section_path: History/Early history
section_name: Early history
paragraph_text: Early history
  
  The Indonesian archipelago has been inhabited since the time of homo erectus or " Java Man," with fossils dating back 2 million to 500,000 BCE. Fossils of homo floresiensis, found on Flores, date around 700,000 to 60,000 BCE, while homo sapiens arrived around 43,000 BCE. Sulawesi and Borneo are home to the world's oldest known cave paintings, dating back 40,000 to 60,000 years, and megalithic sites such as western Java's Gunung Padang, Sulawesi's Lore Lindu, as well as Sumatra's Nias and Sumba reflect early human settlements and ceremonial practices.
  
  Around 2,000 BCE, Austronesian peoples began arriving in Southeast Asia from the island now known as Taiwan, gradually displacing native Melanesians to the far eastern part of the archipelago as they spread east, and would eventually form the majority of Indonesia's modern population. Favourable agricultural conditions and advancements like wet-field rice cultivation by the 8th century BCE enabled the growth of villages and kingdoms by the first century CE. The archipelago's strategic location fostered inter-island and international exchange with civilisations from the Indian subcontinent and mainland China, profoundly influencing Indonesian history and culture through trade.
  
  By the 7th century CE, the Srivijaya naval kingdom thrived on trade, adopting Hindu and Buddhist influences. The 8th to 10th centuries saw the rise and decline of the Buddhist Sailendra and Hindu Mataram dynasties, leaving monumental legacies like the Borobudur and Prambanan temples. After the failed Mongol invasion of Java in the late 13th century, the Hindu Majapahit kingdom rose to dominate much of the archipelago under Gajah Mada 's leadership—a period often called the "Golden Age" of Indonesian history. Islam arrived in the 13th century in northern Sumatra, and following gradual adoption in other islands, it became the dominant religion in Java and Sumatra by the 16th century, blending with pre-existing traditions to form a distinct Islamic culture, particularly in Java.