Part Of Sundaland Research Articles

The Design Concept of Gunung Padang Prehistoric Stones Photo Book with Exploration Grid

Gunung Padang is a site from the Megalithic era. The Archaeological Team from Universitas Indonesia purposes Gunung Padang as a world heritage to the UN-UNESCO. This site is part of Sundaland, a place of extinct Nusantara civilization. It is located in the Karyamukti Village, Cianjur Regency, West Java, Indonesia. This study aims to communicate this site through the design of photo books as a visual communication medium that conveys messages through picture language. This study seeks to present a picture of prehistoric stones on the site through the concept of photo book design with the genre of still life, which is to enliven the picture of inanimate objects through elements of the design of the photo book using exploration grids, a layout that emphasizes creativity to the space of expression and imagination. The descriptive qualitative research method was used to discuss the concept of the Gunung Padang Site photo book design as a photographic work of art. The description uses a semiotics approach to visual communication that refers to the stages of the creative process of photo books which include the stages of brainstorming, sorting, sequencing, layout, binding, including the concept of illustrations, color, and typographic. The design concept of prehistoric site photo book is to highlight the power of visual signs and to inspire the public about cultural messages. This research can also be a reference in the field of photography creativity, while adding insight to educators and students in the field of visual communication design.

Transoceanic Disperse of the White-lipped Island Pit Viper (Cryptelytrops insularis; Kramer,1997) from Sundaland to Lesser Sunda, Indonesia

White-lipped island pit viper ( Cryptelytrops insularis ) is one of the most distributed Viperidae in Indonesia, especially in eastern part of Sundaland and Lesser Sunda. To investigate the evolutionary history and the dispersal pattern of C. insularis, we collected 23 samples from 11 localities. Four simultaneous genes composing two mitochondrial genes (16S rRNA & ND4) and two nuclear genes (7IβFIB & 3ITBP) have been successfully amplified and sequenced. Bayesian inference was performed to reconstruct the phylogeny tree. Furthermore, time divergence and the population demography analyses were estimated. The phylogeny tree of C. insularis exhibits monophyletic group, with four geographically structured lineages. The time divergence estimation indicated that C. insularis evolved at approximately 7 million years ago (mya). Population demography was inferred by Bayesian Skyline Plot analysis, it shows that the population increased constantly from the past to recent time. The evolutionary history of C. insularis can be explained by a pattern of the time divergences estimation that indicating movement from West (Java) to East (Lesser Sunda). We expected that the dispersal factor of C. insularis into many different islands (in Lesser Sunda) is caused by the animal helped and also oceanic rafting which could be the stepping stones to another island.

Sangkulirang Mangkalihat: The Earliest Prehistoric Rock-Art in the World

Abstract. Borneo island, a part of Sundaland – a great mainland in South East Asia thousands of years ago – is the largest island in Indonesian Archipelago. In the middle-eastern of East Borneo, lies a peninsula karst region named Sangkulirang Mangkalihat. The region’s biodiversity contains many species of flora and fauna which are part of karst ecosystem. Surprisingly, thousands prehistoric rock art paintings and engraving were found here, spread over 48 inland caves in seven different karst mountain areas. The rock arts are painted on the ceiling, wall, and hollow of the cave depends on the meaning. They illustrate forms such as spiritual images (zoomorphic and antropomorphic) for sacred spiritual meaning, and social phenomenon images (tools and weapons) for description of daily life. From all those rock-arts, hand paintings are the most common elements appeared. Compared to other paintings, these are the only negative images using different techniques. Radiocarbon dating indicated that the rock-arts at Tewet Cave in Sangkulirang Mangkalihat is 40,000 BP. It is much earlier compared to Lascaux Cave (35,400 BP) and Chauvet Cave (32,000) in France which were previously known as the earliest one in the world. Rock arts and some archeological findings also indicate the migration of Austronesian People. During the migration, Borneo’s climate and land cover were changing from time to time. Continental climate occurred when all Sundaland was still dry (40,000–21,000 BP), followed by tropical savanna climate and archipelagic climate (12,000–7.000 BP), and then Tropical Rainforest consecutively (1,000 BP). Correlatively, geological interpretations from such areas indicate land cover changes. These changes effected Austronesian ways of living, e.g. from hunting to fishing, and were depicted clearly on their paintings. Today, – as observed from time series satellite images – industrial activities such as karst exploitation for cement production and land clearing for palm oil plantation are threatening Sangkulirang Mangkalihat as they are approaching this particular areas. Efforts were conducted to preserve these particular sites, from establishing local regulations to a great step to propose it as one of UNESCO’s World Cultural Heritage. To disseminate its importance as the world’s earliest known rock arts, a particular map should be designed. The map should be able to describe multiple aspects regarding these sites, i.e. its location and position among other world rock arts, detail locations in the sites, climate and geomorphological changes occurred and its effects to these rock arts, its correlation to prehistoric migration, and threats faced today from industrial activities. An integrated, multiscale representation of such geospatial informations is considered.

A Triassic to Cretaceous Sundaland–Pacific subduction margin in West Sarawak, Borneo

Metamorphic rocks in West Sarawak are poorly exposed and studied. They were previously assumed to be pre-Carboniferous basement but had never been dated. New 40Ar/39Ar ages from white mica in quartz-mica schists reveal metamorphism between c. 216 to 220Ma. The metamorphic rocks are associated with Triassic acid and basic igneous rocks, which indicate widespread magmatism. New U-Pb dating of zircons from the Jagoi Granodiorite indicates Triassic magmatism at c. 208Ma and c. 240Ma. U-Pb dating of zircons from volcaniclastic sediments of the Sadong and Kuching Formations confirms contemporaneous volcanism. The magmatic activity is interpreted to represent a Triassic subduction margin in westernmost West Sarawak with sediments deposited in a forearc basin derived from the magmatic arc at the Sundaland–Pacific margin. West Sarawak and NW Kalimantan are underlain by continental crust that was already part of Sundaland or accreted to Sundaland in the Triassic.One metabasite sample, also previously assumed to be pre-Carboniferous basement, yielded Early Cretaceous 40Ar/39Ar ages. They are interpreted to indicate resumption of subduction which led to deposition of volcaniclastic sediments and widespread magmatism. U-Pb ages from detrital zircons in the Cretaceous Pedawan Formation are similar to those from the Schwaner granites of NW Kalimantan, and the Pedawan Formation is interpreted as part of a Cretaceous forearc basin containing material eroded from a magmatic arc that extended from Vietnam to west Borneo. The youngest U-Pb ages from zircons in a tuff layer from the uppermost part of the Pedawan Formation indicate that volcanic activity continued until c. 86 to 88Ma when subduction terminated.

Revisiting the ichthyodiversity of Java and Bali through DNA barcodes: taxonomic coverage, identification accuracy, cryptic diversity and identification of exotic species.

Among the 899 species of freshwater fishes reported from Sundaland biodiversity hotspot, nearly 50% are endemics. The functional integrity of aquatic ecosystems is currently jeopardized by human activities, and landscape conversion led to the decline of fish populations in several part of Sundaland, particularly in Java. The inventory of the Javanese ichthyofauna has been discontinuous, and the taxonomic knowledge is scattered in the literature. This study provides a DNA barcode reference library for the inland fishes of Java and Bali with the aim to streamline the inventory of fishes in this part of Sundaland. Owing to the lack of available checklist for estimating the taxonomic coverage of this study, a checklist was compiled based on online catalogues. A total of 95 sites were visited, and a library including 1046 DNA barcodes for 159 species was assembled. Nearest neighbour distance was 28-fold higher than maximum intraspecific distance on average, and a DNA barcoding gap was observed. The list of species with DNA barcodes displayed large discrepancies with the checklist compiled here as only 36% (i.e. 77 species) and 60% (i.e. 24 species) of the known species were sampled in Java and Bali, respectively. This result was contrasted by a high number of new occurrences and the ceiling of the accumulation curves for both species and genera. These results highlight the poor taxonomic knowledge of this ichthyofauna, and the apparent discrepancy between present and historical occurrence data is to be attributed to species extirpations, synonymy and misidentifications in previous studies.

Cypriniformes of Borneo (Actinopterygii, Otophysi): An Extraordinary Fauna for Integrated Studies on Diversity, Systematics, Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation

Borneo Island is governed by the countries of Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak) and Indonesia(Kalimantan) and is part of Sundaland. These countries have a high diversity of freshwater fishes, especially describedand undescribed species of Cypriniformes; together these species and other flora and fauna represent an extraordinaryopportunity for worldwide collaboration to investigate the biodiversity, conservation, management and evolution ofBorneo’s wildlife. Much of the fauna and flora of Borneo is under significant threat, warranting an immediate and swiftinternational collaboration to rapidly inventory, describe, and conserve the diversity. The Sunda drainage appears to havebeen an important evolutionary centre for many fish groups, including cypriniforms (Cyprinidae, Balitoridae andGyrinocheilidae); however, Northwestern Borneo (Brunei, Sabah and Sarawak) is not connected to Sundaland, and thisdisjunction likely explains the non-homogeneity of Bornean ichthyofauna. A previous study confirmed that northernBorneo, eastern Borneo and Sarawak shared a similar ichthyofauna, findings that support the general hypothesis forfreshwater connections at one time between western Borneo and central Sumatra, and south Borneo and Java island.Borneo is drained by five major rivers: (1) Rajang and Baram rivers in Sarawak, and (2) Kapuas, Mahakam and Baritorivers in Kalimantan. The Cypriniformes is the most diverse clade in Borneo, and it is represented by at least 285 speciesin 55 genera and eight major clades (Balitoridae, Cobitidae, Cyprinidae, Gyrinocheilidae, Leptobarbidae, rasborines,cultrines and Paedocyprididae); at least 147 (52%) of these species are endemic to the incredibly diverse habitats ofBorneo. Most fish faunal studies in Borneo have involved inventory and discovery; however, none to date have focusedtheir efforts on the great biodiversity and systematics of Cypriniformes. In this paper we briefly discuss the generalbiodiversity of cypriniforms in Borneo, including recent revisions to the classification of the order through theCypriniformes Tree of Life and Planetary Biodiversity Inventory efforts supported by the USA NSF basic scienceinitiatives, in conjunction with researchers in countries of Borneo. It is our hope that this particular summary willgalvanize individuals to increase worldwide collaborative and integrated efforts on the biodiversity of Cypriniformes,and incite lively discussions among a broad array of interested parties, including those involved in the recent and critically important “Heart of Borneo” initiative funded by all these countries and some NGOs.

A morphometric analysis of the Late Pleistocene Human Skeleton from the Moh Khiew Cave in Thailand

Few Late Pleistocene human remains have been found in Southeast Asia and the morphological features of the people of that age are still largely unknown due to the virtual lack of human remains in the area. Recent excavations at the Moh Khiew Cave in Thailand resulted in the discovery of a Late Pleistocene human skeleton in a relatively good state of preservation. An AMS radiocarbon date on the charcoal sample gathered from the burial gave a result of 25,800±600 BP, implying that the inhabitants of Moh Khiew Cave resided in a part of Sundaland during the last glacial age. In debates on the population history of Southeast Asia, it has been repeatedly advocated that Southeast Asia was occupied by indigenous people akin to present-day Australo-Melanesians prior to an expansion of migrants from Northeast Asia into this area. Morphometric analyses were undertaken to test the validity of this hypothesis. In the present study, cranial and dental measurements recorded from the Moh Khiew remains are compared with those of early and modern samples from Southeast Asia and Australia. These comparisons demonstrate that the Moh Khiew specimen resembles the Late Pleistocene series from Coobool Creek, Australia in both cranial and dental measurements. These results suggest that the Moh Khiew skeleton, as well as other fossil remains from the Tabon, Niah and Gua Gunung sites, represents a member of the Sundaland population during the Late Pleistocene, who may share common ancestry with the present-day Australian Aborigines and Melanesians.

Sea-level changes in the tectonically stable Malay-Thai Peninsula

Abstract The Malay-Thai Peninsula is part of Sundaland, a geological region of relative crustal stability. Therefore, the positions of old shorelines (of the past 20,000 years or so) can be considered to indicate positions of actual past sea levels. Over 200 shoreline indicators at positions below as well as above present sea level have been radiocarbon dated. These dated positions indicate that prior to 6 ka the sea rose from at least 90 m below present sea level at rates that initially amounted to 15 mm/year and later became 6 mm/year. At ca. 6 ka, the rising sea surpassed its current position and at ca. 5 ka, it reached 5 m. During this maximum marine inundation, the peninsula was narrower, since the low coastal plains did not yet exist. In the period following this maximum transgression, the available shoreline data indicate that regional sea level subsided through a series of fluctuations that were characterized by amplitudes of 2 m and periods of about 2000 years. The peaks and troughs of the fluctuations became progressively lower. The latest peak was at about +1.7 m (or 0.7 m above present high tide) a few hundred years ago. The cause of these fluctuations is not yet known, but the trend suggests that, in the near future, regional sea level may subside at annual rates between 1.5 mm and 2 mm. This rate of descent is 25 to 30% of the estimated rate of sea-level rise that may result from global warming. In other words, for the Malay-Thai Peninsula, the effect of sea-level rise on account of manmade greenhouse gases will be partly compensated by actual subsidence of regional sea level.