History of Bali
The island of Bali, like most of the islands of the Indonesian archipelago, is the result of the tectonic subduction of the Indo-Australian plate under the Eurasian plate. The tertiary ocean floor, made of ancient marine deposits including accumulation of coral reefs, was lifted above the sea level by the subduction. Layers of Tertiary limestone lifted from the ocean floor are still visible in areas such as the Bukit peninsula with the huge limestone cliffs of Uluwatu, or in the northwest of the island at Prapat Agung.Volcanic activity has been intense through the ages, and most of the surface of the island has been covered by volcanic magma. Some old deposits remain (older than 1 million years), while most of the central part of the island is covered by young volcanic deposits (less than 1 million years), with some very recent lava fields in the northeast due to the catastrophic eruption of Mount Agung in 1963.
Volcanic activity, due to the thick deposits of ashes and the soil fertility it generates, has also been a strong factor in the agricultural prosperity of the island.
At the edge of the subduction, Bali is also at the edge of the continental Sunda shelf, just west of the Wallace line, and was at time connected to the neighbouring island of Java, particularly during the lowering of the sea level in the Ice Ages. Its fauna and flora are therefore Asian.
The ancient occupation of Java itself is accredited by the findings of the Java man, dated between 1.7 and 0.7 million years old, one of the 1st known specimens of Homo erectus.
A Mesolithic period has also been identified, characterized by advanced food gathering and hunting. This period yields more sophisticated tools, such as arrow points, and also tools made of animal or fish bones. They lived in temporary caves, such as those found in the Pecatu hills of the Badung regency, such as the Selanding and the Karang Boma caves.
From around 3000 to 600 BCE, a Neolithic culture emerges, characterized by a new wave of inhabitants bringing rice-growing technology and speaking Austronesian languages. These Austronesian peoples seem to have migrated from South China, probably through the Philippines and Sulawesi. Their tools included rectangular adzes and red slipped decorated pottery.
Forests and jungles were cleared for the establishment of cultures and villages. They also made some plaited craft and a small boat was also found. Their culinary habits included pork-eating and betel-chewing. They are thought to have focused on mountain cults. They buried some of their more prestigious dead in oval stone sarcophagi, with human heads or zoomorphic figures sculpted on them. The bodies were either deposited in the sleeping position, or folded in two or three for compactness.
An important neolithic archaeological site in Bali is that of Cekik, in the western part of the island.
These same Austronesian people are thought to have continued their expansion eastward, to occupy Melanesian and Polynesian islands around 2000 years ago. The cultural traits of this period are still clearly visible in the culture of Bali today, and connect it to the cultures of Southeast Asia and the Pacific Ocean.
A Bronze Age period follows, from around 600 BCE to 800 CE. Between the 8th and 3rd century BCE, the island of Bali acquired the "Dong Son" metallurgical techniques spreading from Northern Vietnam. These techniques involved sophisticated casting from moulds, with spiral and anthropomorphic motifs.
As mould fragments have been found in the area of Manuaba in Bali, it is thought that such implements were manufactured locally rather than imported. The raw material to make bronze had to be imported however, as it isn't available on Bali.
Numerous bronze tools and weapons were made, and ceremonial drums from that period are also found in abundance, such as the "Moon of Pejeng", the largest ceremonial drum yet found in Southeast Asia, dated to around 300 BCE.
The stone sarcophagi were still in use during that period, as bronze artefacts were also found in them.
| Bronze Age spear. | - |
| Decorated spear tip. | - |
| Heart-shaped spear | tip. |
| Bronze earrings. | - |
This period is generally closely associated with the arrival and expansion of Buddhism and Hinduism in the island of Bali. The Belanjong pillar in southern Sanur was inscribed in 914 with the mention of the reign of the Balinese king Sri Kesari. It is written in both the Indian Sanskrit language and Old Balinese language, using two scripts, the Nagari script and the Old Balinese script (which is used to write both Balinese and Sanskrit). The pillar testifies to the connections of Bali with the Sanjaya Dynasty in Central Java. It is dated according to the Indian Shaka calendar. According to the inscription, Sri Kesari was a Buddhist king of the Sailendra Dynasty leading a military expedition, to establish a Mahayana Buddhist government in Bali.
The stone temple of Goa Gajah was made around the same period, and shows a combination of Buddhist and Hindu iconography.
Inter-marriages between Java and Bali royalty also occurred, as when king Udayana Warmadewa of the Warmadewa dynasty of Bali married a Javanese princess, sister of the Emperor of Java Dharmawangsa. Their son became the great ruler of East Java Airlangga, who ruled on both Java and Bali. In the 12th century, descendant of Airlangga are also known to have ruled over Bali, such as Jayasakti and Jayapangus (1178รข€"81).
The island of Java again started to encroach significantly on Bali with the invasion of Singarasi king Kertanegara in 1284. Kertanegara was then toppled by Raden Wijaya, founder of the Majapahit Empire.
Related Sites for History of Bali
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