A team from the National Archeological Study Center has recently found fossils of prehistoric humans, believed to be around 3,000 years old in Ogan Komering Ulu regency, South Sumatra, an official said Wednesday
team from the National Archeological Study Center has recently found fossils of prehistoric humans, believed to be around 3,000 years old in Ogan Komering Ulu regency, South Sumatra, an official said Wednesday.
Head of the regency’s Tourism, Youth and Sports Affairs Agency, Yusnardi, said that the human skeleton was found in Gua Hari-mau cave located in Padang Bindu subdistrict, Semidang Aji district.
He said that the same team had found four fossils of prehistoric humans at the same site last year.
“They found human skeletons believed to be some 3,000 years old in different positions — laying and squatting — while another skeleton was of an infant,” Yusnardi said Wednesday.
The team, he said, returned to continue their research in the cave, located in the middle of a jungle 1 kilometer to the south of Padang Bindu sub-district.
The cave is located on a slope of a hill with an elevation of about 60 degrees, he said.
The team was led by Wahyu Saptomo under the supervision of Truman Simanjuntak and comprised six members — Fadhlan S. Intan, Vita, Ngadiran, Harry Widianto, Aliza Diniasti and Sigit Eko Prasetyo.
The team conducted their research in the cave for about 15 days before making the finding.
Yusnardi said that the team believed there might be more fossils to be found in the cave, which were predicted to belong to a noble family.
The fossils were buried together with their loyal guards and servants, Yusnardi said.
“There was a belief that they still received services while inside their tomb,” Yusnardi said of a superstition.
However, he added that the team also considered the likelihood that the skeletons had been re-moved from a graveyard to the finding site.
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