m deep, spatulas the striking platform. The dorsal side has two parallel and points often made from antler; daggers and ribs (three negatives) and there is erosion at this surface. harpoons, grinding stones and hollowed stone The ventral side is flat, but also at this surface there is basins (with and without traces of red clay), erosion. There is no retouch. human remains. Layer C: Roughly between 2.2 and 3.0 m deep, flint Measurements of W-A-1: arrow-points, grinding stones, pottery Maximum length : 20.6 mm fragments, human remains. Maximum breadth : 6.9 mm Layer D: Roughly between 3.0 and 3.6 m deep, arrow Maximum thickness : 2.6 mm point, bronze object and human remains. Wadjak Artefact 2 (W-A-2) According to Von KOENIGSWALD(1956a) the "bone A small blade (possibly a point), made from limestone culture" from Sampoeng is also found in other Javanese (Fig. 2; Plates 3, 5), which is in a bad condition. Proximal sites like: Bodjonegro and Sitobondo (excavated by Van and distal ends are both broken, or are the result HEEKEREN). of intentional breakage. The ventral side is flat. On the In 1937 ERDBRINK and KERKHOVEN discovered an dorsal side one can recognize one rib but possibly there archaeological site in West Java, halfway between the were three ribs (parallel to the lateral sides). Ribs are Pasir (hill) Tjilawang and the hamlet of Tondjong, which difficult to recognize because there is edge damage (or ERDBRINK (1943, 1954) attributed to the "Mesolithic retouch) on the dorsal side. Sampoeng culture". In this site, the "Cave of Panoem- bangan", three distinct levels could be distinguished, Measurements of W-A-2: fossilized remains of animals were found in the northern Maximum length : 23.3 mm Maximum breadth : 6.5 mm part of the cave, together with five flint implements. One flint implement was found in the southern part. Maximum thickness : 2.4 mm ERDBRINK (1954) further remarked that, apart from the mentioned site, a small open-air site nearby (also Lithic and Bone Artefacts from Holocene Sites in Java located on the Panoembangan tea estate) seems to be the Sampoeng is at this moment the best described site only indication of the presence of remains of Mesolithic in Java, dating from the Mesolithic/Neolithic period. This people in West Java. ERDBRINK (1954) also reported a site is located one mile South of Sampoeng, Ponorogo, locality, discovered in 1936 by Von KOENIGSWALD, East Java and well known for its bone tools. The first which could be from the Mesolithic period. A rockshelter, publication of the Sampoeng site (nowadays: Sampung; located on the eastern side of a hill, the Gunung Tjantelan, also called the Guwo Lowo; Guwo = cave and Lowo = close to the village of Punung. They found a large number bat) was given by Van ES in 1929, who discovered the of flint flakes, some hammerstones, several arrowpoints site in 1926. A more extensive description was given by (with a rounded base), scrapers, bones, pierced shells of Van STEIN CALLENFELSin 1932, who worked on this snails (used as components of necklaces) and a few site from 1928 till 1930. Information on the fauna was isolated human teeth. given by DAMMERMAN (1932, 1934). The human BARTSTRA and BASOEKI (1979) reported a new remains have been described by MIJSBERG (1932) and stone age site from East Java, which they thought was JACOB (1967). from a Post Pleistocene period, either Mesolithic or In fact there is a great variability of artefacts and tools Neolithic, although the dating was not certain. The site found in the Sampoeng site (Van STEIN CALLENFELS, is located near a small village (Pucanganak), about 12 1932). ERDBRINK (1954) has discussed the km west of the town of Trenggalek. They found a Mesolithic/Neolithic status of the site. DAMMERMAN number of rectangular axe-like objects, scrapers and (1934) remarked that the exact place where each borers. prehistoric implement or human material was found, had SUBAGUS(1979) reported on an "Obsidian Industry been ascertained with regard to depth as well as to the in Leles", from West Java. According to him the flake- horizontal position. In the Sampoeng site four layers have blade tradition originated in the Palaeolithic period during been "recognized" and the next overview can be given the Pleistocene era (Ngandong, Pacitan, Sangiran) and of the material found in the different layers (based on continued to develop in the Epipalaeolithic period. About Van STEIN CALLENFELS, 1932): this industry SUBAGUSremarked that it includes nuclei, blades and waste. Layer A: Roughly between 0 and 1.2 m deep, pottery fragments, polished stone adzes, some bronze DUBOIS started his excavations on June 9 in 1890 on 194 P. STORM the Wadjak site. In the period from October 1890 to (total number is 7); large and small spatula's; large and December 1890 excavations were carried out in the small bone points. Further fragments of pottery, charcoal Hoekgrot site (other names sometimes used are: and burnt bones, animal bones with cut- and chop-marks "Hukgrot" and a nearly complete red painted human skeleton were "Kovher Cave", "Eastern [Corner] Cave", "Goea Lawa", , or "Nieuwe Grot"). Parts of the found. It is possible that these prehistoric people practised cranium and mandible of a domesticated dog from the activities like removing the flesh from the human body, Hoekgrot site are described by BRONGERSMA(1941). and then painting the skeleton parts red as part of their DUBOIS (1922) mentioned the red painted human mortuary ritual. material from this site. The first description of the human remains was given by NELSON (1988, 1989) and later, Another site excavated by DUBOIS in 1890 is the when more human material was found in the collection Goea Djimbe site. This site is situated near Redjobangan, of the N.M.N.H. in Leiden, a second description by about 10 km West of Blitar in East Java (Van den STORM (1990a). The Hoekgrot site is interesting, not BRINK, 1983; BURGERS, 1988). Some of the human only for the red painted human skeleton but also for material from this site was described by NELSON (1988, faunal remains (see Table 2), artefacts (bone implements 1989).