PREHISTORIC AGE & ANCIENT HUMANS IN INDONESIA
A. Division of Ages The
history of human civilization is broadly divided into two phases, namely prehistoric times and historical times. The prehistoric era (pre-before) preceded the historical era, the people of the prehistoric era were not familiar with writing. Therefore there are no written remains. The main sources of prehistoric times are objects, so that research on prehistoric life is only through these material sources. The following will describe the development of the era:
1. Archeozoic Age
Is the oldest era in the history of the earth's development, in this era there was no life. the earth's crust is still very hot so there is no possibility of life.
That era was about 2,500 million years old, at that time the earth was still hot. The air is still very hot, the earth's crust is still in the process of forming, so there are no signs of life yet.
2. Paleozoic Era
Life begins with the existence of the smallest types of animals without backbones, then fish species appear, the beginning of the amphibian and reptile ages, also called the primary age.
The age of this era is estimated to be 340 million years, at that time there were already signs of life. Small animals (micro organisms) already exist. Also animals that do not have backbones, even some types of fish, amphibians and reptiles have started to exist. because the earth's conditions are very changeable, it is still difficult for life's conditions to improve.
3. Mesozoic Era
Called the secondary era, various types of fish and reptiles, such as giant reptiles, birds and mammals, began to live and thrive.
The age of this era is estimated at 140 million years, at this time life on Earth is growing. Animals at that time reached enormous forms. Among other Dinosaurs, in length
reached 12 meters, Atlatosaurus was up to 30 meters long. Several skeletons of these large animals are now kept in Bandung. Bird species had started to exist, but actually that era was the era of reptiles, because the types of animals that abounded in that era were reptiles.
4. Neozoic Age (Cainozoic)
This era lasted 60 million years, at that time the earth's condition became good. Weather changes are not that big even though the ice age is still on. Life is developing very fast. This era is further divided into eras:
the Tertiary Age, the giant animals are decreasing, there are already more perfect types of mammals developing, while the types of reptiles are decreasing and the types of apes / monkeys are starting to develop. At this time, the types of monkeys and humans appeared.
The Quaternary Age, this period lasted from about 600,000 years ago. In that era, human life already existed. That part of the era is called the kala. At that time human life began to exist which was more perfect, divided again into the so-called:
a) Pleisocene Age (Early Quaternary) the state of nature was not yet perfect. Although the age of the Pleistocene epoch is not as long as past times, it is precisely that period that is important. Because it was at that time that humans began to appear on earth. The Pleisocene period lasted approximately 3 million to 10,000 years BC. It was during this period that there was a period of expansion of the polar ice caps. Some of the land adjacent to the north pole is covered in ice.
b) Holocene Era (Alluvium, the condition of the earth is more perfect, grows various types of flora and fauna, plants grow wild in the thicket forest, fields and rice fields are known with corn plants. The types of fauna are: elephants, bison, wild buffalo, rhinos, tapirs, tigers, deer, pigs, birds and bats
B. Natural Conditions of Our Earth
Changes in the surface of the earth's crust that occur on the earth also occur in Indonesia, during the expansion of the sea surface and rising sea levels, the heavy part of Indonesia forms the Sunda Shelf and eastern Indonesia forms the Sunda Shelf. The Sunda
Shelf connects the islands of Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan and Nusa Tenggara with the Asian mainland, while the Suhul Shelf connects the mainland of Irian Jaya (Papua) with Australia.
Source: Istikah