Traces Of Prehistoric Human Life Found In Tambrauw, West Papua

A team of archaeologists from the Papua Archeology Center found objects showing traces of prehistoric human life in Tambrauw Regency, West Papua Province / Antara

JAKARTA - A team of archaeologists from the Papua Archeology Center found traces of prehistoric human life in Fef District, Tambrauw Regency, West Papua Province.

Head of the Archaeological Team Adi Dian Setiawan said that during a research activity that lasted 28 days in April 2021 in Fef District, archaeologists found traces of prehistoric human activities in several caves.

"There is a possibility of prehistoric life in Tambrauw Regency, as evidenced by the existence of pottery fragments and chert stones," he said in Sorong, quoted by Antara, Tuesday, May 4.

The team of archaeologists consisting of six people, according to him, found, among others, broken pottery and human and animal bone and tooth fragments while conducting research in Tambrauw.

"There are also chert stones. This chert stone is interesting, because humans at that time were not familiar with metal, they still used stones such as chert whose hardness was more than 3 or 5 on the Mohs scale, and was used as a tool to meet household needs such as cut the meat, "Adi explained.

The team of archaeologists also found shells at the research site in a mountainous area. The findings of shells indicate an interaction between mountain dwellers and coastal inhabitants in prehistoric times.

Adi said that the team of archaeologists will examine the objects found at the research site, including estimating the age of these objects.

The research conducted in April 2021 in the Fef District is a follow-up to the initial survey conducted in 2016 to examine prehistoric human settlement patterns in the Tambrauw area.