Specialized lithic technology from Gua Arca, Kangean Island, Indonesia

Abstract

Stone artifacts are a common finding at prehistoric occupation cave sites in Indonesia. Flake tools with various key functions are one of the cultural markers of the pre-Neolithic period, frequently recovered in the context of assemblages of animal bones, bone tools, and shell artifacts. Recently, excavation at a new cave site on the small island of Kangean, unearthed an extensive set of stone tools. Our analysis of this assemblage of stone tools from Arca Cave site, Kangean Island, identified specific characteristics in typology, technology, and environmental context. Dating to at least 6,000 years ago, the Kangean lithic assemblage is associated with the mid-Holocene period and possibly even earlier.