This paper appears Speleo
an on-line caving journal at http://speleo.com/borneo.borneo_anglais.html
(an underline joins "borneo"
and "anglais"). It is published
here, with some editorial amendments, at
the request of the author, who also supplied
the following French abstract.
Depuis quelches années, des expéditions
de repérage conduites dans la partie indonésienne
de Bornéo (Provinces de Kalimantan) ont
commencé a révéler les différentes phases
d’occupation de cette île, restée jusqu’à
présent en dehors des recherches archéologiques.
La découverte tout à fait imprévue de peintures
rupestres en 1994 à Kalimantan Timur a commencé
à lever un voile important du passé de cet
immense territoire. En septembre 1998 la
découverte de deux nouveaux groupes de grottes
ornées de peintures remarquables par leur
nombre, leur variété et leur etat de conservation,
confirme l’importance du potential
préhistorique de cette région. Réparties
dans 9 cavités, plus de 400 empreintes de
mains, des représentations anthropo et zoo-morphes
notamment, indiquent une forte corrélation
avec l’expression rupestre de Nouvelle
Guinée et jusqu’à l’Australie
des Aborigènes.
________________________
Following a couple of ethno- and archaeo-speleological
surveys carried out in the eastern part
of Indonesia’s Kalimantan Province
on Borneo Island, a expedition organized
in 1998 on behalf of Ministry of Tourism
has found two sets of quite exceptional
decorated caves.
Located in the upper levels of gigantic
and steep karst outcrops, these two groups
of caves exhibit prehistoric paintings which
are remarkable for their number, their pictorial
content and their state of preservation.
The first group comprises two caves situated
in the middle of a cliff about 30 meters
apart. They contain roughly 60 hand stencils
concentrated in only two to three panels.
The disposition of the stencils indicates
the panels intentionally organized.
The other group, 80 km westwards, comprises
three large chambers with at least 200 figures
including more than 140 hand prints. More
than 20 of them have anthropo-and zoo-morphic
features in the form of linear or punctuated
marks inside the stencil blanks. Moreover,
painted on the roof of a "laminoir",
about one meter high, three bovine figures
larger than one meter are to be seen. They
seem to be clear representations of an almost-vanished
wild small cow. The representations, at
almost 1:1 scale, seems to be the first
of their kind ever found. The next two features
appear to be deer involved in a hunting
scene, and are associated with some pairs
of hand stencils.
Paintings are located upon walls, alcoves
or niches, from one meter to more than ten
meters above ground level. Depending on
location, some paintings are covered by
a calcite layer of variable thickness. For
example, one hand print is covered by a
calcite flow up to 15 cm thick, which, whatever
the formation conditions would have been,
is an indication of extreme age. Locations
do not yet show any specific disposition
related to entry into dark places.
Many anthropomorphic representations often
appear inside hand prints blanks and sometimes
in autonomous locations. In an especially
remarkable case, anthropo- and zoo-morphic
features are associated with a curvilinear
track linking two hand stencils. The analogy
with some expressions present in Australian
Aboriginal art appears to be very strong
and the ethnographic literature suggests
the Borneo art in question may be read as
some form of "initiates’ trek".
Some hand prints have internal linear tracks
evoking tattooing figures like those still
executed by Mentawi communities in the Siberut
Islands (South Sumatra), as well as the
"X ray" drawings frequently present
in some Australian Aboriginal pictorial
expression.
Several superimposed hand tracks show strong
evidence for a chronology which is also
revealed through the variety of pigments.
Apart the black colour, we found at least
four different colours varying from black-brown
to light-red.
Within these two cave groups, the disposition
of the hand prints appears to be well-organized,
expressing deliberated rhythms. One or more
circular moves mixing right and left hands
are to be seen, showing clearly that ritual
efficiency was associated with artistic
expression. This organization in the display
of these negative hand prints provides a
very different expression than what until
know has been known about rock art in Indonesia.
Let us recall that until 1994, when we
discovered the first cave with unexpected
prehistoric paintings, the whole of Borneo
was considered by specialists as totally
lacking in rock art. It was thought that
paintings would not appear west of West
Sulawesi (Leang Burung and Maros Caves mostly),
eastward of Makassar Straits and Wallace
Line. This view was based upon the fact
that investigations had been carried out
only in the Malaysian states of Sarawak,
Sabah and Brunei.
Year after year, caves we have discovered
have provided growing inventory of pictorial
expressions, attesting, amongst other things
that their utilization was not for utilitarian
habitation.
The discoveries which have been made through
an area bordered by the sea and the meridional
bow of the Mangkalihat Range. This area
may extend on the two sides of Wallace Line
the culture-area that links the southeastern
end of the Indonesian archipelago. The formal
analogy between pictorial expression found
in Australia and those which have just been
discovered in Borneo reinforce that possibility.
As a matter of fact, the Borneo discoveries
means that diachronic schemes of cultural
influence between the Asian and Australian
continents are brought into some focus.
In particular, the size of the extension
but also the orientation of the trend of
relationships on both sides of Wallace Line
has to be more carefully approached and
therefore needs more investigation.
With origins probably predating the arrival
of Austronesians into Borneo 4,000-5,000
years ago, that culture-area or a "Rock
Art Culture", could correspond to the
period when climatic and marine changes
occurred at the end of Pleistocene provoking
the geographic isolation of the local insular
communities.
The diversity and unity of these new discovered
paintings (displayed on Internet: www.speleo.com/borneo2.html)
confirm that the huge size and the strategic
location of Borneo require an attention
and an investigation program much larger
than what has been previously and almost
randomly gained.
The different investigations which are
currently carried out in the neighbouring
archipelagoes and especially Sulawesi, should
benefit from the discovery of these Rock
Art expressions which affords a new feature
for the space occupation and dwelling process
in South East Asia Island. |
World
Archaeological Bulletin