Cultural Preservation using Digital Annotation Analysis for Supporting Sustainable Management of Ancient Sundanese Lontar Manuscripts

IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science, vol. 1643, pp. 012001

Abstract

Abstract The ancient Sundanese script constitutes a fundamental component of Indonesia’s cultural heritage, as it embodies the linguistic and intellectual traditions of the Sundanese people. Consequently, its preservation is imperative to ensure cultural continuity and to support future scholarly endeavours. In response to this need, the digital annotation of ancient lontar manuscripts—particularly those originating from Kabuyutan Ciburuy in West Java—has emerged as an effective and innovative strategy. Specifically, digital annotation facilitates systematic documentation and enables comparative analysis with conventional philological transliteration. Moreover, the findings reveal that the application of annotation techniques for individual characters is critical, particularly in segmentation, labelling, and spatial localization. Additionally, these methods assist in detecting physical deterioration within the manuscripts, which, if left unaddressed, may result in irreversible script loss. As an outcome of this study, a comprehensive digital dataset of ancient Sundanese characters was developed, comprising approximately 872 glyphs and 1,407 patterns. The dataset can be used to support future research on OCR-based character recognition and long-term digital preservation. Furthermore, the research identified instances of damage affecting both individual characters and the background areas of the lontar manuscripts. Significantly, this study also uncovered a gap between the results of digital annotation and those derived from philological transliteration, thereby necessitating further review from both philological and user-oriented perspectives. Ultimately, these findings underscore the importance of digital preservation initiatives in safeguarding cultural heritage and advancing interdisciplinary research.

Authors 4

1. Dian Nursantika Aachen

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Leiden University

2. Erick Palulus Aachen

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Leiden University

3. Rahmat Sopian

   Padjadjaran University

   Affiliation as printed

   Padjadjaran University

4. Fons J. Verbeek Aachen

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Leiden University