Sumedang, Sunda Pleistocene Archeological and Paleontological Site

https://peta-hd.com/peta-kabupaten-sumedang/

By:

UNU NURAHMAN

Supervisor of Senior High Schools, KCD Region VIII,

West Java Provincial Education Office

Lecturer, Faculty of Humanities, Unsap Sumedang

Sumedang, better known as the "City of Tofu," is a regency in West Java Province. According to Sumedang Regency Regulation No. 1 of 2020, Sumedang holds the status of "Sumedang Puseur Budaya Sunda " or "Center of Sundanese Culture" due to its strong historical roots and traditions as a descendant of Pajajaran Kingdom, as well as its strong blend of Sundanese and Islamic cultures.

The name Sunda itself is said to have been introduced by the Ancient Greek geographer Claudius Ptolemaeus around 150AD in his work, "Geographical Hyphegesis." He mentioned an archipelago named Sunda to the east of India. The Portuguese, who arrived in the archipelago in the 16th century, divided the archipelago of Southeast Asia into two major regions: Soenda Mayor (Greater Sunda), encompassing the larger islands of Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, and Sulawesi, and Soenda Minor (Lesser Sunda), encompassing the smaller island clusters to the east, such as Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores, and Timor.

Recent archaeological discoveries have earned Sumedang its new status as a Sunda Archeological and Pleistocene Paleontological Site. This began in 2004 when a team of experts from the Bandung Institute of Technology discovered the fossilized tusk of the ancient elephant Stegodon trigonocephalus, estimated to have lived during the Pleistocene (1.5 to 2 million years ago) in Jembar Wangi and Darma Wangi villages, Tomo District. This discovery was crucial for uncovering ancient life on the island of Java, as it was the first time, fossils of ancient Pleistocene-era animals had been found in West Java.

In 2022, a joint-research team from the Culture Division of the Sumedang Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sports Office (Disparbudpora), the Bandung Archaeological Center, and the Geology and Paleontology Agency of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) discovered more ancient animal fossils: a 1.5 to2 million-year-old freshwater turtle, two species of crocodile, an 800,000-year-old cow, and ancient tools believed to have been used by humans during that era. To date, 677 fossils and ancient human tools have been found in Sumedang.

A Shallow Sea in the Past

Four million years ago, Sumedang was part of a shallow sea stretching from Subang to Pangandaran, a zone filled with white sand, coral, and tropical marine life. At that time, central Java was still a sea, and the current mountain range had not yet formed. Around 1.4 million years later, the Earth entered its first ice age. The polar ice caps expanded, and sea levels dropped by more than 100 meters. After millions of years as a sea, Sumedang finally dried up and became completely land.

The discovery of marine animal fossils proves that around 2 to 2.5 million years ago, Sumedang, particularly the Tomo, Ujungjaya, Conggeang, and parts of Buahdua districts, was a shallow sea or neritic sea that later transformed into swamps and finally the landmass it is today. The area near Mount Tampomas, such as the Cimalaka district, is a zone of young volcanic slopes, not stable old land.

Marine animal fossils, such as shark teeth and mollusk shells, found in Darma Wangi Village are said to be older than archaeological remains found in Central and East Java. Geological research indicates that the Cisaar River Valley in Tomo was formed 5 million years ago.

Meanwhile, the large-shelled freshwater turtle fossil found in Jembar Wangi Village is estimated to be a Geoemydidae/Orlitia sp. species and is recorded as the oldest and most intact freshwater turtle fossil found in Indonesia. Meanwhile, the oldest land turtle fossil, found in Bumi Ayu, Brebes Regency (Central Java), is estimated to be a Megalochelys cf. sivalensis, approximately 2.5–1.5 million years old.

Terrestrial Megafauna

According to geological research, Sumedang during the Pleistocene era was located in the active Sunda volcanic arc zone due to the subduction of the Indo-Australian Plate beneath the Eurasian Plate. This contrasts sharply with the relatively calm Sumedang of today. Mount Tampomas, estimated to have formed around 5.3 million years ago, was still a young cone during the Pleistocene, the result of Quaternary volcanic activity. Its volcanic rocks exhibit characteristics of island-arc magma, consistent with subduction in southern Java, indicating volcanic activity related to plate tectonics.

The landmass of Sumedang during the Pleistocene era was influenced by larger and wider ancient rivers: the ancient Cipeles River, the ancient Cimanuk River, and the Tomo–Jembarwangi Watershed System, which contains numerous fossils of ancient vertebrates.

The Tomo region was then part of a vast fluvial plain formed by the ancient Cimanuk River. This river carried silt, sand, and gravel from the southern mountains to the north. When the flow increased due to the humid climate, the river overflowed, creating a vast floodplain that provided an ideal habitat for large land fauna.

This environment resembles the Pleistocene Bengawan Solo Valley and the ancient Majalengka-Cirebon fluvial plain. These fluvial deposits have the potential to preserve fossils of ancient elephants and other large mammals. The discovery of a Stegodon trigonocephalus elephant tusk fossil in Tomo in 2004 was the oldest elephant fossil found in West Java. The oldest elephant tusk fossil in Indonesia is 2.58 to 5.33 million years old and was discovered on February 11, 2025, at the Bumiayu site in Brebes Regency.

Ancient elephant fossils have also been discovered in several areas directly bordering Sumedang Regency, including a 1.5-million-year-old stegodon bone fossil in Terisi, Indramayu, in 2020; a 1.2-million-year-old stegodon ankle and shoulder blade fossil in Capanaruban, Subang, in 2004; and a stegodon tusk fossil from the Early Pleistocene, dating to approximately 1.5 million years ago, in Majalengka, in 2018, measuring 3.30 meters in length and 3.60 meters in curve.

Stegodon was a large herbivore, and its presence indicates that in ancient times the area likely had adequate vegetation, such as forest, savanna, or a mixed ecosystem capable of supporting large megafauna. It is not surprising that besides the stegodon fossils, in Jembar Wangi Village, especially in the Cisaar River Valley, which is geographically hilly, many other land animal fossils have also been found, such as rhinos, hippos, deer (cervidae), cows (leptobos), pigs, and ancient bulls (bos paleosondaicus).

Waiting for ancient human fossils finding

Being a large mammal during its time, the Pleistocene, the stegodon elephant generally stood up to 3.90 meters tall and weighed around 4-6 tons. Fossil discoveries in several locations, such as Sangiran and Ngandong, suggest that many Stegodon trigonocephalus fossils have been found alongside Homo erectus, suggesting they were a staple food for these ancient humans.

The discovery of the stegodon fossils has certainly further motivated archaeologists to find ancient human fossils in the Sumedang area. Moreover, ancient human tools made from stone have also been found in the area. Finding ancient human fossils in Sumedang is only a matter of time. It's not unreasonable; if found, they would be much older than those found in Central and East Java.

So far, the only Homo erectus fossils ever discovered in West Java are teeth from Rancah (Ciamis) in 1999, estimated to be 516,000–606,000 years old. For more information, the oldest Homo erectus fossils in Indonesia are femurs, jawbones, and tooth roots from Homo Erectus Bumiayuensis, discovered in 2025 in Bumi Ayu, estimated to be 1.7–1.8 million years old.

The discovery of early human fossils in Rancah suggests that humans may have inhabited western Java since the early Pleistocene, much longer than many previously assumed. These findings have given rise to a new perception that early humans arrived in Java earlier and spread more widely, including West Java, than traditionally believed.

Reflection

Although no ancient human fossils have been found, Sumedang holds great potential as a Pleistocene paleontological site in West Java. Besides its location in West Java, which is relatively underexplored compared to Central Java, the fossil finds are quite diverse, encompassing both megafauna and aquatic fauna. The geomorphological context is easily mapped, making it suitable for stratigraphic and paleoenvironmental studies.

Fossil finds of megafauna such as stegodons, giant turtles, crocodylians, suids, and cervids indicate the presence of a rich faunal community similar to that of major Pleistocene sites in Java. Paleoenvironmental reconstructions reveal a floodplain-savanna habitat mosaic that supported this diversity. To develop this site as a scientific reference, further research in the form of measured excavations, stratigraphic analysis, and absolute dating is needed.

Undoubtedly, Sumedang has now attracted the attention of archaeologists and paleontologists, not only from Indonesia but also from around the world. Sumedang is the center of Sundanese culture and civilization. As the Dutch saying goes, "Wie Sumedang bezoekt, begrijpt het hart van Soenda" (Whoever visits Sumedang understands the heart of Sunda)”.

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