Methodological Application of Phytolith Analysis in Reconstructing Pleistocene Vegetation at Bumiayu, Central Java, Indonesia.

Arman Bungaran P.

Reconstructing ancient vegetation is fundamental to understanding paleoenvironments, especially in archaeology, where ecological context shapes interpretations of human behavior. In Bumiayu, the discovery of a hominin caput femur alongside stone artifacts and diverse faunal remains highlights the region’s importance for reconstructing Pleistocene environmental conditions. Phytoliths provide a reliable proxy for tracing past vegetation because they preserve direct, in-situ evidence of plants within sediments. In this study, a preliminary analysis was conducted on sediments from the Kaliglagah Formation to identify the vegetation types that inhabited the region during the Pleistocene. By revealing the vegetation that shaped this landscape, the phytolith evidence helps place hominins within their ecological setting, clarifying the plant resources, habitats, and environmental conditions that would.