Beautiful Prehistoric Rock Art in Misool

Beautiful Prehistoric Rock Art Misoolin

Prehistoric rock art is a relic of early human art found all over the world. The term rock art is used to describe a work of art in the form of a painting, sculpture, or a sketch that is inscribed in an immovable place, such as on the walls of a cave, cliff, or boulder. In general, rock art is made by traditional hunter-gatherer communities, although there are some rock arts originating from farming communities or cultivators.

Laboratory analysis of rock art painting materials shows that these paintings are thousands or even tens of thousands of years old. However, most of the rock arts in the world are not recognised as a pure relic of prehistoric times by local people. Based on observations made by modern science in the 19th-20th centuries AD, the indigenous people of Australia and America are peoples who are still practising the tradition of rock art.

It was only in recent years that Indonesian prehistoric rock arts began to attract international attention. One of them is a painting of a pig in Leang Timpuseng, Maros, South Sulawesi. The painting is estimated to be around 35,400 years old. Another one is a painting of an animal resembling a bull in Saleh Jeriji Hole (East Kutai, East Kalimantan), which is believed to be around 40,000 years old. Furthermore, there is the painting of scenes depicting hunting activities in Leang Bulu Sipong 4, Maros-Pangkep Region, South Sulawesi, that is believed to be around 43,900 years old. The results of the study show that during the ice age around

Yucapan Cave Site.

50,000-11,000 years ago, humans in France and Spain as well as in Kalimantan and Sulawesi lived in the same rock art tradition era, using red dye, and drawing handprints and large animals.

Experts view that rock arts found around the world are prehistoric relics that mark the emergence of the dawn of humanity. Some experts theorise that some 40,000 years ago, inside the human mind, a sudden burst of creative power took place, which led to the simultaneous emergence of rock art all over the world. Some other experts theorise that human creativity emerged gradually starting about 200,000 years ago. One certain thing is that rock art is a product of human creativity that has lived thousands of years back.

Misool Rock Art District

When we stand admiring the red painting on the wall of the karst cliffs that rise above the calm sea of Misool, it is difficult for our minds not to drift off to imagine what the painter may have felt thousands of years ago. The Misool Rock Art Area is located in a karst cluster in East and South Misool, Raja Ampat, West Papua, which can be visited by hiring a guide and boat from Yelu Village. The village is connected to the city of Sorong by a ferry that sails twice a week. The rock art

Skeletons at the Sacred Open Cemetery in Misool Dit. PCBM (Directorate of Cultural Conservati on and M useum P r o t e c t i o n ) ;

paintings in Misool were first reported by divers who frequently work in the area.

An archaeological study of rock art in Misool was first conducted in 2011 to interpret the paintings. The study of meaning concluded that the painting was a symbol of spirits associated with caves, mother goddesses, and fertility. Data collection carried out by the government until 2019 has documented at least 40 prehistoric rock art sites in the area.

The rock art in Misool is unique because it is located in a group of karst islands that form a maze in the sea. Research shows that this karst cluster area does not have a freshwater source, so it can be concluded that the supporting community does not live there. This is different from the caves in Europe and Sulawesi and Kalimantan which are the dwellings of prehistoric people.

In addition to rock arts, small caves in the karst cluster also house open tombs where people placed the bodies of their relatives until the early 20th century. Until now, human skulls and skeletons, as well as wooden statues, pottery, ceramics, and others can still be found there. The karst cluster seems to have had a special social role for the society in its vicinity for thousands of years. Besides being very beautiful, because of its remote location, the area provides an immersive and even “spiritual” experience for its visitors.

Alcove in the Sacred Area used as an open burial Di t . PCB M ( e useum Protction) . D i r ec torate of Cultural Conservation and M

Rock art observers point out that there are 434 paintings and drawings depicted on the karst cliffs of Misool. The paintings and drawings on the cliffs include non-figurative motifs (39%), handprints (25%), animals (20%), circles (10%), and anthropomorphic, pickaxes, unidentified sketches, and boomerang sketches. which are only 1-2% each. Paintings depicting animals have 87 images, consisting of tuna (40%), dolphins (28%), surgeonfish (16%), whales, imaginary fish, snakes, sharks, birds, and reptiles, of which there are only five images.

The Meaning of Rock Art

Researchers have not been able to find out the true meaning of these rock arts for the community that made them. Just as today’s paintings can be interpreted in various ways, paintings from thousands of years ago are similar. An analogy that can be made to give meaning to the area that houses the rock art is to apply statistical methods to the archaeological data, namely to the data of the paintings themselves.

Data on the frequency and distribution of painting motifs can be arranged into a pattern. Then, the pattern is compared with social ethnographic data that is associated with meaning in rock arts around the world. This method has been carried out in Misool and there is an interpretation that the animal images in the rock arts found in Misool were made as secular expressions of people’s daily life. There are several ethnographic cases

Rock art on Segaf Cliff s;

related to the depiction of animals in a secular context in Australian rock art too, that painting is interpreted as a leisure activity, celebration of a successful hunt, and the designation of locations where there are many game animals.

The average animal motif is depicted at the bottom of the karst cliff, which is about 1-2 metres above sea level. Meanwhile, geometric motifs and handprints are located at the top of the cliff, at a height that even reaches about 10 meters above sea level. Based on these data, it is strongly suspected that geometric motifs and handprints have symbolic value and are more sacred than animal motifs. This interpretation is far from a comprehensive conclusion, considering that it is possible that the paintings came from a very long tradition, maybe even tens of thousands of years. Based on the analogy of prehistoric painting motifs, it can be assumed that the handprints and tuna or dolphin motifs date back to an ancient era, perhaps around 40,000 years ago during the early migration of humans to the Australian continent. The pickaxe motif, however, was from the period of farming about 5,000 years ago.

The ancient paintings on the walls of the karst hills in the shady sea of Misool, which are preserved, surely spark our imagination about the mystery of human existence in the world. In this karst hill, people from the past have poured their creative power which may be inspired by the natural beauty of Misool since thousands of years ago! (Joshua Adrian Pasaribu and Feri Latief)

Protection). Rock art on the walls of the Yuca pan C ave s D i t . P C BM ( D irec torate of Cultural Conservation and Museum Foto : Seni Cadas di Dinding Gua Yucapan