Remains of a Homo erectus, known as "Java Man", were found along the banks of the Bengawan Solo, and date back to 1.7 million years ago.

[9] What is present-day Central Java was once under the control of several Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms, Islamic sultanates, and the Dutch East Indies colonial government.

According to the epic, Sugriva, the commander of the wanara (ape man) from Sri Rama's army, sent his envoy to Yavadvip ("Java Island") to look for the Hindu goddess Sita.

Iabadiu is said to mean "island of barley", also rich in gold, and has a silver city called Argyra at its western end.

Around 40,000 years ago, Australoid peoples related to modern Australian Aboriginals and Melanesians settled in Central Java.

They were assimilated or replaced by Mongoloid Austronesians by about 3,000 BC, who brought technologies of pottery, outrigger canoes, the bow and arrow, and introduced domesticated pigs, fowls, and dogs.

The kingdom claimed sovereignty over the entire Indonesian archipelago, although direct control tended to be limited to Java, Bali and Madura.

After the war, the Netherlands enforced the Cultivation System which was linked to famines and epidemics in the 1840s, first in Cirebon and then Central Java, as cash crops such as indigo and sugar had to be grown instead of rice.

Thousands of people were taken away as forced labourers (romusha) for Japanese military projects, including the Burma-Siam and Saketi-Bayah railways, and suffered or died as a result of ill-treatment and starvation.

The final stages of warfare were initiated in October when, under the terms of their surrender, the Japanese tried to re-establish the authority they relinquished to the Indonesians in towns and cities.

In the aftermath of the 30 September Movement in 1965, an anti-communist purge took place in Central Java, in which the army and community vigilante groups killed Communists and leftists, both actual and alleged.

Some were executed years later, but most were released in 1979[24] In 1998, near the downfall of Suharto, anti-Chinese violence broke out in Surakarta (Solo) and surrounding areas, in which Chinese property and other buildings were burnt down.

Mount Muria at the end of the Ice Age (around 10,000 years BC) was a separate island from Java, which eventually fused because of alluvial deposits from flowing rivers.

This mandala is a geoantiklin that extends from west to east along 100 kilometres and is divided into two parts separated by the Jatilawang valley, namely the western and eastern regions.

In the east of Banyumas, the anticline developed into an anticlinorium with a width reaching 30 km in the Lukulo area (south of Banjarnegara-Midangan) or often called the Kebumen Tinggi.

[23] Note: The regencies now appear in the formal order prescribed by the Indonesian Central Statistics Board (Badan Pusat Statistik), as indicated by the regional codes (Kode Wilayah).

[2] Birthrates had not plunged between 2000 and 2010, instead losses due to domestic outmigration on 2010 figures, reversed themselves in 2020 with pandemic back to kampung influence.

van Lith also achieved some success, especially in areas around the central-southern parts of Central Java and Yogyakarta at the beginning of the 20th century,[33] and is buried at the Jesuit necropolis at Muntilan.

The European and Chinese influence can be seen in Semarang's temple of Sam Poo Kong dedicated to Zheng He and the Domed Church built in 1753.

[38] Wayang beber is scroll theatre, and it involves "performing" scenes of a story elaborately drawn and painted on rolled sheets.

It is a musical ensemble typically featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums, gongs, bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings.

The oldest work written in modern Javanese language concerning Islam is the so-called "Book of Bonang" or also "The Admonitions of Seh Bari".

However, the pinnacle of Central Javanese literature was created at the courts of the kings of Mataram in Kartasura and later in Surakarta and Yogyakarta that are mostly attributed to the Yasadipura family.

Famous dishes in Central Java include gudeg (sweet stew of jackfruit) and sayur lodeh (vegetables cooked in coconut milk).

Central Java is connected to the Trans-Java Toll Road which currently runs from Merak in Banten to Probolinggo (planned: Banyuwangi), East-Java.

On the southern coast, there is also a national way which run from Kroya at the Sundanese-Javanese border, through Yogyakarta to Surakarta and then to Surabaya via Kertosono in East Java.

The main port is Tanjung Mas in Semarang, other harbours are located in Brebes, Tegal, Pekalongan, Batang, Jepara, Juwana and Rembang.

An elaborate irrigation network of canals, dams, aqueducts, and reservoirs has greatly contributed to Central Java's the rice-growing capacity over the centuries.

[48] Other crops, also mostly grown in lowland areas on small peasant landholdings, are corn (maize), cassava, peanuts (groundnuts), soybeans, and sweet potatoes.

The coat of arms of Central Java depicts a legendary flask, Kundi Amerta or Cupu Manik, formed in a pentagon representing Pancasila.