24 April 2007 (Jakarta Post) – The fossil of a prehistoric crocodile has been found in Sangiran, already famous for being the site of the discovery of Java Man.
Prehistoric crocodile fossil found in Sangiran
The fossil of a prehistoric crocodile has been found at the Sangiran site in Sragen, Central Java, by a local resident.
“The first bit (of the fossil) that I found was the teeth of its upper jaw,” Mulyono, 31, told reporters at the Sangiran Fossil Laboratory on Monday.
Mulyono explained that the finding was quite by chance, as he was digging an irrigation gutter in his rice field. “Suddenly, I found the fossil,” Mulyono said. The discovery was made Friday and the excavation was carried out the next day.
On Monday, a number of employees from the Sangiran laboratory were still busy cleaning the fossil, which has a diameter of 49 centimeters and a length of 95 centimeters.
Gunawan, one of the employees, said the fossil was believed to have come from the Middle Pleistocene era, about 1.6 million years ago. “This is still a preliminary estimation, taking into consideration the location of the discovery at a hilly area in Pucung village in Kalijambe district, which has been classified in the Kabuh formation or the Middle Pleistocene era,” he said.
So far there has been no formal statement on how scientists will calculate the age of the fossil. “This is still being studied by archeological experts from the Sangiran Museum,” Gunawan said.
Related Books:
– Ancient History (The Indonesian Heritage Series) by Indonesian Heritage
– Prehistoric Indonesia: A reader
