Who were the first indonesians?

Answer 1

The first Indonesians were peoples who probably originated in the Southern China area, but left it around 10 000 BC. They arrived in the archipelage c 6000 BC and spread throughout it gradually, and also into the Pacific Islands. Even Madagascar, off Africa was colonised by people from Indonesia.

These people spoke what is called Austronesian languages, which gradually developed into the Malay-Indonesian, Polynesian, Melanesian, and Madagascan languages of today.

They appear to have been animist in religion ie they were ancestor and spirit worshippers.

They traded with South-East Asia, eventually learning the use of metals. They worshipped at sanctuaries of stone piles much like the Polynesian marae. Their houses were wood, and they buried their dead in animal shaped sarcophagi.

They probably ate sago and tapioca. If they used rice, they cultivated it by slash and burn. Wet rice cultivation came much later from South East Asia.

They were excellent navigators and boat-builders. They probably wore tapa( beaten bark) clothing, but learnt to weave and dye (ikat).

They had domesticated animals, probably pigs and chickens. Fish would have been a major part of their diet, as were vegetables and fruits which grew both naturally and under cultivation.

In the past, much was made of there having been two waves of Austronesians, called Proto and Deutero Malays, but this has been largely discredited. Instead, the arrival of the Indonesian peoples was most likely to have been gradual rather than in waves.

Answer 2

the Australians were the first to arrive in Indonesia.

Answer 3

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