Stone Age
Muzium Negara Gallery A
Perak Man - Stone Age
Paleolithic Malaysia
There are 2 main centers of known activities for this period of hunter-gatherers.
- Lenggong Valley in Perak and
- Lahad Datu in Sabah.
The oldest known human remains are skulls found at Gua Niah, Sarawak, around 40,000 years old.
Kota Tampan
This is the oldest known site in Peninsula Malaysia which has evidence of stone tools on the shores of lakes. These were uncovered from beneath ash deposits which probably came from volcanic eruptions which created Lake Toba in Sumatra. It dates back to around 75,000 years old.
Epi-palaeolithic or Hoabinhian Malaysia
(12,000 - 8,500
BC)
Many archaeological evidence, especially from caves and rock shelters. Society still revolves around hunting and gathering. People had moved inland due to rising sea-level after the ice age.
There are evidence of
- agriculture and pottery production from this era
- belief in afterlife from burial rites
- stone tools and food offerings
- ritual use of hematite from Gua Cha rock shelter
during this period.
Perak Man
Oldest human skeleton found in Malaysia. (around 11,000 years old). This is the most famous Hoabinhian burial that was discovered during excavations by Zurinah Majid in the late 1970s. The Perak Man was discovered in Gua Gunung Ratah in Lenggong, Perak.
He was uncovered from his grave in a foetal position with legs tucked towards his chest and arms resting on the abdomen. Based on derived evidence of an elaborate burial, the Perak Man must have been an important member of his society
Neolithic Malaysia
(8,500 to 3,000 BC)
In the Neolithic Age, society have become a little more sophisticated with
- polished and ground stone axes
- use of colored and decorated pottery
- rudimentary farming and domestication of animals
- clothing's and personal adornments
More elaborate burial rites were evident like
- extended burial where the bodies were laid out flat
- elaborate grave ornaments like pottery, polished stones and shells were found.
Cave Drawings
Cave drawings or paintings are quite rare in Malaysia. Only 9 caves have been found, 4 in Peninsula, 4 in Sarawak and 1 in Sabah.
The older and better documented paintings are at
- Gua Tamban in Perak which features game animals, and
- Gua Kain Hitam in Niah, Sarawak, which features symbolic boats connected with burial rites.
The earlier paintings were done with hematite. The later ones use charcoal and tree sap.
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