Page 146 - The Guide To Sarawak

144 PLACES OF SPECIAL INTEREST
The Sarawak Museum began systematic archaeological work in the Niah caves in 1954 (under the direction of Tom Harrisson), and later in 1977 (Zuraina Majid) and 1980 (Edmund Kurui). Niah is one of the most important archaeological sites in Sarawak because of the wide range of stone tools, ranging from the chopping tools belonging to the great Paleolithic (old Stone Age) chopping tool development
of southern and eastern Asia, to the refined polished quadrangular adzes of the Neolithic period.
especially three-colour ware dating from 1,600 BCE to 400 BCE.
The Painted Cave, open
to visitors, is a remarkable burial site containing ancient boat-coffins (300 BCE-1,000 CE) used to ferry the dead to the afterworld. Their journey is depicted in over 50 metres of hematite cave drawings. More exhibits can be seen
at the Niah Archaeology Museum near the Park
HQ. For more details, see National Parks (page 234).
BATANG SADONG
The Batang Sadong river area in Samarahan Division
Niah Great Cave West Mouth, one of the world’s most spectacular cave entrances at over 60 metres high and 250 metres wide. It is one of the most important archaeological cave sites in Southeast Asia; fragments of
a human skull (the so-called “Deep Skull”) excavated by Tom Harrisson in 1958 were reconstructed and proven to be over 40,000 years old. The skull represents the earliest known modern human in the region.
has four principal proto- historic sites. White wares, celadons and other Chinese trade goods have been discovered at Gedong and Bukit Sandong (10th–12th Century). Kampung Senangeh has yielded many local stone wares, and Kampung Benat is
the location for finds of ceramics, beads and gold jewellery. Access is by plantation road from Kota Samarahan or boat from Serian town.
OTHER SITES
Gua Sireh, a limestone cave in Gunung Nambi near Serian, shows signs
of being occupied up to 20,000 years ago. Samples
of rice embedded in pottery sherds found here have been carbon dated as 3,500 years old, predating the Austronesian migrations which supposedly introduced rice to Borneo.
Lubang Kudih near Bakong in Miri Division is a Ming
Artefacts recovered during excavation at Gedong on the Batang (River) Sadong in the 1970’s.