Liang Bua Cave - 'Hobbits' on Flores, Indonesia

'Hobbits' on Flores, Indonesia

The Island of Flores

Flores is one of many Wallacean islands, which lie east of Wallace's Line and west of Lydekker's Line.  Wallacean islands are interesting because they have rarely, if ever, been connected via land bridges to either the Asian continent to the west or the Greater Australian continent to the east.  This longstanding separation from the surrounding continents has severely limited the ability of animal species to disperse either into or away from the Wallacean islands.  Thus, on Flores there were only a small number of mammal and reptile species during the entire Pleistocene.  These included komodo dragons and other smaller monitor lizards, crocodiles, several species of Stegodon (an extinct close relative of modern elephants), giant tortoise, and several kinds of small, medium, and large-bodied rats.

During the 1950s and 60s, a Dutch priest named Father Theodor Verhoeven lived and worked on Flores at a Catholic Seminary.  Verhoeven had a keen interest in archeology and had studied it at university.  While living on Flores, he identified dozens of archeological sites and conducted excavations at many of these, including the now famous site of Liang Bua where the "hobbits" of human evolution were discovered (Homo floresiensis).  Verhoeven was the first to report and publish that stone tools were found in association with Stegodon remains in central Flores at several sites within the Soa Basin.  He even argued that Homo erectus from Java was likely behind making the stone tools found on Flores and may have reached the island around 750,000 years ago.  At the time, paleoanthropologists took little notice of Verhoeven's claims or if they did, they discounted them outright.

Father Verhoeven sitting near the site of one of his excavations on Flores at the Soa Basin during the 1960s. Almost thirty years later, an Indonesian-Dutch research team uncovered evidence at the Soa Basin which confirmed Verhoeven's original findings.  This team even went further by dating some of the stone tools and fossils using paleomagnetism (a method of determining the age of ancient sediments) and showed they were probably around 700,000 years old.  These new findings did not become widely known within the paleoanthropological community until additional sediments were dated using a different technique called zircon fission-track analysis.  Thus, by the late 1990s more scientists were beginning to accept the possibility that another human species (likely Homo erectus) had crossed the Wallace Line and reached Flores well before our own species, Homo sapiens, had evolved in Africa around 200,000 years ago.

In 2001, an Indonesian-Australian research team began excavations at a large limestone cave located in west central Flores.  This cave, known as Liang Bua (which means "cool cave"), was first excavated by Father Verhoeven in 1965.  Professor Raden Soejono, the leading archeologist in Indonesia, heard about Liang Bua from Verhoeven and conducted six different excavations there from the late 1970s until 1989.  All of this early work at Liang Bua only explored deposits that occurred within the first three meters of the cave floor.  These deposits are dated to within the last 10,000 years and contain considerable archeological and faunal evidence of modern human use of the cave, as well as skeletal remains of modern humans.  However, in 2001 the new goals were to excavate deeper into the cave's stratigraphy to explore if modern or pre-modern humans were using Liang Bua prior to 10,000 years ago.  In September of 2003, they got their answer.

The Discovery of Homo floresiensis

On Saturday, September 6, 2003, Indonesian archeologist Wahyu Saptomo was overseeing the excavation of Sector VII at Liang Bua.  Benyamin Tarus, one of the locally hired workers, was excavating the 2 x 2 meter square when all of a sudden the top of a skull began to reveal itself.  Six meters beneath the surface of the cave, Wahyu immediately joined Benyamin and the two of them slowly and carefully removed some more sediment from around the top of the skull.  Wahyu then asked Indonesian faunal expert Rokus Due Awe to inspect the excavated portion of the skull.  Rokus told Wahyu that the skull definitely belonged to a hominin and most likely that of a small child given the size of its braincase.  Two days later, the team returned to the site and Thomas Sutikna, the Indonesian archeologist in charge of the excavations, joined Wahyu at the bottom of the square.  After several days, enough of the cranium and mandible had been exposed for Rokus to realize that this was no small child; instead, all of its teeth were permanent meaning that this was a fully grown adult.  A few weeks later, the team had recovered the rest of this hominin's partial skeleton, the likes of which had never been discovered before.  Today, this specimen is referred to as LB1 (Liang Bua 1), and is the holotype specimen for the species Homo floresiensis.

At the time of the discovery, the Liang Bua Research Team included specialists in archeology, geochronology, and faunal identification, but there was no physical anthropologist.  Dr. Mike Morwood, the co-leader of the project, invited his colleague at the University of New England in Australia, Dr. Peter Brown, to lead the description and analysis of the skeletal remains.  Dr. Brown is an expert on cranial, mandibular, and dental anatomy of early and modern humans and he agreed to apply his expertise to the study of the new bones from Liang Bua.  This important scientific work resulted in the first descriptions of these skeletal remains in the journal Nature on October 28, 2004.  This work also gave the scientific name, Homo floresiensis, to the hominin species that is represented by the skeletal material from the Late Pleistocene sediments at Liang Bua. 

Just before the two Nature articles on Homo floresiensis were published in 2004, the Liang Bua Research Team uncovered additional skeletal material.  This included the arm bones of LB1, and several bones of another individual, LB6, including the mandible and other bones of the arm.  Drs. Morwood and Brown, and other Indonesian and Australian members of the Liang Bua Research Team, described and analyzed these new skeletal remains of Homo floresiensis and again published their results in Nature on October 13, 2005.

The skeletal evidence suggests that adults of this species had extremely small brains (400 cubic centimeters), stood only about 1 meter (3'6") tall, and weighed around 30 kg (66 lbs).  For their height, these individuals have large body masses, and in this regard appear more similar to earlier hominins like "Lucy" (Australopithecus afarensis) than they do to modern humans, including small and large-bodied people.  The proportions between the upper arm (humerus) and upper leg (femur) also appear more similar to those in Australopithecus and Homo habilis than those of modern humans.

Further Research

As additional postcranial material of Homo floresiensis was being recovered, Dr. Morwood contacted Dr. Susan Larson and Dr. William Jungers, of Stony Brook University Medical Center.  Drs. Larson and Jungers are experts on human evolutionary anatomy, particularly with regard to the functional morphology of the arms and legs.  Dr. Larson has shown that the shoulder of Homo floresiensis is more like that in Homo erectus rather than modern humans, and Dr. Jungers has demonstrated many anatomical features of the "hobbit" foot that are shared with African apes and early hominins like Australopithecus afarensis (e.g., "Lucy").  Dr. Morwood also invited hominin brain expert Dr. Dean Falk to analyze the endocast of Homo floresiensis.  Dr. Falk has identified several features in the "hobbit" brain that suggest neural reorganization despite its overall small size.  Additional research focused on the paleobiology and archeology of Homo floresiensis by Drs. Morwood, Brown, Larson, Jungers, Falk, their many Indonesian colleagues, and a large international network of scientific experts, was recently published in a special issue of Journal of Human Evolution (November 2009).  Discussions and summaries of some of the work included in that special issue will be presented on this web page over the coming weeks and months.   

In total, over a dozen scientific articles have been published based on analysis of the original skeletal remains of Homo floresiensis, and hundreds of scientific articles and news stories about Homo floresiensis have appeared in print or on the web during the past seven years since the partial skeleton of LB1 was discovered.  As excavations at Liang Bua and elsewhere on Flores continue, we will keep you up-to-date on the latest discoveries and scientific analyses of materials related to Homo floresiensis, the so-called "hobbits" of human evolution.  One of our Human Origins Program researchers, Dr. Matt Tocheri who has studied the wrist of Homo floresiensis, is looking forward to taking part in excavations this coming summer at Liang Bua and the Soa Basin.

Sources : http://humanorigins.si.edu/research/asian-research/hobbits
Foto credit by Leonardus Nyoman

 Bibliography
Argue, D., Donlon, D., Groves, C., Wright, R., 2006. Homo floresiensis: microcephalic, pygmoid, Australopithecus or Homo? Journal of Human Evolution 51, 360–374.
Argue, D., Morwood, M.J., Sutikna, T., Jatmiko, Saptomo, E.W., 2009. Homo floresiensis: a cladistic analysis. Journal of Human Evolution 57, 623–639.
Aziz, F., van den Bergh, G.D., Morwood, M.J., Hobbs, D.R., Collins, J., Jatmiko, Kurniawan, I., 2009. Excavations at Tangi Talo, central Flores, Indonesia. In: Aziz, F., Morwood, M.J., van den Bergh, G.D. (Eds.), Palaeontology and Archaeology of the Soa Basin, Central Flores, Indonesia. Indonesian Geological Survey Institute, Bandung, pp. 41–58.
Brown, P., Maeda, T., 2009. Liang Bua Homo floresiensis mandibles and mandibular teeth: a contribution to the comparative morphology of a new hominin species. Journal of Human Evolution 57 571–596.
Brown, P., Sutikna, T., Morwood, M.J., Soejono, R.P., Jatmiko, Saptomo, E.W., Rokus Awe Due, 2004. A new small-bodied hominin from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia. Nature 431, 1055–1061.
Falk, D., Hildebolt, C., Smith, K., Morwood, M.J., Sutikna, T., Brown, P., Jatmiko, Saptomo, E.W., Brunsden, B., Prior, F., 2005. The brain of LB1, Homo floresiensis. Science 308, 242–245.
Falk, D., Hildebolt, C., Smith, K., Jungers, W., Larson, S., Morwood, M., Sutikna, T., Jatmiko, Wahyu Saptomo, E., Prior, F., 2009a. The type specimen of Homo floresiensis (LB1) did not have Laron Syndrome. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 140, 52–63.
Falk, D., Hildebolt, C., Smith, K., Morwood, M.J., Sutikna, T., Jatmiko, Saptomo, E.W., Prior, F., 2009b. LB1’s virtual endocast, microcephaly and hominin brain evolution. Journal of Human Evolution 57, 597–607.
Jungers, W.L., Harcourt-Smith, W.E.H., Wunderlich, R.E., Tocheri, M.W., Larson, S.G., Sutikna, T., Rhokus Awe Due, Morwood, M.J., 2009a. The foot of Homo floresiensis. Nature 459, 81–84.
Jungers, W.L., Larson, S.G., Harcourt-Smith, W., Morwood, M.J., Sutikna, T., Rokhus Due Awe, Djubiantono, T., 2009b. Descriptions of the lower limb skeleton of Homo floresiensis. Journal of Human Evolution 57, 538–554.
Larson, S.G., Jungers,W., Tocheri, M.W., Orr, C.M., Morwood, M.J., Sutikna, T., Rokhus Due Awe, Djubiantono, T., 2009. Descriptions of the upper limb skeleton of Homo floresiensis. Journal of Human Evolution 57, 555–570.
Morwood, M.J., van Oosterzee, P., 2007. The Discovery of the Hobbit: The Scientific Breakthrough that Changed the Face of Human History. Random House, Sydney, Australia.
Morwood, M.J., Brown, P., Sutikna, T., Jatmiko, Saptomo, E.W., Westaway, K.E., Roberts, R.G., Rokus Awe Due, Maeda, T., Wasisto, S., Djubiantono, T., 2005. Further evidence for small-bodied hominins from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia. Nature 437, 1012–1017.
Morwood, M.J., O’Sullivan, P., Aziz, F., Raza, A., 1998. Fission track age of stone tools and fossils on the east Indonesian island of Flores. Nature 392, 173–176.
Morwood, M.J., Soejono, R.P., Roberts, R.G., Sutikna, T., Turney, C.S.M.,Westaway, K.E., Rink, W.J., Zhao, J.-x., van den Bergh, G.D., Rokus Awe Due, Hobbs, D.R., Moore, M.W., Bird, M.I., Fifield, L.K., 2004. Archaeology and age of a new hominin from Flores in eastern Indonesia. Nature 431, 1087–1091.
Morwood, M.J., Sutikna, T., Saptomo, E.W., Jatmiko, Hobbs, D.R., Westaway, K.E., 2009. Preface: research at Liang Bua, Flores, Indonesia. Journal of Human Evolution 57, 437–449.

Sondaar, P.Y., van den Bergh, G.D., Mubroto, B., Aziz, F., de Vos, J., Batu Unkap, L., 1994. Middle Pleistocene faunal turnover and colonization of Flores (Indonesia) by Homo erectus. Comptes Rendus de l’Academie des Sciences 320, 1255–1262.

Tocheri, M.W., Caley, M., Orr, C.M., Larson, S.G., Sutikna, T., Jatmiko, Saptomo, E.W., Rokus Awe Due, Djubiantono, T., Morwood, M.J., Jungers, W.L., 2007. The primitive wrist of Homo floresiensis and its implications for hominin evolution. Science 317, 1743–1745.
van den Bergh, G.D., Meijer, H.J.M., Rokhus Due Awe, Morwood, M.J., Szabo´ , K., van den Hoek Ostende, L.W., Sutikna, T., Saptomo, E.W., Piper, P.J., Dobney, K.M., 2009. The Liang Bua faunal remains: a 95 k.yr. sequence from Flores, East Indonesia. Journal of Human Evolution 57, 527–537.
van den Bergh, G.D., Mubroto, B., Sondaar, P.Y., de Vos, J., 1996. Did Homo erectus reach the island of Flores? Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association Bulletin (Chiang Mai Papers) 14, 27–36.
Verhoeven, T., 1953. Eine Mikrolithenkultur in Mittel- und West-Flores. Anthropos 48, 597–612.
Verhoeven, T., 1958. Pleistozane funde in Flores. Anthropos 53, 264–265.
Verhoeven, T. 1968. Pleistozane funde auf Flores, Timor and Sumba. In: Geburtstag von P.W. Schmidt, (Ed.), Anthropica, Gedenkschrift zum 100. Studia Instituti Anthropos 21, St Augustin bei Bonn, pp. 393–403.

Flying bats in Kalong island Komodo National Park

Downhill cycling from Kelimutu to Moni Flores island

christmas wish and New year 2015.

Perkampungan Adat dan Benteng None - So'e - TTS - NTT

Perkampungan Adat dan Benteng None

Salah satu daya tarik adalah perkampungan adat masyarakat adat None, yang dihuni oleh marga Tauho. Di tempat ini anda bisa menyaksikan Rumah-rumah adat orang Timor berupa Ume Kbubu (Rumah Bulat) dan Lopo.

Dalam filosofi orang Timor, Rumah Adat Ume Kbubu melambangkan wanita orang Timor yang santun, bersahaja, merenda dan tertutup auratnya sebagaimana dilambangkan oleh ume kbubu, dimana atapnya dari bubungan sampai ke tanah, dan memiliki satu pintu saja, sehingga orang keluar masuk harus menunduk. Sementara Lopo, bagi orang Timor melambangkan laki-laki, dimana agak terbuka, kokoh, dan sebagai tempat untuk pertemuan keluarga, dimana selalu dipimpin oleh bapak selaku kepala keluarga.

Terdapat Benteng Pertahanan Masyarakat Adat None pada jaman dahulu melawan musuh dan penjajah. Benteng tersebut terbuat dari batu-batu alam dan sejenis tanaman berduri (Naus) yang ditanam berjejer sepanjang 1 km, sementara pada sisi yang lain, terdapat jurang yang sangat terjal sehingga musuh sangat sulit sampai ke perkampungan mereka.

Tarian Perang (Ma'ekat)
Dalam tarian ini disuguhkan ketangkasan, kepiawaian, keberanian dan keheroikan para panglima dan prajurit perang (meo) dalam memerangi musuh di medan laga, yang kemudian memenangkan pertempuran dan melanjutkannya dengan pesta pora kemenangan lewat Tarian Bonet. Sejenis tarian gembira yang mengambil formasi bulatan sambil bergerak seiring jarum jam dengan panduan lantunan syair-syair pantun yang disebut ”Tne”.

Upacara Adat Poit Pah
Upacara adat syukuran panen ini, biasanya dilakukan oleh orang Timor dalam memasuki musim panen, bersyukur kepada Allah sang pemberi rejeki atas hasil panenan yang melimpah sembari memohon berkat atas tanaman untuk musim tanam mendatang. Prosesi upacara adat ini, diawali dengan doa yang dilakukan oleh tetuah yang telah ditunjuk (Ana,am Nes).Korban-korban berupa ternak sapi dan babi serta hulu hasil yang telah disiapkan didoakan dan kemudian dipersembahkan pada mesbah yang ada di bawah sebatang pohon beringin besar. Darah sembelihan kemudian diperciki pada hulu hasil yang ada.

Upacara Adat Ote Naus
Upacara adat yang satu ini biasa dilakukan oleh masyarakat adat Timor untuk mendeteksi lawan / musuh sebelum melakukan perlawanan. Sarana yang digunakan adalah sebilah tombak yang diarahkan ke tiang pancongan kemudian mendepa dan apabila depaan tangan mencapai tiang pancongan, maka itu menandakan ada keberuntungan, dan sebaliknya manakala tangan tidak mencapai tiang pancongan, menandakan ketidakberuntungan, dan itu berarti masih ada sejumlah kendala yang perlu dibenahi dengan cara naketi.

Sources : http://wisata.nttprov.go.id/index.php/2014-01-20-04-43-22/kota-kupang/timor-tengah-selatan/146-perkampungan-adat-dan-benteng-none

Photography: Leonardus Nyoman

Pulau Bidadari

Pulau Bidadari
Pulau Bidadari, which means ‘angel island’ in Indonesian, is a small, charming island located northwest of Labuan Bajo. This island is a water lover’s paradise. Its excellent white-sand beaches seem to have come from paradise, and its crystal clear and calm waters make it an ideal spot for swimming, snorkeling, and especially learning how to dive. Bidadari Island, reachable by way of a short 15–20 minute boat trip, is a tiny island. Its 14–15 hectares are covered with hills and trees, and it is almost completely surrounded by beautiful beaches.
Text : www.florestourism.com
Photography: Leonardus Nyoman (www.floresexotictours.com)

Pulau Mules & Pasir Putih - Dintor - Satarmese - Manggarai - Flores island

Pulau Mules – Satarmese barat – Manggarai – Flores

Pulau Mules yang juga disebut dengan nuca molas dalam bahasa manggarai terletak di pantai selatan kabupaten Manggarai Flores Nusa Tenggara timur, secara administratif pulau ini termasuk di wilayah kecamatan satarmese barat, kabupaten Manggarai.

Untuk mencapai pulau ini, anda dapat menggunakan kendaraan dari Ruteng, ibukota kabupaten Manggarai menuju ke Dintor dengan lama perjalanan sekitar 2.5 jam, dari Dintor anda menggunakan perahu motor selama 15-20 menit.

Pulau dengan pasir putih dan hamparan bukit batu di bagian barat sangat indah dan kegiatan wisata seperti snorkeling, berenang atau bersantai di pantai dapat anda lakukan disini.

Exotic birds -Yellow-bellied Sunbird, Cinnyris jugularis

The Olive-backed Sunbird, Cinnyris jugularis, also known as Yellow-bellied Sunbird and formerly Nectarinia jugularis, is an Asian sunbird.

Diet / Feeding

The sunbirds are a group of very small Old World passerine birds which feed largely on nectar, although they will also take insects, especially when feeding young. Their flight is fast and direct on their short wings.

Range / Distribution

The Olive-backed Sunbird is common across southern China to the Philippines and Malaysia down to northeast Australia.

Originally from mangrove habitat, the Olive-backed sunbird has adapted well to humans, and is now common even in fairly densely populated areas, even forming their nests in human dwellings.

Description

They are small songbirds, at most 12cm long. The underparts of both male and female are bright yellow, the backs are a dull brown colour. The forehead, throat and upper breast of the adult male is a dark, metallic blue-black.

Breeding / Nesting

The birds mate between the months of April and August. Both the male and the female assist in building the nest which is flask-shaped, with an overhanging porch at the entrance, and a trail of hanging material at the bottom end.

After building the nest, the birds abandon the nest for about a week before the female returns to lay one or two greenish-blue eggs. The eggs take a further week to hatch. The female may leave the nest for short periods during the day during incubation.

After the chicks have hatched, both male and female assist in the care of the young, which leave the nest about two or three weeks later

Copyright: Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia.org ...

Photography by Leonardus Nyoman

www.FloresExoticTours.com.

Islands around Labuanbajo - Flores - Indonesia

 Bidadari Island

Pulau Bidadari, which means ‘angel island’ in Indonesian, is a small, charming island located northwest of Labuan Bajo. This island is a water lover’s paradise. Its excellent white-sand beaches seem to have come from paradise, and its crystal clear and calm waters make it an ideal spot for swimming, snorkeling, and especially learning how to dive. Bidadari Island, reachable by way of a short 15–20 minute boat trip, is a tiny island. Its 14–15 hectares are covered with hills and trees, and it is almost completely surrounded by beautiful beaches.

Seraya Kecil island

Only 10km from Labuan Bajo lies the small but charming Seraya Island (official name: Seraya Kecil) – a place where chilling out on white sandy beaches, swimming in the clear, calm and turquoise water or exploring the colorful underwater world with just some goggles and a snorkel make up your daily routine. Around the small fishing village that is located on the southern tip of the island, you can get an impression of the bagan style of traditional fishing with its bamboo structures erected over the open sea.

Kanawa island

 

Kanawa Island, located approximately 15 kilometers from Labuan Bajo at the border of Komodo National Park, is considered to be one of Southeast Asia’s most idyllic islands, fully surrounded by a spectacular reef with thousands of fish species, turtles, corals, reef sharks, and mantas. A small hill in the middle of this untouched island guarantees a spectacular view over the national park and to Labuan Bajo Bay. From here, you can enjoy the most breathtaking sunrises and sunsets.
Facilities

On all of these small islands, you will find accommodation in the form of basic bungalows which are located almost directly on the beach. There are also a number of small restaurants.
However, equipment for snorkeling cannot be rented on every island. On Bidadari you should have your own snorkeling gear which can be obtained from a dive rental place in Labuan Bajo; whereas on Kanawa and Seraya you can rent the equipment directly on the islands.
If you’re up for diving, you should check before departing whether either renting the equipment is possible on the island or whether you should first arrange it from Labuan Bajo.
Bidadari Island is managed by Reefseekers for dive resorts; however for diving activities with them, you need to make an arrangement in their Labuan Bajo office, not on the island. Kanawa island is developed by an Italian company, where diving is possible without any arrangements in Labuan Bajo.
There are further more stunning islets around Labuan Bajo, as such as Kalong and Monkey islands, easily reachable and both offer good opportunities to explore Flores’ exotic fauna. As there is no accommodation on these islands yet, visits are limited to day trips. However, the islands are so close to Rinca and Komodo islands that some local tour operators offer overnight stays in villages on both islands.

Kalong Island (Pulau Kalong) is a place where you can enjoy the bustling activities of thousands of flying foxes every evening. It is located only 16km from Labuan Bajo.  

Monkey Island (Pulau Monyet) is a spot where plenty of smart monkeys will entertain you with their amusing behavior. It is located only 800 meters from Labuan Bajo.

Text by: http://www.florestourism.com/where-to-go/islands-around-labuan-bajo-0

Photography by Leonardus Nyoman

www.FloresExoticTours.com 

Travel style at Komodo National Park and surrounding

Kids in Alor, go to school by boat from Kepa island to Alor Kecil.

Flores Exotic Tours - Indonesia.