The expedition vessel Raja Laut

The Origin of Complex Society in South Sulawesi (OXIS) was set up in 1995 by Dr Ian Caldwell in collaboration with Dr David Bulbeck from the Australian National University. The aim of the project was to combine methodologies from the fields of historical and archaeological research (and later social anthropology) in order to learn about the emergence of agrarian kingdoms on the southwest peninsula of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.

These agrarian kingdoms are described as existing in a semi-developed form in the earliest Bugis and Makasar language chronicles and in a developed form by 16th century Portuguese sources. The origins of the kingdoms, and the conditions which gave rise them (technically, complex chiefdoms and states) lie a century or two beneath the development of writing around 1400. The two disciplines thus complement each other well: written sources act as a guide and interpretation for archaeologists, while archaeology provides a scientific chronology and a wealth of data on demography, trade and material culture.

The coastline of Mandar

Ian's latest project is an archaeological and historical survey of the kingdom of Balanipa. Located on the southern coast of Mandar, Balanipa is said to have commanded both the 'seven river mouths' of the western coastline and the seven river heads' of the Tae'-speaking chiefdoms in the mountainous interior. The project, half of which is to be carried out from the sea and half on land, has established that the political structure of the kingdom was more complex and fluid than tradition suggests, and that by at least the 16th Century the western coastline was linked to the trading networks of the rice growing South Sulawesi kingdoms. Find out more about the Origin of Complex Society in South Sulawesi (OXIS)

Publications by Ian Caldwell related to this research include:

(2008) with David Henley, 'Kings and covenants; Stranger-kings and social contract in Sulawesi.' Indonesia and the Malay World 37(105):269-91

(2008) with David Bulbeck, 'Oryza sativa and the origins of kingdoms in South Sulawesi, Indonesia; Evidence from rice phytoliths.' Indonesia and the Malay World 37(104):1-20.

(2008) 'Form Criticism and its applicability to Bugis historical texts.' In: Lander, Y. and A. Ogloblin (eds) Language and text in the Austronesian world. Studies in honor of Ülo Sirk. Berlin: Lincom Europe. 299-326.

(2006) 'Three locally-made bronzes from South Sulawesi; Possible evidence of cultural transfer from Java about AD 1000?' Review of Indonesian and Malaysian Affairs 39(1): 17-27.

(2005 'Kronologi raja-raja Luwu hingga awal ke-17', in: Robinson, K. and Mukhlis (eds) Tapak-tapak sejarah; Kebudayaan, sejarah dan hudup sosial di Sulawesi Selatan. Makassar: Ininawa. Pages 53-73.

(2004) with Wayne Bougas, The early history of Binamu and Bangkala, South Sulawesi. Bijdragen tot de Taal- Land- and Volkenkunde 164(4):456-510.

(2004) with Malcolm Lillie, ‘Manuel Pinto’s inland sea; Using palaeo-environmental techniques to assess historical data from South Sulawesi’. Modern Quaternary Studies in Southeast Asia 18:259-72.

(2003) '"Kenyataan, anakronisme dan fiksi": Arkeologi bersejarah dan pusat-pusat kerajaan La Galigo'. In: Nurhayati Rahman et al. (eds), La Galigo; Menyelusuri jejak warisan sastra dunia. Makassar: Pusat Kegiatan Penelitian Universitas Hasanuddin. Pp. 459-66.

(2001) with C.C. Macknight: 'Variation in Bugis manuscripts' Archipel  61:139-154.

(2000) with David Bulbeck, The historical archeology of Luwu and the Cenrana valley. Results of the Origins of Complex Society in South Sulawesi Project (OXIS). Centre for South-East Asian Studies Occasional Publications Series, University of Hull.

(1998) 'The chronology of the King List of Luwuq to A.D.1611' in: Robinson, K. and Mukhlis (eds) Living through histories; Culture, history and social life in South Sulawesi, Canberra: Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies at the Australian National University and Indonesian National Archives, pp.29-42.

(1995) 'Power, state and society among the pre-Islamic Bugis', Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 151:394-421.

(1991) The myth of the exemplary centre; Shelly Errington’s Meaning and power in a Southeast Asian realm’, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 22:109-118.

(1989) with David Bulbeck, Survey pusat kerajaan Soppeng 1100-1987 Canberra: Meyer Foundation.