The Dubois Collection, currently patrimony of the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden (the Netherlands), is a contested assemblage of fossils and personal archival material pertaining to the...Show moreThe Dubois Collection, currently patrimony of the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden (the Netherlands), is a contested assemblage of fossils and personal archival material pertaining to the Dutch palaeontology and paleoanthropologist Marie Eugène François Thomas Dubois (1858 – 1940). Most notably, the collection contains a skullcap and femurs belonging to the ancient hominid ancestor Homo Erectus. These finds were dubbed ‘Java Man’ and constitute the earliest physical evidence that the human lineage has been subject to evolution according to Darwinian principles of selection and adaptation. While these have always been a subject of great interest to the scientific community, the historicity of the Collection and particularly the contested status of these fossils have attracted much less academic interest over the last 12 decades. This changed when a formal request by the government of Indonesia for restitution of the Dubois Collection was filed with the Dutch government in October 2022. A state commission is now deliberating on the rightful place of residence for the Dubois Collection. Because there is a possibility that the Java Man fossils may remain with their current stewards at Naturalis in Leiden, it is worthwhile to examine their exhibition history and investigate how the current permanent exhibition seeks to educate the public about the historical context in which these fossils were acquired. This text questions whether the permanent exhibition on Dubois and Java Man in Naturalis Biodiversity Center reflects a commitment to researching and informing the public about the historical context in which the Dubois Collection was acquired. It describes the exhibition history of the Dubois Collection and particularly the Java Man fossils and critically examines the narrative that has been presented in these exhibitions. Particularly, this text argues that the perceived differences between natural history and material culture collections are instrumental in explaining why the current permanent exhibition falls short of educating the public about the historical context in which the Java Man fossils were acquired. It also elaborates on the public statements made by museum staff to further contextualise the possible motivations for making certain design choices in this exhibition.Show less
The Trinil site became famous through the discovery of Pithecanthropus erectus, now called Homo erectus, in 1891 by Dubois. It is considered as an important starting point in the history of...Show moreThe Trinil site became famous through the discovery of Pithecanthropus erectus, now called Homo erectus, in 1891 by Dubois. It is considered as an important starting point in the history of paleoanthropology and therefore a key site for the study of the evolution of humankind. After Dubois finished his excavations in 1900, it was Selenka in 1907 who tried to confirm the important findings by additional excavations at the same site. Later research by Soeradi et al. (1985) and recently by Joordensand colleagues. (2009, 2015), showed that the site still is interesting and can evoke unresolved questions concerning dating of the first hominins on Java as well as their environmental contexts. The main goal of this thesis was to assess the potential the site still may have for future paleoanthropological research, in order to solve still remaining questions on dating and the biotic and abiotic environment of early hominins at Trinil. Therefore the existing (mainly published) excavation data produced by the teams of Dubois and Selenka were summarized, and the site locations were contextualized within a modern geographical map. Historical data, extant photographic material and a 2014 field trip to the location form the core material for this thesis. Based on these data it can be concluded that although most of the site is under water, still some edge structures of the excavations of Dubois and Selenka are visible today. It also can be concluded that it is possible to reconstruct the excavation areas and georeference them on a recent map. However the suggested georeferencing of the trenches has to be confirmed by additional studies at location. The evaluation of the archaeological potential of the Trinil are to access the fossil containing layer, the so called ‘Hauptknochenschicht’ (HK layer), is based on the fieldwork carried out by Dubois and Selenka, and on the geomorphological and geological maps produced by Soeradi et al. (1985). From this it can be concluded that the left bank south of the Dubois and Selenka excavations is the most promising area. Also the left bank directly east of the excavation pits has a reasonable potential. Studying the right bank east of the excavation pits might be interesting as no data are available yet. As there are still unresolved questions concerning the site’s lithostratigraphy, the age of the Trinil fauna, including the Homo erectus material, and the homogeneity of the HK layer, new archaeological/paleoanthropological studies in collaboration with the National Centre of Archaeology in Indonesia are promising and have to be encouragedShow less
