December 17, 2025 | 09:03 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Indonesia, Marc Gerritsen, hands over a molar, a femur, and a skullcap of Homo erectus to Indonesian Minister of Culture Fadli Zon at the National Museum, Jakarta, on Wednesday, December 17, 2025. Present at the handover ceremony was Marcel Beukeboom, director of the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, where the 'Java Man' fossils have been stored.
In addition to the three ancient human fossils, shells from the same period, about 100,000 years ago, also returned home. These four objects are the key pieces among thousands of fossils that the Dutch scientist, Eugene Dubois, brought at the end of the 19th century.
The Dutch Ministry of Culture also announced on Wednesday about returning approximately 28,000 other fossils to Indonesia, which have been stored by the Naturalis Biodiversity Center thus far. "The physical return of these fossils will take place in 2026," wrote the press release, quoted on December 17.
The agency has been working with Indonesian scientists for decades to research Dubois' collection. "Both Indonesia and the Netherlands consider it important to continue this research," the ministry said.
When interviewed by Tempo correspondent Linawati Sidarto in the Netherlands on November 17, 2025, Marcel Beukeboom said he had prepared a special case to bring the four main objects.
In late September, the Dutch government announced that Dubois' collection would be returned to Indonesia. The decision to repatriate the fossils is part of the long road to return the 'Java Man' to its homeland.
The first debate about the existence of these historical fossils in the Netherlands was in the 1930s. After independence, Indonesia repeatedly raised the issue of Dubois' collection, through the media and in bilateral discussions with the Netherlands.
On July 1, 2022, Indonesia officially requested the return of Dubois' collection. The Netherlands then formed the Colonial Collection Commission to manage the repatriation. It took three years to study the origins of each object.
Read: "Java Man" Comes Home: Netherlands Returns Fossil Collection to Indonesia in Historic Move
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