Wikipedia

Toalean culture

The Toalean (or Toalian or Toala in Indonesian)[2] people were hunter-gatherers who inhabited the Indonesian island of Sulawesi during the Mid- to Late-Holocene period[3] prior to the spread of Austronesian Neolithic farmers some 3,500 years ago from mainland Asia.[4]

Toalean Culture
Distribution of Toalean sites in southern Sulawesi
Geographical rangeSouthern Sulawesi, Indonesia
PeriodMid Holocene, Mesolithic Indonesia
Datesc. 7000 BCE – c. 500 CE[1]
Major sitesLeang Panninge (4°46′28″S 119°56′23″E / 4.77444°S 119.93972°E / -4.77444; 119.93972), Leang Bulu’ Sipong
Followed byAustronesian migrants

The term 'Toalean' was assigned by the earliest excavators from the local Bugis word 'Toaleʼ' meaning "forest people", cognate to Proto-Austronesian *Cau-ni-Salas or Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *tau-ni-halas "forest people". The term is misleading as later research has found the Toalean culture to be unrelated to the later forest-dwelling people of southern Sulawesi.[5] The Toalean culture is recognised by the presence of refined bone points, backed microliths, large amounts of shell (especially the freshwater gastropod Tylomelania perfecta), small denticulate stone 'Maros points', and an absence of the ground stone technologies that characterise later local cultures.[6] Toalean artefacts are often associated with skeletal remains of Sulawesi warty pigs.[7][8] Few examples of Toalean art have been found, and these are limited to portable examples including an engraved bone point from Ulu Leang 1 and a painted shell at Leang Rakkoe.[9] No Toalean cave art has been identified.[10]

Chronology

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The earliest peopling of Sulawesi is considered to be related to a wave of migration through Indonesia around 45 thousand years ago, during which some people stayed in the area while others continued to eventually reach Sahul.[11] A number of related Pleistocene sites in the area are known for their rockart.[12][13] These sites predate the Toalean culture, and an absence of archaeological sites dated to the intervening period between 12-8kya prevent a direct link.

Prior to a standardised chronology, three phases of Toalean culture have been roughly classified as:

  • The Early Toalean phase, between 7500–5500 BP, which saw the emergence of bone points and microliths.
  • The Late Preceramic Toalean phase, dating to 5500–3500 BP, marked by the appearance of Maros Points.
  • The Ceramic Toalean phase, from 3500–2000 BP, which saw traces of the emerging Neolithic culture.[14]

Neolithic-period, Post-Toalean changes in the archaeological assemblages, characterised by ceramics, ground-edge axes, and rice-farming are seen to represent the arrival of Austronesian-speaking or Nusantoa migrants.[15][16][5]

Discovery

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In 1902, Swiss naturalists Paul and Fritz Sarasin excavated several caves in the highlands of southern Sulawesi. Their work uncovered distinctive and finely crafted stone implements, arrowheads, and small tools fashioned from bone.[17]

Australian archaeologist Fred McCarthy continued excavations in the late 1930s with an interest in the typological similarities between the finely made, serrated Toalean Maros points, and Australia's broadly contemporary "small tool tradition".[18] A series of poorly documented excavations throughout the later 20th century noted serrated artefacts, earthenware sherds, and bone. Some 6,000 artefacts were given to Jakarta's National Museum with uncertain attributions to excavations at Panganreang Tudea and Batu Ejaya by Van Stein Callenfels and Willems.[5]

Excavations of both cave sites and open sites in Southern Sulawesi are ongoing. In October 2023, the team discovered 7,000-year-old tiger shark-tooth knives, the earliest evidence of shark teeth being used in composite weapons worldwide.[19][20]

 
Use-related features of the Leang Panninge shark tooth found in Sulawesi, Indonesia

Location and extent

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Known Toalean sites are largely concentrated in the southern third of the southwest peninsula of Sulawesi, in the caves of the limestone karst system, that runs through the lowland plains of the Maros and Pangkajene dan Kepulauan (or ‘Pangkep’) regencies, to the north-east of Makassar. The southern extent includes Selayar Island. As of 2021, no Toalean sites have been found north of Lake Tempe.[2]

 
Map of South Sulawesi, Indonesia, showing sites identified with Toalean artefacts. Map by K. Newman & Y.L.Perston

Leang Panninge

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The cave site of Leange Panninge ("Bat Cave") contains dense Toalean assemblages including 138 unbroken backed microliths (many with a regular lozenge shape), Maros points, and various stone scrapers. An intact burial with associated stone tools was discovered in 2015.[21] The Leang Panninge site was designated as a cultural heritage by the Maros Regency Culture and Tourism Office on July 25, 2019.

Leang Bulu’ Sipong

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Leang Bulu’ Sipong 1 is a low-lying limestone cave at the foot of a limestone karst system on the coastal plains of Pangkep Regency. Excavations here uncovered some 212 retouched points, sawlettes, and bone points that may have been used as fishing spears.[10] The Toalean cave site is less than 100m from the Late Pleistocene rock art site Leang Bulu’ Sipong 4 which features a figurative painting of a Sulawesi warty pig (Sus celebensis) dating to at least 43,900 years ago (based on Uranium-series dating).[22]

Leang Cakondo

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The upper chamber of Leang Cakondo in Lamoncong was the main site excavated by the Sarasins in 1902. The densest artefact assemblage, between 10 and 40 cm in depth, contained projectile points, Maros point flake tools with retouched serrated edges, plus bladelets and bone points.[5]

Leang Burung

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A major excavation by a joint Australian-Indonesian Archaeological Expedition in 1969 uncovered Toalean artefacts in various contexts. One trench dated to between 3500–4700 years ago contained 24 Maros points, 24 other stone points, and 19 bone points. A separate trench dated earlier than 3460 years ago contained a ceramic Toalean assemblage with 963 pot sherds, 57 miscellaneous stone points, 51 backed blades, 52 geometric microliths, only 7 Maros points and no more than 7 bone points. Fragments of human bone from secondary burials were also found and judged to date to between 1000 and 2000 years ago.[5][23]

Lithic technologies

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Toalean assemblages include several diagnostic artefact types that distinguish them from earlier or later deposits. These include the hollow-based lithic ‘Maros points’ with denticulated edges,[24] pirri points, small ‘bone’ points, backed microliths, and sawlettes.[10]

Archaeologists from Griffith University, the University of New England and the Balai Arkeologi Sulawesi Selatan conducted an analysis of the morphological and technological features of 1,739 Toalean-age lithic artefacts from the limestone caves and shelters of Leang Pajae, Leang Rakkoe, Leang Panninge, Leang Bulu’ Sipong 1, Leang Bulu Bettue, Leang Jarie, Leang Lambatorang, and Leang Lompoa, and the open site of Tallasa to form a standardised system of Toalean stone tool classification.[25] This study further divided Maros points into four sub-classes: classic Maros Points, Mallinrung Points, Lompoa Points, and Pangkep Points.[10] The majority of Toalean stone tools from these sites were made on chert, with a small percentage made on limestone or other materials.

The Bulu’ Sipong sawlettes are tiny backed microliths with narrow denticulations that were carefully formed using a thin pressure flaker.[10] These were first identified by Muhammad Nur (Unhas) and David McGahan (Griffith University) during their excavation of the Leang Bulu’ Sipong 1 cave site in 2018 with further examples found at Leang Jarie.[26] Their function is currently unknown.

  •  
    Classic Maros Points with basal indents and denticulated margins.
  •  
    Mallinrung Points have denticulated margins without a basal indent
  •  
    Lompoa Points are a type of Maros point with a basal indent and without denticulations.
  •  
    Pangkep Points are Maros Points without denticulations and no basal indent.
  •  
    Sawlettes are a distinctive stone tool associated with the Toalean technocomplex.

Skeletal remains of Bessé’

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Main article: Bessé’

Archaeologists from the University of Hasanuddin in Makassar first discovered human remains at Leang Panninge in the Mallawa district of Maros. In 2015, excavations uncovered the first relatively complete human burial from a secure Toalean context.[21] The burial provided an example of modern human evolution in southeast Asia. The remains were identified as belonging to a young female hunter-gatherer who was aged around 17–18 years at her time of death. Her discoverers named her Bessé’ (pronounced bur-sek), a nickname bestowed on newborn princesses among the Bugis people who now live in southern Sulawesi.[27]

Bessé’ was buried in a foetal position and partially covered by large cobbles. Her cause of death is unknown with no obvious signs of injuries or infections that leave their mark in bone.[11] Stone tools (including Maros points) and red ochre were found in her grave, along with the bones of animals known to be hunted. The skull was crushed post-mortem. Burial was dated to 7.3–7.2 kyr cal BP by 14C dating of a galip nut seed (Canarium sp).[21]

DNA from the inner ear bone of Bessé’ provided the first direct genetic evidence of the Toaleans.[28] Genomic analysis shows Bessé’ belonged to a population with a previously unknown ancestral composition. She shares about half of her genetic makeup with present-day Indigenous Australians and people in New Guinea and the Western Pacific, along with a previously unknown divergent human lineage that branched off approximately 37,000 years ago (after Onge-related and Hòabìnhian-related lineages) including substantial DNA inherited from the now-extinct Denisovans.[21]

References

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  1. ^ Langley, Michelle (2023). "Shark-tooth artefacts from middle Holocene Sulawesi". Antiquity. 97 (396). Cambridge University Press: 1420–1435. doi:10.15184/aqy.2023.144. hdl:10072/427255. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  2. ^ a b Yinika L. Perston, Mark Moore, Suryatman, Michelle Langley, Budianto Hakim, Adhi Agus Oktaviana, Adam Brumm (26 May 2021). "A standardised classification scheme for the Mid-Holocene Toalean artefacts of South Sulawesi, Indonesia". PLOS ONE. 16 (5): e0251138. Bibcode:2021PLoSO..1651138P. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0251138. PMC 8153489. PMID 34038416.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Heekeren, H. R. van (1972). The stone age of Indonesia. The Hague, Nijhoff.
  4. ^ Hasanuddin, AKW, Syaiful, Yondri (2020). "INTERACTION BETWEEN THE TOALEAN AND AUSTRONESIAN CULTURES IN THE MALLAWA AREA, MAROS DISTRICT, SOUTH SULAWESI, volume 44, p329-349". Journal of Indo-Pacific Archaeology. 44: 329–349. doi:10.7152/jipa.v44i0.15675. Retrieved 1 October 2021.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ a b c d e DAVID BULBECK, MONIQUE PASQUA and ADRIAN DI LELLO (2000). "Culture History of the Toalean of South Sulawesi, Indonesia". Asian Perspectives. 39 (1/2): 71–108. doi:10.1353/asi.2000.0004. hdl:10125/17135. JSTOR 42928470. S2CID 59334219 – via JSTOR.
  6. ^ Perston, Y. L., Sumantri, I., Hakim, . B., Oktaviana, A. A., & Brumm, A. (2020). "Excavation Report for Leang Rakkoe: A New Toalean Site with Engraved Art in the Bomboro Valley, Maros Regency, South Sulawesi". WALENNAE: Jurnal Arkeologi Sulawesi Selatan Dan Tenggara. 18 (1): 51–64. doi:10.24832/wln.v18i1.427 (inactive 1 November 2024). S2CID 221709383.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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  10. ^ a b c d e Perston YL, Moore M, Suryatman, Langley M, Hakim B, Oktaviana AA (2021). "A standardised classification scheme for the Mid-Holocene Toalean artefacts of South Sulawesi, Indonesia". PLOS ONE. 16 (5): e0251138. Bibcode:2021PLoSO..1651138P. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0251138. PMC 8153489. PMID 34038416.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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  15. ^ Solheim, W.G. (1996). "The Nusantao and north-south dispersals". Journal of Indo-Pacific Archaeology. BIPPA 15/2: 101–109.
  16. ^ O'Connor, Sue (2015). "Rethinking the Neolithic in Island Southeast Asia with Particular Reference to the Archaeology of Timor‑Leste and Sulawesi". Archipel. 90: 15–47. doi:10.4000/archipel.362.
  17. ^ Sarasin P, Sarasin, F (1905). Versuch einer Anthropologie der Insel Celbes: Die Toala-Hohlen von Lamontjong. C. W. Kreidel’s Verlag.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ McCarthy, FD (1940). "Comparison of the Prehistory of Australia, with that of Indochina, the Malay Peninsula, and the Netherlands East Indies". Proceedings of the Third Congress of Prehistorians of the Far East.
  19. ^ Langley, Michelle; et al. (2023). "Shark-tooth artefacts from middle Holocene Sulawesi". Antiquity. 97 (396). Cambridge University Press: 1420–1435. doi:10.15184/aqy.2023.144. hdl:10072/427255. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  20. ^ Altuntaş, Leman (28 October 2023). "Archaeologists discover 7,000-year-old tiger shark-tooth knives in Indonesia". arkeonews.net. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  21. ^ a b c d Carlhoff, S., Duli, A., Nägele, K (25 August 2021). "Genome of a middle Holocene hunter-gatherer from Wallacea". Nature. 596 (7873): 543–547. Bibcode:2021Natur.596..543C. doi:10.1038/s41586-021-03823-6. PMC 8387238. PMID 34433944.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  22. ^ Aubert, Maxime; Lebe, Rustan; Oktaviana, Adhi Agus; Tang, Muhammad; Burhan, Basran; Hamrullah; Jusdi, Andi; Abdullah; Hakim, Budianto; Zhao, Jian-xin; Geria, I. Made (2019-12-19). "Earliest hunting scene in prehistoric art". Nature. 576 (7787): 442–445. Bibcode:2019Natur.576..442A. doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1806-y. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 31827284. S2CID 209311825.
  23. ^ Mulvaney, D. J.; Soejono, R. P. (1970). "Archaeology in Sulawesi, Indonesia". Antiquity. 45 (177): 26–33. doi:10.1017/s0003598x00069015. S2CID 162914457.
  24. ^ Suryatman, Suryatman; Hakim, Budianto; Harris, Afdalah (2017-12-29). "Industri Alat Mikrolit di Situs Balang Metti: Teknologi Toala Akhir dan Kontak Budaya di Dataran Tinggi Sulawesi Selatan". AMERTA. 35 (2): 93. doi:10.24832/amt.v35i2.315 (inactive 2024-11-11). ISSN 2549-8908.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
  25. ^ "Indonesian Hunter-Gatherers Were Making Tiny Point Tools Thousands of Years Ago". Science News. 26 May 2021.
  26. ^ Suryatman, Nfn; Hakim, Budianto; Mahmud, Muhammad Irfan; Fakhri, Nfn; Burhan, Basran; Oktaviana, Adhi Agus; Saiful, Andi Muhammad; Syahdar, Fardi Ali (2019-07-08). "Artefak Batu Preneolitik Situs Leang Jarie: bukti teknologi Maros point tertua di kawasan budaya Toalean, Sulawesi Selatan". AMERTA. 37 (1): 1. doi:10.24832/amt.v37i1.1-17 (inactive 2024-11-11). hdl:10072/390162. ISSN 2549-8908. S2CID 199095910.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
  27. ^ Brumm, Oktaviana, Duli, Burhan, Posth, Carlhoff (26 August 2021). "Who were the Toaleans? Ancient woman's DNA provides first evidence for the origin of a mysterious lost culture". The Conversation.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  28. ^ Rosengreen, Carley (26 August 2021). "First ancient human DNA from the islands between Asia and Australia". Griffith University News.
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