Prehistoric Fossil Found: Sangiran, Central Java

The fossil of a prehistoric crocodile has been found at the Sangiran site in Saragen, 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.

The Sangiran prehistoric site, which is located partly in Kalijambe district in Sragen and Gondang Rejo district in Karanganyar, is divided into several categories. The oldest category is the Kalibeng formation, which belongs to the high Paleocene category. According to archeological experts, the Paleocene category signifies an era 1.5 million to five million years ago.

The Pleistocene category is further divided into three sub-categories, namely the Low Pleistocene, which covers the Pucangan formation, the Middle Pleistocene (Kabuh formation) and the High Pleistocene, namely the Notopuro formation.

“The Pucung area (where the fossil was discovered) belongs to the Kabuh formation,” Gunawan said.

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