Harry Truman Simanjuntak

Born 27 August 1951 in Pematangsiantar, North Sumatra, he first studied law in Medan and Yogyakarta and received a bachelor's degree in law, but later followed his main interest and earned a bachelor's degree in archaeology in 1979 at Gajah Mada University. His post-graduate studies brought him to the {{ill|Institut de paléontologie humaine|fr}} in Paris, where he obtained a master's degree in 1987 and a Ph.D. in 1991.{{cite web |author=Iskandar Zulkarnain |date=22 August 2015 |title=LIPI Sarwono Award 2015 |url=http://lipi.go.id/berita/truman-simanjuntak-penerima-lipi-sarwono-award-tahun-2015/11164 |publisher=Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia (LIPI) |access-date=26 November 2022 |archive-date=28 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228040545/http://lipi.go.id/berita/truman-simanjuntak-penerima-lipi-sarwono-award-tahun-2015/11164 |url-status=dead }}{{cite book |last=Widianto |first=Harry |year=2017 |chapter=Prolog: Truman Simantjuntak, Sang Peneliti Sejati |editor=Harry Widianto|title=Jejak Austronesia Di Indonesia |location=Yogyakarta |publisher=Gajah Mada University Press}}

He worked as a researcher at the {{ill|Yogyakarta Bureau of Archaeology|id|Balai Arkeologi Yogyakarta}} until 1986. Following his return from Paris, he has worked at the {{ill|National Research Center for Archaeology|id|Pusat Penelitian Arkeologi Nasional}} from 1992 until present.{{cite web |title=Harry Truman Simanjuntak |url=https://arkenas.kemdikbud.go.id/biography/employee/195108271977031001#gsc.tab=0 |publisher=Pusat Penelitian Arkeologi Nasional |access-date=26 November 2022}} In 2007, he founded the Center for Prehistory and Austronesian Studies. He was awarded in 2015 with the Sarwono Award of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences.{{cite news |author=Aloysius Budi Kurniawan |date=27 August 2021 |title=Truman Simanjuntak: Arkeolog Jangan Pernah Puas Hanya di Belakang Meja |language=id |trans-title=Truman Simanjuntak: The archaeologist who is never content just to stay behind his desk |website=Kompas |url=https://www.kompas.id/baca/dikbud/2021/08/27/truman-simanjuntak-arkeolog-jangan-pernah-puas-hanya-di-belakang-meja |access-date=26 November 2022}}{{cite web |author=Ratih Anbarini |date=20 August 2015 |title=Harry Truman Simanjuntak, 38 Tahun Mengabdi di Dunia Arkeologi |language=id |trans-title=Harry Truman Simanjuntak, 38 years of service in the world of archaeology |url=https://www.kemdikbud.go.id/main/blog/2015/08/harry-truman-simanjuntak-38-tahun-mengabdi-di-dunia-arkeologi--4517-4517-4517 |publisher=Ministry of Education and Culture |access-date=26 November 2022}}

Truman Simanjuntak engaged in fieldwork in most parts of Indonesia. He studied archaic human remains from the Paleolithic in Jawa, Sumatera, Kalimatan, Sumba, and the Maluku Islands. He led excavations of the early modern human inhabitants of Indonesia from the Late Paleolithic to the Neolithic, and also studied Megalithic and early Metal Age sites. According to Truman Simanjuntak, the Indonesian archipelago has harbored a wide cultural diversity from prehistorical times until now. Based on archaeological evidence from distinct pottery styles, he proposes a two-way entry of the Neolithic populations of western Indonesia: the Eastern Route Migration from the northeast, connected to the Austronesian expansion, and the Western Route Migration from the northwest from Mainland Southeast Asia. This two-fold origin is also corroborated by archaeogenetic evidence.{{cite book|first1 =Truman|last1 =Simanjuntak|authorlink=Harry Truman Simanjuntak|name-list-style =vanc|editor1-first =Philip J.|editor1-last =Piper|editor2-first =Hirofumi|editor2-last =Matsumura|editor3-first =David|editor3-last =Bulbeck|title =New Perspectives in Southeast Asian and Pacific Prehistory|chapter =The Western Route Migration: A Second Probable Neolithic Diffusion to Indonesia|publisher =ANU Press|series =terra australis|volume =45|year =2017|pages =201–212|isbn =9781760460952|chapter-url =http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/n2320/pdf/ch11.pdf|access-date=4 November 2021|doi=10.22459/TA45.03.2017.11|doi-access=free|jstor=j.ctt1pwtd26.18}}{{cite book |last=Hung |first=Hsiao-chun |year=2019 |chapter=History and Current Debates of Archaeology in Island Southeast Asia |editor=C. Smith |title=Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology |pages=1–22 |location=Cham |publisher=Springer |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-51726-1_3373-1|isbn=978-3-319-51726-1 |s2cid=219881892 }}

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• [https://www.cpasindonesia.com/ Center for Prehistory and Austronesian Studies]

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Category:Indonesian archaeologists

Category:People from Pematangsiantar

Category:Living people

Category:1951 births