was carried out during the peak of the Majapahit kingdom in the middle of the fourteenth century by Npu Prapanca, as affirmed by several cantos of the Nagara Krtagama [Book of Royal Ode/Hymn] (Krom 1920, 1926, 1, 2, 47; Pigeaud 1960–1963, vol. 3).

The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries

Descriptions of ancient objects and remains increased with the arrival of European powers in Indonesia. Many merchants, scholars, soldiers, civil servants, naturalists, travelers, priests, etc. (Koentjaraningrat 1958, 15–48) wrote about their experiences and Indonesia’s curiosities as they explored the Indonesian archipelago (Rumphius 1705). Their descriptions included not only local traditions, history, and the economic situation but also prehistoric remains. Some descriptions, particularly during the eighteenth century, were in the form of reports and were later supplemented with more accurate observations of archaeological objects, such as the measurement of the Prambanan Temple by F. van Boeckholtz in 1790. The foundation of the Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen (Batavian Society of Arts and Sciences) in 1778 had a great impact on research into the history, traditions, and archaeological remains of Indonesia.

During the nineteenth century, there was an increase in activity in several archaeological domains. Apart from more extensive observations, particularly of Hindu Buddhist temples (or candis), methods of dealing with the problems posed by ancient remains became more advanced. Archaeological activities were primarily of a documentary nature, with particular emphasis on candis, and they took the form of drawings (by H. Cornelius, H.N. Sieburgh, C.J. van der Vlis, F.C. Wilsen), photographs (by J. van Kinsbergen), inventories (by F. Junghuhn), restorations (e.g., of Mendut), and excavations (such as the temples on the Dieng Plateau). Systematic surveys and documentation (by J.F.G. Bramund, C. Leemans, W.P. Groeneveldt, R.D.M. Verbeek, J. Crawfurd, T.S. Raffles, etc.) are still important sources of information about Indonesia’s past. Other European methods of site recording, such as the making of glass negatives of the Borobudur monument by A. Shaefer in 1845, were used with little success in Indonesia.

Other activities in prehistory undertaken during this century (Soejono 1969) included the grouping or classification of rectangular axes (C. N. Pleyte and others), a great interest in megalithic remains (H. E. Steinmetz and others), and the provenance of bronze kettledrums (jens jacob worsaae, A.B. Meyer, and others). By far the most significant achievement in prehistory during the nineteenth century was the discovery of Pithecanthropus erectus (Java Man) by eugene dubois at Trinil, on the island of Java, in 1891.

Interest in Indonesia’s Islamic past and observations and recordings of Islamic remains were minimal during this period. However, some fieldwork in this area included reports on the discovery of ancient gravestones in Aceh (1884) and a plan for the documentation (drawings, photographs, rubbings) and restoration of Islamic remains (Tjandrasasmita 1977). Many observers of ancient remains such as candis, megaliths, and bronze artifacts concluded that they were Hindu in origin. This observation was often the consequence of British archaeological activity in India and the structural resemblance between temple complexes and statues of deities or gods in Indonesia and those in India.

The increase of interest in ancient relics led to some attempts to establish a specific organization concerned with field archaeology, such as the Commissie tot het Opsporen, Verzamelen, en Bewaren van Oudheidkundige Voorwerpen (Commission for the Discovery, Collection, and Conservation of Ancient Objects) in 1822, but such attempts were unsuccessful. The private sector attempted to assist in archaeological research by founding the Archaeologische Vereeniging (Archaeological Society) in 1885, chaired by the engineer J.W. Ijzerman. He succeeded in exposing the basement of the Borobudur Temple decorated with Karmawibangga reliefs, which is, at present, covered by the lower terrace.

The foundations for the development of archaeology as a discipline in Indonesia were created by the Dutch in the fields of documentation, restoration, excavation, and interpretation.