EXCAVATION REPORT FOR THE BOMBORO SITE: A CHERT QUARRY SITE IN THE BOMBORO VALLEY, MAROS REGENCY, SOUTH SULAWESI

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Yinika Lotus Perston
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8043-6466
Adam Brumm
Sandy Suseno
Budianto Hakim
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0979-9798
Suryatman
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8643-3602

Abstract

Wilayah karst Maros-Pangkep berisi banyak situs arkeologi Holosen dan Late-Pleistocene, banyak di antaranya berisi kumpulan artefak yang didominasi oleh artefak rijang. Namun dimikian, belum ada sumber untuk bahan baku yang telah diidentifikasi. Sementara batuan dasar kapur yang melimpah kadang-kadang berisi kantong dan lapisan nodul rijang, singkapan ini menunjukkan sedikit bukti untuk eksploitasi atau tambangan prasejarah, dan kecil kemungkinan rijang diperoleh dari anak sungai atau sungai. Situs Bomboro dipilih untuk penggalian karena permukaan tanahnya yang kaya dengan artefak batu termasuk serpihan, batu inti, dan tatal. Rijangnya mungkin telah ditambang dari nodul yang keluar dari batu gamping lokal di Lembah Bomboro. Sampai sekarang, situs ini merupakan tambang batu kuno pertama yang diidentifikasi di wilayah tersebut. Sementara tambang terbuka tidak ada duanya, itu mungkin berfungsi sebagai sumber rijang selama periode Toalean, sekitar 2-8 ribu tahun yang lalu.


 


The Maros-Pangkep region contains numerous archaeological sites dating from the Holocene and Late-Pleistocene, many of which contain artefact assemblages dominated by flaked chert artefacts. However, no sources for this raw material have yet been identified. While the abundant limestone bedrock contains occasional pockets and seams of chert nodules, these outcrops show little evidence for prehistoric exploitation or quarrying, and it is unlikely the chert was acquired from streambeds. The Bomboro site was selected for excavation as the ground surface is rich in chert stone artefacts including flakes, cores, and debris. Theis chert was likely quarried from the local nodules outcropping from the surrounding limestone bedrock in the Bomboro Valley, and this report describes the excavation of the first ancient stone quarry site to be identified in the region. While the open quarry was undateable, it may have served as a chert source during the Toalean period, around 2-8 thousand years ago.

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References

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