YUNAN THEORY
The Austronesian people, part of the Mongoloid race from Central Asia, migrated to Yunnan, South China. The Yunnan Theory was proposed by Robert Freiherr (Baron) von Heine-Geldern (16 July 1885 – 25 May 1968) in 1945. Geldern stated that the ancestors of the Indonesian people originated from Yunnan, around the upper reaches of the Salween and Mekong Rivers. They later left this fertile region — presumably due to natural disasters and attacks by other tribes — to migrate to various other areas.
This group spread to Southeast Asia, bringing with them their megalithic tradition. The distribution areas of megalithic traditions include Japan, Formosa (Taiwan), Malaysia, Indonesia, and even the Pacific. The migration from Yunnan to Indonesia is divided into two major waves. The first wave occurred between 3000–1500 BCE, and the second wave occurred around 1500–500 BCE.
Indonesian historians who support the Yunnan theory include Mohammad Ali, Slamet Muljana, and R. Soekmono.
