Incised stone artefact in the context of Middle Holocene burials at Cappalombo 1, South Sulawesi, Indonesia | Artefak batu bergores dalam konteks penguburan Holosen Tengah di Situs Cappalombo 1, Sulawesi Selatan, Indonesia

Abstract

Since the recent discovery of Late Pleistocene rock art in Island Southeast Asia was announced, evidence for symbolic behaviour in the region has become a focus of international archaeological interest. South Sulawesi is one region that hold much evidence for this important human activity. In addition to the cave paintings, several engraved stone artefacts have also been recovered in the same area, nearly all of which date back to the Late Pleistocene. However, while cave use by ‘hunter-gatherer’ societies continued into the Holocene period, archaeological evidence for symbolic expression during this Toalean period is extremely rare. Here, we report for the first time on engraved stone artefacts from the Middle Holocene period, associated with six human burials. Of ten incised artefacts recovered, eight are stone flakes and two are stone plaquettes, all made of hematite material. Our study suggests that unlike comparative Pleistocene engraved stones, the incisions on the Cappalombo artefacts are more likely the result of use-wear that occurs from producing red pigment powder than portable artworks. As no Toalean-age cave art has yet been identified, it is suspected that pigment powder was applied to the corpses as part of a burial practice or perhaps smeared on the body of the person/s performing the ceremony itself as part of a symbolic ritualistic activity.