History of Malaysia - Prehistoric Period

Malaysia comprises the Malay Peninsula, the southern most tip of the Asian mainland, and the states of Sabah and Sarawak, situated 530 kilometers further east across the South China Sea in Northern Borneo.

Malaysia's prehistory begins with the earliest known traces of human habitation around 40 millenniums ago, and extend through the prehistoric period to the founding of Melaka Sultanate in the 1400, the date commonly used as the starting point of the historic era. Because so much has been written about Melaka, that the long period preceding it, that is the prehistory period has been overshadowed.

The study of early history in Malaysia has been affected by two factors, that is the physical geography and the climate. Researchers have tended to concentrate their research either on the Peninsula or the states of Sabah and Sarawak resulting in an incomplete research on the overall prehistory of Malaysia. The climate of Malaysia which is torrid and the dense rain forests have left few artifacts other than earth wares and stones and metal tools remain from the earlier periods. Most of these, including burials have been found in the protected environment of caves. The only surviving architectural remnants are the stone foundations of the 5th to the 13th century buildings from the kingdom period in Kedah and from Santubong in Sarawak.

The earliest evidence of human occupation in Sarawak
is a 38,000-year-old skull from the Niah Caves whereas the earliest evidence from the Peninsula is an 11,000-year-old skeleton from Gua Gunung Runtuh in Perak. The oldest artifacts are Paleolithic stone stools from Kota Tampan, Perak, dated back to 34,000 years ago, while the earliest Borneon artifacts are stone tools from Tingkayu, Sabah produced between 28,000 and 18,000 years ago. Hunter-gatherer lifestyles changed dramatically about 5,000 years ago when they acquired the knowledge of producing polished stone tools and earth ware. Evidence of Neolithic culture can be found either on its own, or at Mesolithic sites, including the Niah caves in Sarawak, Gua Cha in Kelantan and Gua Kechil in Pahang.


Peninsular Metal Age sites are also concentrated in the north with the exception of the discovery of a bronze bell in Muar, Johor. East coast discoveries were often situated near gold sources, while those on the west coast were near tin sources. Metal Age culture is also represented by iron items, including long-shafted tools known to the Malays as tulang mawas, or ape?s bones, which have been found only in Peninsular Malaysia. The presence of bronze ware from North Vietnam provides the first tangible evidence of long distance seafaring and the establishment of maritime trade links with mainland Southeast Asia. Indian beads found at Metal age sites such as Kuala Selinsing (200 BCE ? 900 CE) and Changkat Menteri (1-800 CE) both located in Perak are proof of trade ties with South Asia.

Source : National Library of Malaysia