The presence of Koenigswald on earth sangiran at that time brought a change in the perception of the people who initially considered the fossils as “Balung Buto” then slowly turned into fossils studied by Koenigswald. Changes in people’s perceptions which then followed changes in community behavior.
The community accepts a change that was not previously known, namely looking for fossils which were then handed over to koenigswald for compensation. Besides being rewarded, the community is also given knowledge about fossils which results in changing people’s perceptions that consider fossils as economic value goods. Changes were initiated by Koenigswald research in Sangiran.
Sulistyanto (2003, 139-141) state the reasons why koenigswald can change people’s perceptions because:
- Have high credibility and empathy towards the Sangiran community
- The wage and bonus system introduced by von koenigswald greatly benefited the Sangiran population
- The nature of new ideas does not conflict with culture
These three things make von koenigswald able to change people’s perceptions so that they can help in his research. In his research von koenigswald mobilized the community to search for fossils, people were given knowledge about fossils. The knowledge given by von koenigswald as for example in determining which original fossils are not, which are important which are less meaningful, fossil search techniques and how to protect them. (Sulistyanto, 2003, 103-104). (Wiwit Hermanto) translated by: Mutiara Sholikah
