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19 - Monkey Hunting in Early to Mid-Holocene Eastern Java (Indonesia)

from Part IV - Asia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 August 2022

By
Noel Amano ,
Thomas Ingicco ,
Anne-Marie Moigne ,
Anne-Marie Sémah ,
Truman Simanjuntak  and
François Sémah
Edited by
Bernardo Urbani ,
Dionisios Youlatos  and
Andrzej T. Antczak
Bernardo Urbani
Affiliation:
Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research
Dionisios Youlatos
Affiliation:
Aristotle University, Thessaloniki
Andrzej T. Antczak
Affiliation:
Universiteit Leiden
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Summary

In this chapter, we explore the patterns of nonhuman primate exploitation in Early to Mid-Holocene East Java by looking at the faunal assemblage recovered from excavations in Braholo Cave. Cercopithecid specimens account for more than 50% of the animal remains recovered from the site. Of these, 90% were identified to represent the Javan langur (Trachypithecus auratus), suggesting deliberate hunting of this arboreal species. Age-at-death profiles demonstrate targeting of prime-aged adults and skeletal element representation suggests onsite carcass processing. We observed consistent placement of butchery marks on specific skeletal elements, indicative of routine carcass processing that also involved preparation of skeletal elements for bone tool manufacture. We discuss our findings in the framework of early hunter-gatherer subsistence economies in the region.

Keywords

Human–Nonhuman primate interactions, Holocene, Subsistence economy, Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Java

Type
Chapter
Information
World Archaeoprimatology
Interconnections of Humans and Nonhuman Primates in the Past
 , pp. 474 - 496
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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