Scientific publication of Gunung Padang as the Oldest Pyramid in the World Revoked, Why?

JAKARTA – Scientific publication that states Mount Padang in Cianjur, West Java, as the oldest pyramid in the world has been revoked Archaeological Prospection. The online journal stated the claim was a big mistake.

It is known that previously a scientific publication about Mount Padang succeeded in attracting a lot of attention because of its claim that the Gunung Padang site in Indonesia was the oldest pyramid in the world built by ancient humans.

According to the publication, Gunung Padang, which translates as “Mountain of Enlightenment,” was not formed naturally as a mountain but was carefully carved by ancient humans into a pyramid between 25,000 and 14,000 years ago.

This claim, if true, would be much older than the oldest pyramid in the world. And the team wrote this shows that sophisticated construction practices already existed when agriculture, perhaps, had not yet been discovered, reported IFL Sciene, Friday (22/3/2024).

Another thing that is in the spotlight is the claim that there are hidden cavities or rooms on the site. And recently other archaeologists were not at all convinced by the publication because the publication did not include strong evidence.

What’s more, Flint Dibble, an archaeologist at Cardiff University, UK, told Nature that the publication is telling Mount Padang as the oldest pyramid uses valid data but draws conclusions that cannot be justified.

For example, the team used carbon dating, claiming that organic soil dating of the structure revealed several stages of construction dating back thousands of years BC, with the earliest phases dating to the Palaeolithic era.

According to the team, soil samples from around the part of the mound that they consider to be the oldest part of the construction date back to 27,000 years ago. While this may be true, archaeologists further pointed out to Nature that these soil samples did not show signs such as bone fragments or charcoal that would indicate human activity.

In essence, without any more convincing signs of human activity nearby, the only evidence is very old soil. It was these concerns that led to the investigation and subsequent retraction by Archaeological Prospection.

“The publisher and Editor-in-Chief have investigated these concerns and concluded that the article contains substantial errors,” the journal explained in its retraction notice.

“This error, which was not identified during peer review, was that radiocarbon dating was applied to soil samples that were not associated with any artifacts or features that could be interpreted as anthropogenic or ‘man-made.’ Therefore, the interpretation that the site is an ancient pyramid built 9,000 years or more ago is incorrect, and the article should be retracted.”

(msf)