Mereka menyelidiki lapisan tanah untuk mencari bukti kehidupan manusia kuno.

They investigate the layers of soil to look for evidence of ancient human life.

Breakdown of Mereka menyelidiki lapisan tanah untuk mencari bukti kehidupan manusia kuno.

• mereka: they
• untuk: to
• mencari: to look for
• bukti: the evidence
• menyelidiki: to investigate
• lapisan: the layer
• tanah: the soil
• kehidupan: the life
• manusia: the human
• kuno: ancient

Questions & Answers about Mereka menyelidiki lapisan tanah untuk mencari bukti kehidupan manusia kuno.

What does menyelidiki literally mean, and how is it different from just selidik?

The root word is selidik, which means to investigate / to examine closely.

menyelidiki = meN- + selidik + -i

• meN-: verb prefix, makes it an active verb (to investigate)
• -i: suffix that often means the verb takes a direct object (something being investigated)

So:

• selidik – root form (you’ll usually see it in dictionaries, not in normal sentences)
• menyelidiki – to investigate (something), as in:
  • Polisi menyelidiki kasus itu.
    “The police investigate the case.”

You wouldn’t normally say mereka selidik lapisan tanah; that sounds incomplete or very informal/abrupt. The natural standard form is menyelidiki.

Why is it lapisan tanah and not something like tanah lapis?

Lapisan tanah literally means “layer(s) of soil/earth”.

• lapisan = layer, stratum (from root lapis “layer” + -an noun-forming suffix)
• tanah = earth, soil, ground

In Indonesian, the usual order is:

[Noun 1] [Noun 2] = “Noun 1 of Noun 2” or “Noun 1 made of Noun 2”

So:

• lapisan tanah = layers of soil
• gelas kaca = glass cup (cup made of glass)
• baju anak = child’s clothes / clothes for children

tanah lapis would sound odd and isn’t used for this meaning. The head noun here is lapisan (layer), not tanah (soil).

What is the function of untuk in untuk mencari here?

untuk means “for / in order to”.

In this sentence:

• untuk mencari = “in order to look for / to search for”

Structure:

[Main action] + untuk + [purpose]

So:

• Mereka menyelidiki lapisan tanah untuk mencari bukti …
  = They investigate the soil layers in order to look for evidence …

You could roughly think of untuk + verb as “to + verb” when it expresses purpose.

Could we just say mencari bukti without untuk? Would it change the meaning?

You can say mencari bukti as a separate verb phrase, but dropping untuk inside this sentence would change the structure and sound wrong:

• ✔ Mereka menyelidiki lapisan tanah untuk mencari bukti …
  (They investigate … in order to look for evidence …)
• ✘ Mereka menyelidiki lapisan tanah mencari bukti …
  (Feels like two verbs stuck together without a clear link; not natural in standard Indonesian.)

You can, however, rephrase the whole sentence:

• Mereka mencari bukti kehidupan manusia kuno dengan menyelidiki lapisan tanah.
  “They look for evidence of ancient human life by investigating soil layers.”

So untuk clearly marks the purpose of the investigation.

Why don’t we show plural in lapisan tanah or manusia kuno? How do we know if it’s plural?

Indonesian usually does not mark plural with an ending like English “-s”.

• lapisan tanah can mean a soil layer or soil layers
• manusia kuno can mean an ancient human or ancient humans

Plurality is understood from context or made explicit with:

• reduplication: lapisan-lapisan tanah (layers)
• a number or quantity word: beberapa lapisan tanah (several layers), banyak manusia kuno (many ancient humans)

In your sentence, context (archaeological investigation) makes it natural to interpret it as multiple layers and ancient humans in general.

What does bukti mean exactly? Is it like “clue” or “evidence”?

bukti means evidence / proof—something that supports or proves a claim.

Compare:

• bukti – evidence, proof (more formal/neutral)
• petunjuk – clue, hint, lead (often partial or guiding information)
• tanda – sign, mark

In this sentence:

• bukti kehidupan manusia kuno = evidence of ancient human life

That could be artifacts, bones, tools, etc. “Evidence” is the best translation here.

What is kehidupan built from, and how is it different from hidup?

Root: hidup = alive / to live / life

With the ke- -an affixes:

• kehidupan = life (as a noun, more abstract or general)

Usage:

• hidup:
  • Dia masih hidup. – “He is still alive.”
  • Hidup di kota itu mahal. – “Living in that city is expensive.”
• kehidupan:
  • kehidupan manusia – “human life”
  • kehidupan di desa – “(the) life in the village”

So bukti kehidupan manusia kuno literally is evidence of the life of ancient humans → “evidence of ancient human life”.

Why is it kehidupan manusia kuno, not kehidupan kuno manusia?

In Indonesian, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe.

Here, manusia (human) is the noun, kuno (ancient) is the adjective:

• manusia kuno = ancient humans

Then kehidupan (life) is another noun in front:

• kehidupan manusia kuno
  = the life of ancient humans / ancient human life

If you said kehidupan kuno manusia, it would sound strange and unclear; it would be interpreted as:

• kehidupan kuno = ancient life
• manusia = of humans / for humans?

It’s not the natural order. So the correct structure is:

[Noun 1] [Noun 2] [Adjective]
life – humans – ancient → life of ancient humans

What nuance does kuno have? Is it like “old”, “ancient”, or “primitive”?

kuno generally means ancient / old (from a long time ago).

Common nuances:

• zaman kuno – ancient times
• manusia kuno – ancient humans (prehistoric, not just old people)
• benda kuno – antique object, ancient artifact

For “old” in the sense of old person / old age, you usually use:

• tua – old (age)
  orang tua – parents / old person (depending on context)

For “primitive” (in an anthropological or sometimes negative sense):

• primitif – primitive

In your sentence, manusia kuno is best translated as ancient humans.

Could the sentence be reordered, like starting with Untuk mencari bukti …? Would it still be correct?

Yes, you can front the purpose clause:

• Untuk mencari bukti kehidupan manusia kuno, mereka menyelidiki lapisan tanah.

This is fully grammatical and quite natural. The meaning is the same:

In order to look for evidence of ancient human life, they investigate soil layers.

The difference is just in emphasis:

• Original: emphasizes what they do first (investigate soil layers), then the purpose.
• Reordered: emphasizes the purpose first (to look for evidence), then the action.

Is it necessary to say mereka, or can Indonesian drop the subject pronoun like in some other languages?

Indonesian can drop the subject pronoun when it’s clear from context. So:

• Mereka menyelidiki lapisan tanah untuk mencari bukti kehidupan manusia kuno.
• Menyelidiki lapisan tanah untuk mencari bukti kehidupan manusia kuno. (no mereka)

The second version is grammatically fine, but:

• With mereka, it’s clear and complete in isolation.
• Without mereka, you usually rely on earlier context (we already know who “they” are).

In written or formal styles, keeping mereka is common and clearer.

Is this sentence formal, informal, or neutral? Would it be used in everyday conversation?

The sentence is neutral–formal:

• Vocabulary like menyelidiki, lapisan, bukti, kehidupan, manusia kuno fits academic / scientific / news contexts (e.g., archaeology, research).
• It’s grammatical and suitable for writing, reports, documentaries.

In casual speech, people might simplify:

• Mereka gali tanah untuk cari bukti manusia zaman dulu.
  (“They dig the ground to look for evidence of people from long ago.”)

But your original sentence is natural and good for written standard Indonesian and more formal spoken contexts.