Braholo Cave (Excavation Unit G6, Assemblage 3)
Basic information
Sample name: Braholo Cave (Excavation Unit G6, Assemblage 3)

Reference: N. Amano, A.-M. Moigne, T. Ingicco, F. Sémah, R. D. Awe, and T. Simanjuntak. 2016. Subsistence strategies and environment in Late Pleistocene-Early Holocene Eastern Java: Evidence from Braholo Cave. Quaternary International 416:46-63 [ER 3073]
Geography
Country: Indonesia

State: Central Java



Coordinate: 8° 4' 52" S, 110° 45' 19" E
Coordinate basis: stated in text

Time interval: Late Pleistocene

Section: 3073

Unit number: 3

Unit order: above to below

Ma: 0.018734

Age basis: radiocarbon (calibrated)

Geography comments: "Braholo Cave is located on the western part of the Gunung Sewu (‘Thousand Mountains’) region of Central Java in the regency of Gunung Kidul close to the village of Semugih. The cave is on the western slope of a ca. 45 m high limestone hill, 15 m above the modern village road".
"Assemblage 3 has a radiocarbon date of 18,734 ± 153 cal. BP, placing it around the time of the Last Glacial Maximum".

Environment
Substrate: ground surface

Lithology: claystone

Taphonomic context: cave,human accumulation

Archaeology: stone tools

Habitat comments: "The site is composed of two very distinct sedimentary deposits: an upper and chronologically younger loose reddish brown sandy clay deposit that extends from 30 to around 200 cm below the surface (Assemblage 1) and a dark brown silty clay deposit found from around 200 to 700 cm (Aseemblages 2-4). Numerous hearths and concentrations of burnt animal bones were recorded within the reddish brown sandy clay deposit. No hearths were found in the dark brown silty clay deposit".
"Braholo Cave produced numerous archaeological materials ranging from polished stone adzes and pottery in the first 50 cm of deposits to more than 50,000 flakes and stone tool fragments from the lower stratigraphical levels. Assemblage 3 of excavation square G6 (310–510 cm) was composed of heavily abraded and fragmented specimens from the dark brown silty clay deposit".

Methods
Life forms: primates,rodents,ungulates,other small mammals,lizards,snakes

Sampling methods: quarry

Sample size: 44 specimens

Years: 1997 - 2001

Sampling comments: "Excavations in Braholo Cave were undertaken between 1997 and 2001. A total of 17 pits were opened during the excavations. The archaeological investigations were limited to the northwest region of the cave because of the huge limestone boulders and collapsed stalactites in the southern portion of the cave. The deepest squares (O8 and G6) reached a maximum depth of 7.3 m. The basal occupation layers were presumed to have not been reached since excavations in most squares were halted due of the presence of huge limestone boulders. A stratified sampling strategy was employed to account for the stark difference in the total number of bone fragments represented in each analytical assemblage".

Metadata
Sample number: 4072

Contributor: Benjamin Carter

Enterer: Benjamin Carter

Created: 2023-02-20 11:04:32

Modified: 2023-04-29 00:32:39

Abundance distribution
13 species
6 singletons
total count 44
geometric series index: 34.5
Fisher's α: 6.227
geometric series k: 0.8076
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.8309
Shannon's H: 2.1121
Good's u: 0.8667
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts.
Register
Python sp.6
Varanus sp.2
Trachypithecus auratus110 kg
2 Cercopithecidae indet.
Leopoldamys sp.1
Niviventer sp.1
11 Muridae indet.
Crocidura sp.1
Tragulus sp.1
Suidae indet.2
Muntiacus muntjak119 kg browser
Axis sp.2
Cervus sp.4
"Rusa sp.", also 38 Cervidae indet.
Bos sp.13
Bubalus sp.9
56 Bovidae indet.