Analisis Strategi Subsistensi Manusia Purba Liang Bua, Flores Barat, Nusa Tenggara Timur

Liang Bua Site Cave is an important residential cave for the development of world history due to the existence in reserved evidences of human evolution in form of a discovery of different species hominins called Homo floresiensis. This particular hominin lived by hunting and gathering food. This present study aims at describing excavated endemic faunas in Liang Bua Site Cave and discussing the utilization of rats as the source of calories for Homo floresiensis in the end of Pleistocene era in Liang Bua. The data in this study are gathered through literature review, observation result from excavation, and interview. The data are analysed by employing qualitative analysis method and zooarchelogy analysis. Echological theory and subsistence theory are used as the rationale for reviewing how the utilization of environmental resources was done by human in the past. The findings of faunas in Liang Bua Cave Site are divided into two groups, namely endemic fauna’s group which is found in pleistocene layer, and modern faunas which is found in holocene layer. The endemic fauna’s group of Liang Bua consists of various species such as komodo (Varanus komodoensis), giant stork (Leptoptilos robustus), pygmy stegodon (Stegodon florensis insularis), and 8 rat species such as the giant Papagomys armandvilley (1000g-1200g), the huge Papagomys theodorverhoeveni (700g-1000g) and Spelaeomys florensis (600g-900g), the large Hooijeromys nusatenggara (450g-1000g), the medium Paulamys naso (200g-300g) and Komodomys rintjanus (140g), the small Rattus hainaldi and Rattus exulans (50g). These endemic faunas are discovered on the same layer as Homo floresiensis and associated with lithic artifacts. Therefore, it is assumed that Homo floresiensis hunted these faunas to sustain its life.