Secara umum, suku Jawa menempati wilayah bagian tengah dan timur pulau Jawa yang dahulu kala dikenal dengan nama Jawa dwipa. Hingga kini anak keturunannya telah tersebar ke berbagai pulau di Indonesia bahkan hingga sampai ke berbagai penjuru dunia, seperti di Suriname dam Kaledonia Baru. Di Indonesia sendiri, kini suku Jawa sendiri merupakan suku terbesar dengan populasi mencapai 41,7% dari total penduduk Indonesia.
In general, the tribe of Java occupies the territory of central and eastern Java Island that long ago known as the Java Dwipa. Until now, its descendants spread to various islands in Indonesia, even down to the various corners of the world, such as in Surinam and New Caledonia. In Indonesia, the Javanese are now the largest tribe with a population reaching 41.7% of the total population of Indonesia.
Diperkirakan, nenek moyang suku Jawa sendiri telah menempati pulau Jawa sejak 1.8 hingga 1 juta tahun yang lalu. Pada masa itu di daerah Jawa Tengah dan Timur merupakan lembah ,yang sebelah selatan dibatasi pegunungan Selatan, sebelah utara oleh Gunung Kendeng. Lembah itu sebagian besar berupa danau dan rawa-rawa. Di sebelah timur lembah berupa lautan. Di tengah lembah ada gunung antara lain Gunung Lawu Purba dan Gunung Wilis. (Negoro, -)
It was predicted that the Javanese’s ancestors had occupied the island of Java from 1.8 to 1 million years ago. At that time, in Central and East Java region is the valley, which is adjacent to the mountains of the South, in the north is adjacent to Mount Kendeng. The valley is mostly in the form of lakes and swamps. In the east of the valley is ocean. In the middle of the valley there were mountains including Mount Lawu and Mount Wilis
Diperkirakan kehidupan manusia purba sudah dimulai pada masa itu, mereka menempati sekitar rawa dan muara sungai Cemoro yang bersumber dari gunung Merapi. Di sekitar sungai Cemoro itulah Homo Erektus atau yang dikenal dengan istilah Java man tinggal. Penemuan fossil manusia purba di beberapa daerah lain di pulau jawa, seperti fosil manusia purba di Trinil, Ngawi, Jawa Timur (Pithecanthropus Erectus) oleh Eugene Dubuis; di daerah Sangiran sekitar tahun 1930 hingga tahun 1934 ditemukan alat-alat dari batu oleh J.P. van Es serta GHR von Koenigswald juga membuktikan bahwa di tanah jawa telah didiami oleh manusia sejak ribuan bahkan jutaan tahun yang lalu.
It was predicted that primordial man's life had already begun at that time (1.8 up to 1 million year ago), they occupied around swamps and the estuary river of Cemoro that sourced from Mount Merapi. In the vicinity of the Cemoro River, Homo erectus or known as the Java man lived. The discovery of primordial human fossils in some other areas on the island of Java, such as primordial human fossils in Trinil, Ngawi, East Java (Pithecanthropus Erectus) by Eugene Dubuis; in Sangiran area around in 1930 up to1934 had been found some tools of the stone by JP Van Es, and GHR Von Koenigswald, these discoveries also proved that in the land of Java has been inhabited by humans since thousands or even millions of years ago.
Peradaban Jawa
Javanese Civilization
Secara jelas belum ada keterangan yang menyebutkan kapan peradaban pertama di tanah Jawa dimulai, namun bukti sejarah mengenai adanya peninggalan peradaban Jawa kuno ditemukan di berbagai tempat di bagian tengah pulau Jawa, mulai dari Dataran Tinggi Dieng hingga ujung gugusan pegunungan kapur di selatan pulau Jawa yang disebut Dataran Tinggi Siwa.
Up to now, there had been no statements stating when the first civilization in the Island of Java did were begun, although historical evidences on the existence survival of the ancient civilization of Javanese were found in several places in the central of Java Island, ranging from the plateau of Dieng up to the tip cluster of limestone mountains in the south island of Java, called Highlands of Shiva.
Dimungkinkan peradaban Jawa kuno mulai sejak masuknya pengaruh Hindu-Budha ke pulau Jawa, keberadaan sejumlah candi di Datarang Tinggi Dieng yang beraliran Siwa yang dibangun sekitar abad ke-7 hingga abab ke-8 masehi menunjukan kepada kita bahwa pada masa itu nenek moyang orang Jawa sudah merupakan sebuah masyarakat yang mempunyai peradaban tinggi. Jauh sebelum masuknya pengaruh Hindu-Buddha ke pulau Jawa, dipastikan sudah ada kebudayaan lokal yang terlebih dahulu ada sebelum masa itu, namun belum ada penemuan arkeologis yang memperkuat keyakinan mengenai bagaimana peradaban orang Jawa sebelum era masuknya pengaruh Hindu-Buddha ke pulau Jawa.
It was possible that the ancient Javanese civilization had begun since the era of entering of Hindu-Buddha in to the island of Java. The existence of several temples in the Plateau of Dieng, which is Shiva style were built around in the 7th or 8th century. It was shown us that at that time the Javanese’s ancestor were a highly civilization communities that had already existed far away before the entering of Hinduism or Buddhism in the island. It was also possibly that there was a local civilization that already exist at the period, yet up to now, there were no archeological discoveries that can enforce the belief on how the Javanese civilization before the era of entering Hinduism and Buddhism in to the island of Java.
(sumber: http://jagadkejawen.com/id/negeri-dan-penduduk/orang-jawa ,http://www.indonesiakuno.com/?p=2785 , http://suarajogja.net/2009/09/peninggalan-peradaban-jawa-kuno/ , www.maridjan.multiply.com )
