Reconstructing Agricultural Activities Of Belitung Malay Community In The Past:The Use Of Traditional Knowledge In Archaeological Interpretation

Abstract

Ethnographic data is a bridge between archaeological data and past behavior based on comparisons with traditional knowledge that are still ongoing today. Ethnographic approaches have made significant contributions to knowledge about past agriculture. This article aims to reconstruct the past agricultural activities of the Sungapadang Village community based on traditional knowledge preserved in today's society. Thus this research uses a cultural continuity model approach by observing archaeological remains and present agricultural activities. Interviews were conducted with village elders and traditional leaders of Sungaipadang village to find out the community's traditional knowledge about agricultural activities. The data was classified and then compared to produce a pattern that describes the relationship between material culture and behavior today. The existence of archaeological remains indicates a past settlement was in the interior of the Padang River watershed. The ceramic fragments indicate that the settlement was from the XIII-XIV centuries to the early XX centuries. The division of labor system reflects the characteristics of pre-industrial society. A trading system carries out through intermediaries and interactions allegedly occurring in certain places. The agricultural activities in Sungaipadang village of the present day reflect the agricultural activities of the Sungaipadang village community in the past. The community still holds the traditional values of the Belitung Malay community. Several agricultural activities carried out by the community have changed. They are no longer planting rice. These plants have been replaced by pepper and oil palm.