Bogor, June 30 -- Minister of Culture, Fadli Zon, has said that Indonesia's cultural heritage and significant archaeological discoveries provide a strong basis for the country's claims of being one of the oldest civilizations in the world.

"Since 60 percent of Homo erectus fossils were found in Indonesia, we can safely say that this nation has a strong historical foundation. Therefore, we should dare to claim that we are the oldest civilization," he said on Monday.

Zon made the statement during a visit to an archaeological collection storage facility operated by the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) in Bogor district, West Java province.

He pointed out that the majority of Homo erectus fossils were discovered in Indonesia,...