Binatang Totem pada Seni Cadas Prasejarah di Sulawesi Selatan

Abstract. Totemic Animals in the Prehistoric Rock Art of South Sulawesi. Prehistoric rock art motifs in South Sulawesi are hand motifs, animal motifs, boat motifs, anthropomorphic motifs, and geometric motif. Animal motifs, which include fish, turtles, birds, and mammals, are depicted in 25 of 90 prehistoric caves in the region. Research on prehistoric rock art in 2014 shows that one of the pig motifs is dated ± 35,400 years ago. Based on the diverse animal motifs depicted and the latest dating that puts the rock art area into a very old period, research on the cultural context of animal motifs on the prehistoric rock art in South Sulawesi is an interesting thing. In accordance with the research's aim, this study is focused on animal motifs. Other motifs in the prehistoric rock art region of Sulawesi, such as anthropomorphic and geometric that allegedly have their own distinct meanings in the cultural context, require other specific investigations. This study employed a quantitative method on 86 pictures which consist of 17 animal motifs in ten caves in Maros regency, thirteen caves in Pangkep regency, and two caves in Bone regency, South Sulawesi. The application of that method to the prehistoric rock art in South Sulawesi place the cultural context in the cultural phenomenon, which is defined by experts as totemism.