The Shiro Copr - Until now, scientists believed that the spread of early humans to the Wallacea region - the eastern Indonesian archipelago - originated from the islands of Flores and Luzon (Philippines), where artifacts and remains of early human fossils dating back hundreds of thousands of years were found.
However, recent research at the Calio site, located in the Soppeng area, South Sulawesi, revealed a surprising fact: early humans already existed in Sulawesi at least 1.04 million years ago, and possibly as early as 1.48 million years ago.
This discovery by the Prehistoric and Historical Archaeological Research Center of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) is based on stone artifacts found in ancient rock layers, as well as support from animal fossil dating analysis and paleomagnetic methods.
Calio: A New Important Site in Human History
The Calio site is located at the foot of the Sengkang Anticline. At this location, archaeologists discovered seven stone artifacts in the form of flakes, clearly showing signs of processing by ancient humans. These artifacts were found in an old river sand layer (Beru Sub-Unit B formation), which was previously estimated to be only tens of thousands of years old.
This discovery was later further confirmed through paleomagnetic methods, that is, analysis of the direction of the Earth's magnetic field preserved in soil layers, as well as US-ESR dating (combination of uranium decay and electron spin resonance), applied to fossil animal teeth. Celebochoerus (babi purba endemik Sulawesi)
Two teeth from this animal indicate an average age of 1.26 ± 0.22 million years, reinforcing the evidence that the stone artifacts in Calio date back to the Early Pleistocene.
Stone Technology: Simple but Skillful
A stone artifact from Calio is made of chert—a hard rock type commonly found in local rivers. Experts have identified that these stone flakes were formed through direct percussion technique ( hard-hammer freehand percussion )—classic method in stone tool making.
Some fragments indicate that the large stone was broken into smaller flakes, which were then reshaped, marking the presence of a gradual process and good technical understanding. One of the artifacts is even a Kombewa flake, a specific technique showing advanced skills.
"Although it appears simple, this technique demonstrates a deep understanding of stone properties and the way to create effective tools," said the research team.
Who are they?
Although human fossils were not found directly, the existence of these artifacts serves as indirect evidence that hominins—early humans—once inhabited Sulawesi more than a million years ago.
The big question arises: who are they?
Some possibilities have been suggested: They may be relatives. Homo erectus From the Asian mainland crossing the sea to Sulawesi.
They could also be ancestors. Homo floresiensis (Homo floresiensis) or Homo luzonensis (Homo luzonensis) which evolved separately on the islands of Indonesia.
However, their exact identities remain a mystery.
Why Is This Important?
This discovery has major implications:
- Revising the timeline of human existence in eastern Indonesia.
- Changing the assumption that early humans spread only over land, since Sulawesi was never directly connected to the Asian continent—that means they had to cross the sea.
- It shows that the cognitive capacity of ancient humans may have been higher than imagined, as crossing oceans requires spatial understanding and navigation.
With this discovery, Sulawesi officially becomes one of the key points in the human evolution narrative in Southeast Asia. The presence of hominins on the island, which are believed to be as old as— or even older than— those found in Flores and Luzon, adds a new chapter in the history of ancient human migration and adaptation.
There are still many questions remaining, but one thing is now clear: early humans had set foot in Sulawesi much earlier than we thought.
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