Rationale
Specific to IRD,
cooperation of Archaeology with other scientific fields,
such as cultural Geography and Anthropology, enriches
of the development of human societies on the long term,
and their adaptation to the environment: not only sites,
but also ancient settlement patterns at different scales,
and at different times are taken into consideration
; moreover, the anthropological analysis of the «
mental representations of the past » allows us
to understand the role of the archaeological remains
as territorial and cultural markers. This approach gives
classical Archaeology a new dimension and connects it
to current development perspectives and questions.
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| Simpang Saga
cave (South Sumatra) |
Objectives and field
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| Ricefield in
the Martapura district |
The research
emphasizes on the interactions, on the long term and
up to the present, between societies and environments.
In Indonesia, well known for the great diversity of
its ecology and peoples, the province of Sumatra-Selatan
is an ideal field to measure and qualify human adap-tations
to, and interpretations of the environment : it offers
a wide range of ecological units along the basin of
the Musi, the main river, from the plateaus and valleys
of the highlands down to the hilly peneplains and further
to the swampy coastline.
The objectives are to document the know-ledge of ancient
occupations, techniques and types of land-use, from
prehistory to modern times; and to connect the survey
of archaeological remains with the collection of oral
tradition, in order to sustain the present identities
and territories.
Duration of the project
This
program is starting in 2001 and is planned for a first
period of 4 years. It might eventually be renewed.
Human resources and partnerships
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| Kubu settlement,
Sungai Jernih |
This program is
based on two cooperation agreements, one between IRD
and the Pusat Arkeologi (Indonesia Research Center for
Archaeology), and one between IRD and Ecole Française
d'Extrême-Orient. Members of the research team
belong to these three main institutions, as well as
to others such as the University of Sriwijaya at Palembang
and the CNRS.
Funding
IRD, RU 092 ; Ecole Française
d'Extrême-Orient ; Pusat Arkeologi.
Prospects
Until now, several field trips have
shown the main features of the regional organization,
and some sites have been selected for the joint archaeological,
anthropological study. Although the survey concerns
the Holocen period, explorations have revealed the deep
chronology of human occupation, starting at least in
the late Pleistocen.
Besides the publications to be expected
(collective monograph, map specialized reports…),
an international symposium on peopling processes and
environmental changes in the region is to be held
in 2004-2005.
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Excavation time
at Pondok SelabeI Cave by team Pusat Arkeologi-IRD
Jakarta.
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For information,
please contact:
Dominique Guillaud, Dominique.Guillaud@orleans.ird.fr
, Muriel Charras,
charras@cbn.net.id
or Hubert Forestier, hforest@rad.net.id
H.T. Simanjuntak,
truman@bit.net.id or Soeroso, Pusat Arkeologi.
