Archaeologists challenge the theory of human-made Gunung Padang pyramid
In October of last year, a study published in the "Archeological Prospection" journal suggested that a hill in Indonesia is actually the oldest known pyramid, initially thought to be built by humans. Now, however, archaeologists suggest an entirely different force is responsible for its creation.
10:47 AM EST, November 30, 2023
The Gunung Padang Mountain, detailed by IFL Science, shows no signs of natural formation. At least, that was the finding of the report in "Archeological Prospection". The researchers of the study, led by Indonesian geologist Danny Hilman Natawidjaja, argued last month that the mountain was "carefully sculpted". They suggest that humans shaped the mountain to its current form thousands of years ago, somewhere between 25,000 and 14,000 years ago.
The study's authors also proposed concealed cavities and chambers are located within Gunung Padang, and the structure was repeatedly covered up in an effort to "conceal the pyramid's true identity for preservation purposes".
Challenging the study from "Archeological Prospection" is a piece published on Tuesday, November 28, in "Nature" magazine. The article quotes Flint Dibble, an archaeologist from the University of Cardiff in Great Britain, who states "the Indonesian study's conclusions regarding the mountain and its age are unsubstantiated".
Dibble asserts that no conclusive evidence exists to confirm that the pyramid's layers were crafted by humans and weren't simply the result of natural weathering and rock movement over centuries. Natawidjaja himself posits that the evidence of human involvement in the construction of Gunung Padang is a stone artifact resembling a dagger. However, Dibble counters by stating "there's no evidence of fabrication or any other indication that the artifact is man-made".
In "Nature", we learn further that in the region where the aforementioned mountain was formed, inhabitants from 12,000 to 6,000 years ago left no signs implying they possessed the "extraordinary masonry skills" needed to construct a pyramid in Indonesia. What's more, soil samples from the area surrounding Gunung Padang didn't contain any bones or charcoal - additional proof contradicting Natawidjaja's theory that humans were behind the pyramid's construction.
So, in accordance with the information published in "Nature", the Gunung Padang pyramid was, in actuality, shaped by nature itself. Time-tested weathering procedures and the shifting of rocks over thousands of years are thought to be responsible for this monumental creation.
