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View all search resultsFadli Zon’s ‘Out of Nusantara’ hypothesis meets pushback
Homo sapiens remains found in a cave in West Sumatra are among the proof used by Culture Minister Fadli Zon to support his ‘Out of Nusantara’ hypothesis, which suggests that ancient humans may have originated in the Indonesian archipelago, and not Africa, before spreading around the world.
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Culture Minister Fadli Zon (left) talks with Bogor Mayor Dedie A. Rachim (right) on Oct. 25 during a visit to Bumi Ageung Batutulis Museum in Bogor, West Java. Fadli visited the museum amid a plan to build a museum focused on telling the history of the ancient Sundanese kingdom of Pajajaran. (Antara/Arif Firmansyah)
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ulture Minister Fadli Zon, who holds a doctorate in history, has always supported fringe ideas regarding Indonesian history, stating that the Gunung Padang archaeological site in West Java and the Pithecanthropus erectus ancient human remains found there are the world’s oldest pyramid and human, respectively.
Now, the minister is promoting a hypothesis that ancient humans originated from the Indonesian archipelago; a claim that has met pushback from several archaeologists who pointed out the claim is lacking data and may be clouded by efforts to push a nationalistic narrative.
Fadli, who earned his doctoral degree in history from the University of Indonesia (UI), introduced what he called the “Out of Nusantara” theory in late October, suggesting early humans may have traveled from the ancient Indonesian archipelago to other continents.
“The existing theory, the ‘Out of Africa’ one, assumes that humans originated in Africa, with Homo erectus making its way to Europe and Asia before going extinct in Java,” the minister said, as quoted by Antara, referring to early humans believed to have lived from around 1.9 million years ago to about 150,000 years ago.
Fadli cited the 600,000-year-old remains of Homo sapiens found in Lida Ajer Cave in West Sumatra, as a basis for the theory.
He also noted more evidence could be found from the remains of the Homo erectus known as “Java man” looted by Dutch geologist Eugène Dubois in Java. The remains, along with more than 28,000 other fossils of the “Dubois collection”, are expected to be repatriated to Indonesia by year-end.
Read also: ‘Java Man’ return marks Indonesia-Netherlands reconciliation: Foreign Ministers
