Dentate-stamped pottery is identified as one of the earliest types of Austronesian pottery found in Maritime Southeast Asia, the Mariana Islands in Micronesia, the Bismark Archipelago, and other islands in Melanesia. Lapita pottery in Melanesia is one of the most famous types of dentate-stamped pottery. Throughout Maritime Southeast Asia, however, this specific type of pottery has currently only been excavated from Northern Luzon in the Philippines with a few pieces reported from Sulawesi (Kamassi, Minanga Sipakko, and Mansiri) in Indonesia. The possible dates of dentate-stamped pottery in Northern Luzon might go back as early as Neolithic times, around 4000 years ago, while the exact dates of Sulawesi dentate-stamped pottery are unclear and might date from 3500 to 2000 years ago. In such a situation, the excavation we recently conducted at the Goa Topogaro Complex in Central Sulawesi uncovered considerable amounts of high-quality dentate-stamped pottery, but these are associated with the Early Metal age burials in cave and rock-shelter sites. In this article, we synthesize the significant outcomes from our archaeological findings, such Early Metal age burials and dentate-stamped pottery from the Topogaro 2 cave and Topogaro 7 rock shelter among the complex and discuss the possible continuation of dentate-stamped pottery tradition of the Early Metal age in Central Sulawesi and its meaning.
Government agencies in various countries use legal tools to conserve and manage tangible cultural heritage effectively. Laws, measures, and standards ensure operations adhere to conservation principles and maintain consistency. In Thailand, legal tools for protecting tangible cultural heritage have evolved over six decades, particularly under the Ancient Monuments Act. However, these tools are inefficient due to two critical issues. Firstly, there is a lack of comprehensive protection, inconsistent laws, and inadequate enforcement, especially for heritage of low or moderate value, privately owned, or outside protected areas. Secondly, implementation is highly fragmented, involving multiple agencies and resulting in complicated and disjointed operations. Amending each law individually is unlikely to be effective. One of the potential solutions is to create a primary law for the inclusive conservation and management of tangible cultural heritage. This law should harmonise and connect existing laws, addressing all types, values, and forms of tangible cultural heritage regardless of ownership. It is crucial to establish mechanisms that decentralise operations to local levels and encourage participation from various sectors. Moreover, developing conservation standards is essential to ensure the consistent use of these instruments.
The Tanjung Simpang Mengayau shipwreck ceramics, from Kudat, Sabah, have previously been identified as Chinese ceramics dating to the Northern Song Dynasty (960-112 CE) by Sjostrand (2003). In this study, the shipwreck ceramic samples can be classified into 11 main ceramic types based on form, i.e., shape, function, glaze colour and decoration. The ceramic types are bowls, jars, plates, ewers, kendis, bottles, covered boxes, basins, teapots, vases and lids. The majority of ceramics are bowls with olive green glaze, followed by jars with various shades of brown glazes, and ewers with white glaze. These ceramics are mostly decorated with bamboo-comb incision, such as vertical lines on the outer body for bowls and plates, whereas jars and jarlets are predominantly decorated with floral or pattern incisions. The inner body of most of the bowls, plates and basins have either floral or pattern incisions or they have no decoration at all, while teapots and ewers are usually undecorated. These ceramics were part of the cargo of a ship travelling from China, via the Philippines, to Borneo. It is believed to be the oldest cargo ship so far found in Malaysian waters, providing important evidence of early maritime trade from China to Borneo, as well as cultural affinities between Tanjung Simpang Mengayau and other areas of the Indonesian archipelago. Seramik dari kapal karam di Tanjung Simpang Mengayau, Kudat, Sabah telah dikenal pasti sebagai seramik Cina bertarikh Dinasti Song Utara (960-1127 M) oleh Sjostrand (2003). Kajian ini telah mengelaskan sampel seramik dari kapal karam kepada 11 jenis seramik utama berdasarkan bentuk, fungsi, warna glais dan hiasan. Jenis-jenis seramik tersebut adalah mangkuk, tempayan, pinggan, ewer, kendi, botol, kotak bertutup, besen, teko, pasu dan penutup. Sebahagian besar seramik adalah mangkuk dengan warna glais hijau zaitun, diikuti dengan tempayan pelbagai warna glais perang dan ewer dengan glais putih. Seramik ini kebanyakannya dihias dengan ukiran sisir buluh seperti garisan menegak pada badan luar mangkuk dan pinggan, manakala tempayan dan jarlet kebanyakannya dihiasi dengan ukiran bunga atau bercorak. Badan bahagian dalam kebanyakan mangkuk, pinggan dan besen pula mempunyai sama ada ukiran bunga dan bercorak atau tiada hiasan langsung, manakala teko dan ewer biasanya tidak berhias. Seramik ini merupakan sebahagian daripada kargo kapal yang belayar dari China ke Borneo melalui Filipina. Ia dipercayai kapal kargo tertua yang ditemui di perairan Malaysia setakat ini dan memberi bukti penting berkenaan perdagangan maritim awal dari China ke Borneo serta hubungan kebudayaan di antara Tanjung Simpang Mengayau dan sekitar kepulauan Indonesia.
Potsherds fragments or earthenware pottery are a type of archaeological evidence frequently discovered in surveys and excavations. These fragments represent pottery in many forms such as containers and crafts with decorated or plain surfaces. Earthen pottery has distinct characteristics and frequently represents the identity of a specific community. Sriwijaya was a famous kingdom in Sumatra from the 7th to the 10th century. Lampung is in the far south of Sumatra, and highland potsherds from this region are intriguing. However, the highland region is arguably not the origin of these potsherds, geologically or historically. This paper examines the origin of these potsherds through granulometric analysis and ethnography. This research shows the potsherd's granulometric from the highlands is similar to the lowlands of Lampung, and they might adopt the same technique on making pottery from 1000 to 200 years ago. The development of the pottery industry changed in the last 100 years, following the implementation of the Dutch transmigration in 1905 when the Javanese potters began to produce earthen ware techniques from their homeland. The results of this study support the idea that the lowlands have been the main suppliers of pottery for the highlands and surrounding areas, from the post-Sriwijaya era until the present. Tembikar adalah bukti arkeologi yang sering ditemukan dalam bentuk pecahan dalam survei dan penggalian. Artefak ini berbentuk wadah dan non-wadah dengan permukaan yang dihias atau polos. Tembikar memiliki karakteristik yang berbeda dan mewakili identitas kelompok tertentu. Sriwijaya merupakan kerajaan terkenal di Sumatera dari abad ke-7 hingga abad ke-10. Lampung adalah wilayah terjauh Sriwijaya di selatan, di mana tembikar di dataran tingginya mengundang pertanyaan yang tidak didukung oleh data geologi dan sejarah. Tulisan ini meneliti asal tembikar dataran tinggi melalui analisis granulometri dan etnografi. Penelitian menunjukkan granulometri tembikar dari dataran tingi sama dengan di dataran rendah Lampung. Kemungkinan mereka telah mengadopsi teknik pembuatan tembikar yang sama sejak 1000 hingga 200 tahun yang lalu. Perkembangan industri tembikar mulai berubah sejak 100 tahun terakhir atau saat diterapkannya program transmigrasi oleh Belanda pada 1905, di mana para pendatang dari Jawa mulai membuat tembikarnya sendiri yang sama dengan asalnya. Hasil penelitian ini mendukung hipotesa dataran rendah sebagai pemasok utama gerabah untuk dataran tinggi dan sekitarnya sejak pasca Sriwijaya hingga sekarang.
The ethnomusicological focus of this study is primarily directed at the musical traditions that are still alive and actively maintained by the community and its supporters. This study delves into the unwritten of realm music, especially music that is delivered orally, which is represented by the traditional metal talempong in the Minangkabau ethnic area. This study addresses issues and objectives that center on talempong as a characteristic or “icon” of traditional performing arts that develop in every village in the Minangkabau region, such as in Tanah Datar Regency; Agam Regency; Lima Puluh Kota Regency, Sijunjung Regency; and Solok Regency. The findings of the study on metal talempong music in Minangkabau reveal its significance as a cultural representation that symbolizes the Malay community in general. Talempong music serves as a key indicator of Minangkabau regional identity, recognized since ancient times throughout the entire archipelago. This study highlights interesting findings regarding the diversity of talempong existence today, emphasizing the “tuning” technique used by traditional cultural groups in Minangkabau. Where, this group relies on their senses, moods, and feelings to produce the distinctive sound of the metal talempong. In contrast, modern artists in Minangkabau approach the talempong “tuning technique” using Western diatonic instruments following established standards. Despite being influenced by modernity, traditional tuning methods persist in Minangkabau society, using a non-diatonic approach. Two striking basic techniques are the five-tone variant scale, synonymous with the Minangkabau musical tradition known as “limo Salabuan voice,” and the six-tone variant scale, associated with the Minangkabau musical tradition known as “onam Salabuan voice.”
