S15-4

In the Middle of the Kalimantan Rainforest: Archaeological Caves in the Upper Kapuas Basin

 1Ni Luh Gde Dyah Mega Hafsari, 2Vida Pervaya Rusianti Kusmartono, 3M. Wishnu Wibisono

1Research Center for Environmental Archaeology, Maritime Archaeology, and Cultural Sustainability, National Research and Inovation Agency, Indonesia

2Research Center for Prehistoric and History Archaeology, National Research and Innovation Agency, Indonesia

3Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia

The limestone forest area of the Upper Basin of Kapuas River, West Kalimantan is best known for its Neolithic open site, Nanga Balang, which was excavated in 1970s, and dated to 3000 BP. In 2013-2019, a team of archaeological researchers led by Vida P. R. Kusmartono restarted an archaeological research and exploration in this area, along the Hovorit River. Nine archaeological caves were found, and three were excavated. Animal bones was recovered in association with lithics (flakes, scrappers, chopping tools, raw materials), as well as sherds of pottery, and black-colored rock art at some sites. AMS radiocarbon dating of charcoal samples found in the excavated deposits confirmed the intermittent habitation of the caves over last 15,000 years, at least. In 2021, we carried out further explorations and found six more archaeological caves, one containing rock art. Many areas of the Upper Kapuas Basin remain without survey, but previous studies have shown that the area possesses numerous archaeological resources. Continuing research in this area may provide significant information on either early human occupation, human migration, and/or rainforest environment transformation.