Today, the development of archeology as a science has progressed very rapidly. Since it emerged and solidified as a scientific discipline in Indonesia in the early twentieth century—with the main attention focused solely on the buildings at that time—archeology immediately reached out to the study of artifacts, especially for various prehistoric remains, from the paleolithic to iron-bronze levels. From the Pleistocene to the Holocene, when prehistory ended about 1,700 years ago.
The rapid progress of archeology is also supported by the proliferation of other disciplines involved in its working mechanism, such as geology, paleoanthropology, paleontology, or paleobotany, to name a few examples. On the other hand, modern methods and techniques to uncover the past are also very intensely involved. Various radiometric dating techniques are very helpful in determining the absolute date of archaeological objects. Since then, the orientation of archaeological studies has changed and has become more meaningful: the orientation of artifacts and buildings immediately shifts to an environmental orientation.
The idea and analysis of archaeological objects is increasingly directed to the relationship between humans and their environment, and the pressures of nature on humans have forced humans to adapt to the environment. If he is able to overcome nature—by creating cultural objects, for example—he will survive, and vice versa if he is not empowered, he will run aground. Humans, nature, and culture are three interrelated factors and inseparable in a modern archaeological study, especially for prehistoric studies.
Among the few archaeologists who focus on the relationship between humans, culture, and the environment, Prof. Dr. Truman Simanjuntak—a reliable prehistory—who consistently looks at the 3 main components for the archaeological studies he does. For him, it is not only "wadag" that he observes, but also "soul" which is very meaningful to "enliven" the material culture. Sampling for dating tests is “soul”, one thing that is very important to him. As a result, the product of a research by Mr. Truman is increasingly meaningful in presenting the reconstruction of the human past: a more vivid picture, a horizon of past information that is more clearly visible and easy to understand.
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